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I. Overview of the Wheel of Fortune – La Roue de Fortune Tarot
The wheel of Fortune, number 10, ends the first decimal period of the Major Arcana. The circular and crank attached to it show the main meaning of the card: the end of a cycle and the pause to wait for the source of power to establish the movement for the next cycle. In Tarot’s continuity, it is the Major card XI, which is Strength, which will follow Wheel of Fortune and set out the next decimal cycle. More than any other Major card, Wheel of Fortune is clearly oriented to closing the past and expecting the future.
For this reason, the positions that have this card in a spread will also help us to guess whether a plan in life needs to be completed to make room for a new plan or a new era will be opened. If we decide to analyze this card in a negative way, it will reveal to us that failure is not the end of everything but an opportunity to divert our efforts: change our direction.
At first glance, this card gave us an impression of stagnation, when the movement of water waves was etched on the light blue ground. This message is very practical, underneath its firm appearance, there are constant changes like waves. Everything is born to dissolve; the reality is a dream that easily fades away and the Earth is an illusion of the cosmic ocean. Here, only one element can have eternity: the wheel’s center, at the crank’s anchor point, lies exactly at the center of the rectangle created by the card. Everything revolves around this focal point, which can be seen as a symbol of divine mysticism.
Meanwhile, the external elements which are shown on the wheel (three animals) realize their movement peaks at the moment of inertia, the focal point is the starting point for the change to take place. The message of this card is quite clear: the main elements of change, of life, is this movement of the universe, also known as the will of heaven. We can see that this is a double wheel: a red one and a yellow one representing the twin animals and the spiritual nature of the human being. The human soul always includes the person who acts and witnesses those actions. However, once united with God, both the person acting and the witness are one and the same. The purpose of humanity, as given by Wheel of Fortune, is to achieve this unity through duality.
II. Keywords of the Wheel of Fortune – La Roue de Fortune Tarot
Destiny – Obstruction – Innovation – Mystery – Solution – Cycle – Momentary – Change – Eternal return – Beginning and ending – Body – Heart – Mind – Fate – Determination.
If we look at three animals, we can see one is crawling down, one is climbing up, and the third is unmoving. The skin-colored animal, wearing clothes in the lower half of the body, is crawling down to reincarnate. We can see in the color of this element, and the fact that its organs are hidden, a symbol of the material’s tendency. Meanwhile, the yellow animal wore clothes from the waist up, and the bandage around its ears seemed to either make it uneasy or stand out. We can read this symbol with the meaning of an intellectual vision that aspires to climb, with a tendency to spin around it and it is hard to hear everything clearly. Finally, the blue one, which looks like a sphinx, wears a heart-shaped red robe, holding a sword of the same size as the Magician’s cane, an image of emotional life which is expressed as a mystery and a path to insight. Moreover, it should be noted that this animal has two patches of purple, the color symbolizing wisdom.
Therefore, the heart is expressed by the element or can unify or immobilize the powerful forces, the spiritual life, and animal life. It is often a mystery of emotions, a core emotion lacking in the determination which has prevented an important act of the reader. The five sharp points on the sphinx’s crown imply the essence of human nature, the sense of being able to unify the different systems of human as the thumb unites the other fingers of the hand. The blue ground is moving, apparently, and more than that, calling animals towards the depths and the search for themselves in the amniotic fluid in the uterus. By going down to the deepest of us, by accepting our subconscious, we can find encounters with inner Gods and stand out as enlightened people.
In this sense, the wheel center simultaneously represents a stop, for the core of the problem, and possible movements, the call to wake up the hidden treasures. Once again, the blue animal seems to represent the heart and is the means for consciousness to come. A prominent indigo oval on its forehead looks like Chakra the third eye, Ajna that can see through all things. This eye has the power to unify the declining material efforts and increasing intellectual efforts.
The feet of the animals, clinging to the wheel, seem to hold on to the back of the wheel and stop its movement; but we might also think that three of those feet are holding the wheel upright and preventing it from falling. Material, emotional and intellectual activities support the cycle of life. And this, in order to create a new cycle, requires the intervention of a fourth energy source, which is shown by the Strength (XI) to turn the handle: a source of creative sexual energy.
- Figure 1: Wheel center;
- Figure 2: Sphinx and its “third eye”;
- Figure 3: Yellow animal is one of the few animals in Tarot with ears;
- Figure 4: The moving blue ground looks like a sea.
