Josh the Fool — Electric Skald Studios

The Tarot Fool

Having gratefully retired from the dismal field of political-science academia, I have embarked on a second career as an educator of joy, inner peace, and fellowship.

I play The Tarot Fool — seeking to delight wisdom seekers with wonder and beginner's mind, on a journey where every card drawn is an invitation rather than a verdict. The Fool steps off the cliff not from ignorance, but from trust.

Josh the Fool at Burning Man — reflections in aviator sunglasses

Burning Man — The Fool in the Mirror

Josh the Fool at Burning Man — California Republic mirror sculpture

Burning Man — Through the Looking Glass

Fly, You Fool

The Three of Cups Method

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In Tarot, the Three of Cups symbolizes new friendships — the joy of gathering, of voices joining together in celebration. This method seeks to open new connections between people in a world where we are too often isolated by our possessions and technologies.

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Hold the Cards

Wisdom seekers are encouraged to hold the cards themselves — to feel their weight, to let intuition guide the hand before the mind has a chance to intervene.

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Place with Intention

Rather than traditional linear layouts like the Celtic Cross, cards are placed in circles and constellations — arrangements that reveal the many lines of connection flowing between them.

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Read Together

The Three of Cups method breaks the traditional mold of an expert telling the uninitiated what the cards mean. Interpretation belongs to the seeker — the reader is simply a fellow traveler.

Readings in the Wild

Tarot cards spread across the floor of a cave in Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree — Cards in the Cave

Tarot layout on a trail map at Wilbur Hot Springs

Wilbur Hot Springs — Reading the Terrain

Tarot cards in the black sand on the Humboldt Coast

Humboldt Coast — Cards in the Sand

Tarot cards on a granite boulder overlooking Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe — On the Granite Shore

Tarot cards standing in the sand at Lake Tahoe sunset

Lake Tahoe — Sunset Reading

Tarot cards on boulders at the Yuba River at dusk

Yuba River — Dusk Among the Boulders

The Fool candle burning under the moonrise at Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe — Moonrise, the Fool Candle