The first stage of the Cycle, if it is possible to name such a contradiction, is represented by The Fool.
I also call it non-existence.
The Fool is the mad man. He walks without minding the path, for his feet are not totally on the ground. Therefore, he represents total and extreme unconsciousness and ignorance.
We could easly think that we must escape from this influence. This stage, however, is a form of enlightenment. It is total harmony and unity with Nature and the Universe. It is to share God's Love.
The Kingdom of Heaven is for the Children. They are the innocence itself.
The natural animals, unlike us, live on this stage, which is prior to intelligence. Intelligence is a consequence of what is called the original sin, which was to eat from the fruits of the tree of knowledge.
I must add that I am not saying that animals do not have rationality. I use intelligence in a different sense.
So, being banished of Eden, the garden of harmony, we must now find our way back. We must therefore follow the path of the Cycle Of Existence.
For that we must take the second form of enlightenment: The Hermit.
To do so, we must pass two stages: The Wheel Of Fortune and The Magician.
Concerning death, the Cycle has not yet revealed to me its meaning. Because one of my goals is to unify all religions, I can only interpret death and its relation with the symbol by what some religions believe.
The Buddhist believe in reincarnation, not in the sense of a soul which migrates to a new body, in the sense of a consciousness, which is what is transformed in the moment of Nirvana (The World). So, when we die without reaching enlightenment, do we reborn in the stage we were? Or do we return to the stage of The Fool? What is the influence of Karma, in the Cycle?
Many questions remain.
Is it possible to return to the primordial stage by following the path of The Fool? I believe that Taoism responds to that in a positive way. By preaching non-action, simplicity and reconciliation with Nature, it points us the way back to Eden, where we can share the holiness of the Tao.
As to the numerical reason for this Tarot arcanum, you can see that it is parallel to number 9 (The Hermit). In a sense, 0 and 9 are the same number as are 1 and 10, for the sum or the digits is the same.
