Wheel of Fortune Tarot Card Meaning

Wheel of Fortune tarot card symbolism

The Wheel of Fortune is the tenth card of the Major Arcana. Ten closes the run of single digits and opens a new place value: 1 and 0 stand side by side, the Magician's will next to the Fool's boundless possibility. After the Hermit's solitude, life starts moving again under cycles beyond personal control.

In Pamela Colman Smith's drawing a great orange wheel hangs among the clouds in a blue sky. The letters T-A-R-O are written around its outer rim; read in different orders they suggest ROTA (wheel), TORA (law) and TAROT. Between them stand the Hebrew letters Yod-He-Vav-He, the divine name, and on the inner ring are alchemical signs for mercury, sulfur, salt and water. A blue sphinx holding a sword sits on top of the wheel; on the left a serpent, the Egyptian Typhon, slides downward, while on the right the red, jackal-headed Anubis rises. In the four corners, four winged figures read books on the clouds: an angel, an eagle, a lion and a bull, emblems of the fixed signs Aquarius, Scorpio, Leo and Taurus. The wheel turns, yet its hub does not move, and that is the card's secret.

Wheel of Fortune upright meaning

The upright Wheel of Fortune shows a turning point, a moment when circumstances shift. Something that has been stuck for a long time may start moving; an unexpected phone call, a chance meeting or a decision made by someone else may change your course. The card usually indicates a favorable turn, but its deeper message is that no situation stays the same forever.

The Wheel suggests seeing the difference between what you can control and what you cannot. You cannot stop the wheel from turning, but you can notice where you stand on it and act accordingly. Staying close to the hub rather than clinging to the rim, holding on to your values and inner balance, keeps you steady on the way up as well as on the way down.

Wheel of Fortune reversed meaning

The reversed Wheel describes the feeling that things are not going your way, delays, or resistance to developments outside your control. You may be on the descending half of a cycle: a plan postponed, news you were waiting for that has not arrived.

Still, the reversed position does not seal your fate. Often it points to a pattern in which the same mistake keeps recurring: leaving similar jobs for similar reasons, having the same argument with different people. Noticing the pattern is the first step to breaking it. Asking what this change can teach you, instead of resisting it, softens the wheel's reversed face; and the wheel keeps turning.

Wheel of Fortune in love and relationships

In love the Wheel can show unexpected encounters, meetings that look like coincidence, or a relationship moving into a new phase. A relationship that has been treading water for a long time may start to move; a relocation, a job change or a development in the family may lead a couple to a new decision. Someone from the past may reappear.

Reversed, it helps to look at recurring cycles. The same arguments, or the same type of person entering and leaving your life, may be a pattern waiting to be noticed. If the timing does not feel right just now, treat it as a waiting phase, not an ending.

Wheel of Fortune in work and money

At work the Wheel points to a period in which luck and timing play a part. A new offer, a restructuring at your company or a shift in your industry may give your career a new direction. Keeping your résumé current and your connections alive makes it easier to recognize opportunity when it knocks.

With money the card can describe ups and downs. Setting aside a reserve in times of plenty and holding on to hope and a plan in times of scarcity is the wheel's lesson. Reversed, be careful with risky moves that push your luck, and with gamble-like investments entered on the feeling that "this time it will surely pay off."

Wheel of Fortune: astrology and element

In the Golden Dawn system the Wheel of Fortune belongs to Jupiter and the Hebrew letter Kaph, meaning "palm of the hand," and it is associated with the element of fire. Jupiter is the planet of growth, expansion, luck and the search for meaning; traditional astrology calls it the Greater Benefic. The open palm suggests both the share that falls into your hand and the fate that palmists read in it.

Jupiter circles the zodiac in roughly twelve years, staying about a year in each sign. That regular cycle matches the card's image of the wheel. Your Jupiter return, when Jupiter comes back to its natal position (around ages 12, 24, 36), or major Jupiter transits may be times when the Wheel's themes are felt. Fire explains the card's dynamic, optimistic side.

Wheel of Fortune: advice

• Ask yourself honestly where you are on the wheel right now.
• Set aside what you cannot control and direct your effort to what you can.
• Notice a recurring pattern in your life and try doing it differently, just once.
• Put something aside in good times and keep your patience in hard ones.