April Fool’s Day…Are You a Holy Fool?

By Kimberly Schneider | April 1, 2010

Happy April Fool’s Day! Are you a Holy Fool? I hope so!

Perhaps that warrants an explanation…

In modern times we’ve relegated April 1 to a time

for practical jokes and “foolishness.”

If you look online for the history of April Fool’s Day, you’ll

discover that in the 16th century with the adoption

of the Gregorian calendar, the celebration of the

New Year was changed from April 1 to January 1.

But many rural people refused to accept the new

date and continued to celebrate in April. They were

labeled “fools” by those who were more in the

swing with the changes.

If you look beneath that historical explanation of

“fool” however, you’ll find a deeper, esoteric

meaning.

The fool or jester in a court was the truth teller…

the only one who could poke fun at or question

royalty. Because the fool was seen as crazy

or a little “off” in the head, he got away with saying

what everyone else knew to be true.

Court Jesters, or Fools were living out an ancient

archetype of the Fool or Wisdom seeker… The Fool

goes where others fear to tread.

The Archetype of the Holy Fool is alive and well, and the line between mysticism and madness is still razor thin…

When you step out in faith like the Fool,

others may declare you insane. And the end result (or what I call “the form”) is never guaranteed.

What is certain though, is that you can’t be The Magician unless you’re first willing to be The Fool.

You can’t wield spiritual power without stepping, as the Fool steps,

into the Void. The Void is the space between the worlds. It’s the place where creation begins. It’s where magic arises. It’s the emptiness where nothing happens, and nothing is left undone.

The Void is void of reason.

And the call of The void is a call the Fool must answer.

So if someone calls you a Fool, take it as a compliment. Let it be a reminder that you’re walking a Sacred Path, even if it looks as if the road ahead is actually a drop off the cliff face.

Chinese Philosopher Lao Tsu said this about the Fool:

When the wise man learns the Way,

He tries to live by it.

When the average man learns the Way,

He lives by only part of it.

When the Fool learns the Way,

He laughs at it.

Yet if the Fool did not laugh at it,

It would not be the Way.

Indeed, if you are seeking the Way,

Listen for the laughter of fools.

Laughing on our Way into the Void….