Tarot History Forum

Thanks a lot, Ross.

There are a few more, I'll gather some. But wind instruments are by far the most common.

Indeed, many thanks to everyone who has contributed these references, I really appreciate it (and am still looking for our knapsacked Fool).

SteveM wrote: 07 Feb 2026, 02:12 The Fool of the Tarot de Marseille is not merely a vagabond or wayfarer; his emblems mark him as a hybrid figure, part wanderer, part Insipiens (‘the fool says in his heart, there is no God’).

Unbelief as rootlessness, without anchor in faith, is reiterated in the portrayal of the fool as bedraggled wanderer, a stranger in a strange land, harassed by children or dogs . The fool embodies that liminality: not rooted, always moving on, or being moved on by locals or civil authority.

As hybrid between the God denying Fool and the wanderer, one might specifically note the figure of the wandering Jew - a Fool in Christian eyes for denying Christ.

The Wandering Jew - from a 14th century Haggadah

SteveM wrote: 25 Jan 2011, 11:32
Saturn is the star of Judaism - Jews were denigrated as obstinate and perverse 'fools' for denying Christ... In one astrological reading of the period Saturn = law = old testament of G-d's law = judaism: venus - who is born from the spilt seed of castrated saturn = love = new testament of God's love= Christ (star of the morning = venus). In other readings Jupiter (the one that castrates / ends the old rule of law - Saturn) signifies Christianity.

Here is an example of a Jew represented in a German 16th century Children of Saturn print - the central figure talking to the man in the stocks is identified as Jewish by the Jewish ring on his tunic - in colour versions it is yellow:

"The planet which controls the fate of the Jew is the most malign - Saturn."

Saturn as Jew - with Jewish hat and ring - Peter Wagner, Nuremberg 1492:

In German Fastnacht traditions, the Schembartbücher depict carnival processions featuring large “Hölle” (hell) figures that devour humans, often shown as a bearded man with a sack of children. These fell into three distinct types: soul-eaters, fool-eaters, and child-eaters. Rooted in the mythological story of Saturn devouring his own children, they functioned both as “child-scarer” figures for discipline and warning against strangers, and as symbolic tools to stigmatize foreigners and religious minorities. In medieval astrological traditions, Saturn, described as “the most malignant of the Planets”, was said to rule over Jews, and the clothing and attributes of the Schembartbücher figures often coded them with Jewish identity, reinforcing antisemitic myths of ritual murder that circulated widely in the lead-up to pogroms and expulsions.

Kinderfresser - Child Eater
Schembartbuch (book of carnival masks/processions), 1508, folio 49 recto.
Germanisches Nationalmuseum (GNM), manuscript shelfmark Hs 5664, catalog number 3.3.2.

The fools are not mocking Purim but embodying its joy, inversion, and carnival license. They visually dramatize the holiday’s themes: charity, feasting, music, and merriment, all under the banner of remembering salvation.

For Purim
A hint to give relief to the poor,
to distribute clothing to elders and children.
Look toward the appointed festival, to remember, to study,
and to merit miracles.
An eye turned to speak goodness.
Provide bread and prepare delicacies.

The leader of the procession plays an instrument, for it is a time for music and merriment.

The central figure carrying a jug and drinking illustrates perhaps the passage from Babylonian Talmud, tractate Megillah 7b, in which the rabbis discussing the Purim feast state:

אָמַר רָבָא: מִיחַיַּיב אִינִישׁ לְבַסּוֹמֵי בְּפוּרַיָּא עַד דְּלָא יָדַע בֵּין אָרוּר הָמָן לְבָרוּךְ מָרְדֳּכַי.

"A person is obligated to drink wine on Purim until he cannot tell the difference between ‘Cursed be Haman’ and ‘Blessed be Mordechai.’”

His gigantic stature in relation to the others seems to indicate, for the illustrator at least, its major importance!

The third carries bread, as a symbol of charity and the instruction to share portions and give to the poor.

Sefer HaMinhagim, Illustrated Brachos book Miniature Edition. Amsterdam 1708

SteveM wrote: 21 Feb 2026, 03:59
The central figure carrying a jug and drinking illustrates perhaps the passage from Babylonian Talmud, tractate Megillah 7b, in which the rabbis discussing the Purim feast state:

אָמַר רָבָא: מִיחַיַּיב אִינִישׁ לְבַסּוֹמֵי בְּפוּרַיָּא עַד דְּלָא יָדַע בֵּין אָרוּר הָמָן לְבָרוּךְ מָרְדֳּכַי.

"A person is obligated to drink wine on Purim until he cannot tell the difference between ‘Cursed be Haman’ and ‘Blessed be Mordechai.’”

"The Gemara relates that Rabba and Rabbi Zeira prepared a Purim feast with each other, and they became intoxicated to the point that Rabba arose and slaughtered Rabbi Zeira. The next day, when he became sober and realized what he had done, Rabba asked God for mercy, and revived him. The next year, Rabba said to Rabbi Zeira: Let the Master come and let us prepare the Purim feast with each other. He said to him: Miracles do not happen each and every hour, and I do not want to undergo that experience again."