Regarding Changes in Patch Tarot
The Fool to the Child
In Patch Tarot, the card known as "The Fool" has been transformed into "The Child." Further, the numbering has also been altered, with The Child taking on not just 0, but 0 and 1 together. When layered on top of each other, this makes the symbol for Phi. Allow me a moment to explain these decisions.
This was a divinely inspired event which came to the author after a tremendous amount of time spent studying Qabalah, Tree of Life, Astrology, and the Elements, and activated in a visionary Ayahuasca ceremony at Rythmia.
On the Tree of Life, the Hebrew Letter associated with The Fool is "Aleph", whose number is 1 - and represents the same formless potential that the Fool embodies. However, in the Tarot the Fool was originally unnumbered, and then numbered 0 beginning with the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot.
Thus - the Tree of Life and the Tarot were actually out of sync. The Fool would have been 0 and 1, the Magician was 1 and 2, and so on for the entire Major Arcana. With this decision, we have brought the Fool into alignment with his Hebrew association, and hence have aligned the rest of the cards as well. Studying the Hebrew letters, you will also find that the Magician/Wizard as 2 fits very well, because 2 is the number of formation - when things begin to actually have substance. The 1 (including all of the aces) actually represents formless potential, very fitting for The Child.
The decision to change "The Fool" to "The Child" then reflects to us that we are ALL the Children of God. The name "The Fool" was relative to an older world, in which the King's Fool was the "different one" in society, "the outcast", one who was on his own journey of discovery. However this paradigm is shifting, as we move into a new reality where all of us recognize each other as Children of God.
Finally, the 0 and 1 together making the Phi ratio suits The Child very well, because they represent both the masculine and the feminine powers combined (even before they come into form). The Child is the supreme beauty of the Creator (as indicated by Phi), and the infinite possibilities of what can happen when those two powers come to be. The heart of the Child is one of the highest reflections of spirit incarnated in body - the archetype of the Divine Child. This is what we are here to strive for.
The Emperor & Empress
In Patch Tarot, the positions of The Emperor and The Empress have been reversed from the traditional flow, where now The Emperor comes after The Empress. This was done very purposefully, and with great love and respect for the Tarot system. The intention was to align The Empress with the Hebrew letter Heh on the Tree of Life – the symbol of the Divine Feminine in the Tetragrammaton – the holy name of God. In doing this, it also allows these initial four characters (Cards I through IV) to follow the same pattern as the Royal Arcana – Masculine, Feminine, Masculine, Feminine.
Doing this describes that it is through the feminine that the new consciousness – The Hierophant – is born. Thus, the switch is not only about the natural flow of energy between the Masculine and Feminine, but a reflection of our evolving consciousness wherein we learn to honour and respect the majesty of the Divine Feminine.
To learn more about the reasons for changing the positions of these cards, we encourage you to read The Book of Patch, which explores these ideas in much greater detail.