III. Interpretation of the Wheel of Fortune – La Roue de Fortune Tarot
Wheel of Fortune – La Roue de Fortune Tarot is a card with countless ways to read, and its reading depends very much on each case of the querent. It shows the point that the querent has achieved in his/her life. If it is shown at the beginning of the draw, it talks about the end of a cycle in the past and the start of a new cycle. When reading, it may foretell a certain event that is in the process of being completed and therefore, shows that a new page is flipped over, a cycle has completed. But normally, if it is in the middle or at the end of the draw, it shows an obstacle that needs to overcome. It is useful to draw another additional card to see what will rotate the wheel’s crank or to elucidate the emotional mysteries (represented by the blue animal) that it suggests.
Because in the card, here comes the word ‘prosperity’, it represents financial benefits in traditional concepts. Sometimes, it refers to the center of a collective or a system formed based on a circle: the circle of karma, astrology, and even the big wheel of fortune. The cycle of death and rebirth, in a broader sense, can be seen in the card as well as the flow of life.
Wheel of Fortune called for reflection on the inevitable turn of ups and downs, prosperity and suffering, joy and sadness. It directs us to change, whether positive or negative and accepting the continuous transformation of reality.
IV. When the Wheel of Fortune – La Roue de Fortune Tarot speaks up
“I understand all the experience. From the beginning, I had a capable ocean spreading in front of my eyes. Being led by the will, will of heaven, or opportunity, I have chosen my actions and accumulated knowledge that can then explode without a purpose in advance. I have achieved stability countless times. I tried to keep the fruits on the table just to see them rotten. I understood that I had to open my heart and share with others. I realized that I had to search deep inside for another great thing, the divine and central resources of my countless revolutions rotating around this axis. I got lost while looking for similar things like me. I enjoyed the pleasure of seeing my reflection in the eyes of others as if in an endless mirror until, with an energy that could not resist, I acted with the world and tried to change it – just to realize that all I could do was start transforming it.
My spiritual journey has spread to the point of absorbing all material, and I have achieved a terrifying perfection, a state without adding or removing anything from me anymore. I do not want to be petrified like this. So, I gave up everything, only my knowledge left to the collective. I have reached the extreme limit of myself, full but restrained, waiting for the will of heaven, the energy of the universe, the mysterious wind blowing into the unthinkable, that will make me spin to the first explosion of a new cycle will radiate at my heart”.
“I learned by heart that for everything: if there is a start, there will be an end, and what has ended, will start again. I have learned that everything that has ups, will have downs, and everything that has been down, will be up. I have learned that everything that is moving will be stagnant and the stagnant things will move again. The poor will be rich, and the rich will be poor. From this change to another change, I want you to integrate with the wheel of life, accept changes with patience, submission, and humility until Consciousness is born. After that, all that is human, like a cocoon, will advance to the stage of the angel where reality no longer revolves around itself, where it flies to the mind of the Creator”.
V. Traditional interpretations of the Wheel of Fortune – La Roue de Fortune Tarot
The end of a cycle – The beginning of a cycle – Needing external help – New departure – The change of fate – The outside of the reader according to willpower – The opportunity to take – Hormonal cycle – The mysteries of emotions that need to be solved – Siege – Pause – Stalemate – The cycle of karma, reincarnation – Law of nature – The worry – Cycle Complete – Completion – Shooting a movie – Achieving financial benefits.
More The Wheel of Fortune Cards from Famous Tarot Decks
1. The Wheel of Fortune Rider Waite Tarot
The Wheel of Fortune Rider Waite is a very iconic Tarot card. The angel in the left corner is Aquarius, the eagle is Scorpio, the lion is Leo and the ox is Taurus. These are four fixed signs of the Zodiac, but they all have wings – a sense of stability between movement and change.
<< See More >> The Wheel of Fortune Rider Waite Tarot Card Meanings
2. The Wheel Wildwood Tarot
The Wheel Wildwood Tarot has started to spin, the change is within reach. The laws of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth always evolve steadily. You should learn to adapt to the changes here.
<< See More >> The Wheel Wildwood Tarot Card Meanings
3. The Wheel Of Fortune Linestrider Tarot
Wheel of Fortune Linestrider is a highly iconic card about life cycles, new beginnings, and aspects of fortune. Focus on the things you can control with care, and learn not to suffer from the things you cannot control.
<< See More >> The Wheel of Fortune Linestrider Tarot Card Meanings
