X · Wheel of Fortune
Key points of this lesson
Card number X
The number X stands for completion and a fresh start — the turning point of fate and its cycles. As the tenth Major Arcana card it marks one cycle closing and another opening.
The Wheel of Fortune
The great wheel is the heart of the card, standing for the ceaseless cycles, swings and openings of a life. It is the unpredictability of fate, and the rise and fall a person lives through inside it.
The letters ROTA / TARO on the wheel
Round the outer rim the Latin letters T-A-R-O alternate with the Hebrew letters יהוה (YHVH, the divine name). Read in sequence they spell TARO (tarot) or the Latin ROTA (wheel), hinting at the cycles of life, fate and knowledge, with divine law running through every turn.
Alchemical symbols on the wheel
The four symbols inside the wheel stand for sulphur, mercury, water and salt in alchemy, or the four elements. They mark the basic make-up of the cosmos and its processes of transformation: everything is being changed and recombined.
The sphinx
The blue sphinx at the top of the wheel holds a sword, standing for wisdom, balance and command over fate — riding change through understanding rather than submitting to it.
The serpent (Typhon)
The serpent descending on the left is Typhon of Greek myth, identified in the Hermetic tradition with the Egyptian god Set, standing for decline, dissolution and the downward force. It is the descending phase of fate — a reminder that change can bring hardship.
Rising Anubis (Hermanubis)
The red jackal-headed creature rising on the right is Hermanubis, a fusion of Hermes and Anubis, standing for rising intelligence, rebirth and change for the better. It is the upward trend in fate, promising opportunity and progress.
Winged angel (man)
The winged man in the upper left is one of the four living creatures, standing for Aquarius and for human intellect and feeling. It marks understanding the turns of fate by thinking and sensing, and learning from them.
The same symbol also appears in
- XXI The World · four creatures · The same meaning as the four corners of the World.
Winged eagle
The winged eagle in the upper right is one of the four living creatures, standing for Scorpio, insight and transcendence — surveying the swings of fate from a great height and drawing deep understanding from them.
The same symbol also appears in
- XXI The World · four creatures · The same meaning as the four corners of the World.
Winged ox
The winged ox in the lower left is one of the four living creatures, standing for Taurus, strength, steadiness and hard work — holding firm and patient through change, accumulating results by effort.
The same symbol also appears in
- XXI The World · four creatures · The same meaning as the four corners of the World.
Winged lion
The winged lion in the lower right is one of the four living creatures, standing for Leo, courage, strength and ardour — meeting the challenges of fate with inner nerve and leadership.
The same symbol also appears in
- XXI The World · four creatures · The same meaning as the four corners of the World.
Sky background
Most of the card is pale blue, standing for clarity, calm and spiritual breadth. However changeable fate is, inner stillness and wisdom can carry you through.
Pale blue = clarity, calm, spirit
Main colour of the wheel
The orange-gold of the wheel stands for vitality, warmth and creative power, and for wealth and success. The turn of fate may well bring good openings and a rich harvest.
Orange / gold = vitality, opportunity, abundance
Correspondence of the Wheel (Jupiter / fire)
Astrologically the Wheel of Fortune answers to Jupiter — expansion, luck and opportunity — and is usually assigned to fire, the energy that drives change and forward motion. Every turn of the wheel opens new possibilities.