The Wheel of Fortune – #10
Cycles of Life/Destiny and Fate
The Wheel of Fortune represents the ever-changing cycle in one’s life. Our lives are in constant motion revolving around the ups and downs life hands us. No moment ever stays the same. Just as you are getting comfortable, resting on your laurels, the wheel turns and you are moving toward another situation, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. At times, you may think that the wheel is stuck, because the bad luck funk has been visiting way too long. One has to remember The Wheel of Fortune is also the karmic wheel of fate. So, on the many multi-levels of lifetimes, one may be paying a bigger bill this time around than another. Eventually the wheel does shift. Sometimes we just don’t recognize it, because we are so wound up in what we think should happen. The Wheel of Fortune is the game of life – there are no guarantees. How you play out your fate is up to you. A saying I learned as a child goes, “God doesn't give you anything you can’t handle”. Well I’m sure that’s open for debate, but in truth, we all get dished out things that we don’t want to deal with. The lessons we learn from our experiences: mistakes, failures, misfortunes, and victories in life – are all gifts we take on our spiritual journey.
It’s good to know where you are on the Wheel of Fortune. Are you at the bottom going up, or are you at the top, ready to cycle on to yet another journey of transition? What you want to remember with The Wheel of Fortune is that your present actions will affect your life and that of others now and in the future. It’s up to The Wheel of Fortune to spin those actions around, creating one’s fate. One never knows when a good or not so good deed will come around and greet you. The Wheel of Fortune is cause and effect. One of the Lessons of The Wheel of Fortune is to be able to stay in the hub of the Wheel. No matter what confronts you, if you stay centered, you are able to act from a place of balance, rather than from a place of reactionary emotions. When you are centered or in your hub, you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses, your limits and boundaries, and you do the best that you can with what you’ve got. You may not be in control of the circumstances, but you can be in control of how to deal with them.
The Wheel of Fortune is the ever-turning cycle of life, death and rebirth. Its number is ten. It represents the end or completion of something as well as the beginning of something new. It represents unexpected encounters and twists of fate. You never know what is around the next corner.
Symbolism in the Wheel of Fortune Image
This Wheel of Fortune image has some of the traditional Wheel of Fortune symbols, combined with the Native American medicine wheel. At the hub of the wheel is an eight-pointed star (as above so below). The spokes that shoot off from the stars represent spirit. The red vertical spoke represents the red road of the physical on the Native American medicine wheel, starting at the south and moving to the north. The blue horizontal spoke represents the blue road on the Native American medicine wheel, the journey of the spirit. The red and blue lines create a cross that pass over the alchemical symbols of salt, water, mercury and sulphur, representing the magical possibilities available if we choose to seek higher wisdom. The red and blue lines also extend to the outer circle, each touching a letter spelling out TARO, meaning ‘the law of divine will. The letters also spell ROTA, meaning ‘rotation.’ The golden lines shooting from the center star touch the Hebrew letters Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh, called the Tetragrammaton, translated as the ‘most high or the name of God.’ The rainbow emanating from the center represents ‘the whirling rainbow of universal peace’. The hand in the rainbow represents one’s individual destiny. The cycles of the moon surrounding the outside of the wheel represent the cycles of life that are ever-changing. The spirals shooting out from the wheel represent the constant motion of the wheel’s cycles. The animals are part of the Native American medicine wheel. In the east is the eagle, masculine energy, illumination, spirit, the golden door. In the south is the coyote, child energy, innocence and faith. In the west is the black bear, feminine energy, introspection. In the north is the white buffalo, place of wisdom and gratitude. The archangels in the four corners of this image represent the gifts and support that are available to us throughout our lives. They also represent the balancing of the astrological aspects and elements we have to draw from on our journey. The angels offer a star in their hands, symbolizing their guidance and help. The archangel at the bottom right symbolizes Michael, bringing protection; the element is fire - the astrological aspect is Leo. The archangel on the bottom left symbolizes Uriel, bringing peace; the element is earth - the astrological aspect is Taurus. The archangel on the top left symbolizes Raphael, bringing healing; the element is air - the astrological aspect is Aquarius. The archangel at the top right corner symbolizes Gabriel, bringing resurrection; the element is water - the astrological aspect is Scorpio. The planet associated with The Wheel of Fortune is Jupiter, the planet of luck and expansiveness and the chakra is the third chakra (the solar plexus). The Hebrew letter is Kaph, meaning grasping hand.
The Wheel of Fortune as a Lifetime Personality Symbol
As a Lifetime Personality symbol, The Wheel of Fortune represents one who experiences the Wheel of Life to its fullest and can take full advantage of its lessons in fate and destiny. You are more aware than most of how change can transform your life situations and perspectives into a positive experience. You know by being in the hub of all the activity of life, you can live your life from a balanced place. Flexibility is one of your gifts. You are one who can roll with the punches. You learn from changes and you are not afraid to take risks. The Wheel of Fortune personality has a gift for turning challenging experiences around to more fortunate ones. You don’t let life get you down. You are a person of action.
The Wheel of Fortune as a Yearly Growth Symbol
The Wheel of Fortune can be a lucky year, where doors open for you or unexpected opportunities may arise. It’s a supportive time to turn around one’s life to more positive results. If there has been some struggle in the past year, then the struggle will most likely resolve itself and move towards a favorable experience. It is a great time to rid yourself of old ways that don’t work for you anymore. This year has the potential to be expansive and prosperous. It is not a year to be stuck in anything that holds you back (self imposed habits or patterns), for you may miss opportunities. Change is definitely in the air. There can be some pretty big turnarounds this year. Stay in the hub of your wheel.
