The Wheel of Fortune Tarot Card
The Wheel of Fortune Meaning
A card to sum up turns of life that make all the difference is the Wheel of Fortune card. It understands and follows the rhythms of the Universe, the cycles we obey and live by, and all those things that we cannot control until we learn our deepest lessons of the Soul. It represents the circle we make moving from pain towards happiness and vice versa, and in its upright position typically stands for positive outcomes, unexpected, new, instinctive choices that will bring fruits our way, and show us the right path to follow. It informs us of knowledge we are meant to gather in order to control our destiny and take the wheel, seeing our power and responsibility instead of allowing others to have power over us. Our goal when we open this symbol for a certain phase of life, is to see where our ego might stand in the way and where our responsibility towards Self is to be pleased in order for us to truly rise, as free emotional beings brave to face any future that might come.
Love
The field of relationships sparks our demons whenever two Souls meet on deepest intimate levels. We can expect the meaning of the Wheel of Fortune to show how we will overcome anything with our love for the other strong and motivating, or how things will turn in their natural order, reminding us of patterns and family matters we haven’t yet resolved. The true love this card seeks first, is the love for Self, and while it might bring incredible loving surprises with those we love, it shows our need to understand the processes between us and the other person, so we can circle an energetic whole without anyone getting hurt in the meantime.
Career
One of the most beneficent signals when opened in a career reading, Wheel of Fortune is the card you wish to see when you are ready to change your job, to move on into a new office, or ask for a raise. This is where things turn to our benefit so we can grow, and where our working routine comes down to projects that need to be finished in order for next ones to begin. Pay attention to long-term commitments that haven’t been dealt with yet, and realize that the flow of time, emotion, and motivation defines your next step and the results it will bring, even if you try to rationalize your decisions.
Health
When a positive turn is needed, Wheel of Fortune is an excellent card to pull out in your health reading. Still, it is primarily a reminder of the routine our bodies need, of natural cycles that we cannot avoid by overthinking and trying to bargain every day, and reminds us of all those things we did and did not do to work on our overall wellbeing. This card requires time for rest, for healing, methods that are somewhat unorthodox and for us to have faith in things that come from the shadows. It offers salvation and knowledge, found on the other side of our own fears and darkness, showing us the way to resolve even the most disturbing chronic conditions if we dig deep enough through the path of our Soul and emotions we buried into our physical body.
The Wheel of Fortune Reversed
The Wheel of Fortune is in a way similar in both positions, for it faces us with the stress of change and the natural synchronicities of life that we typically don’t want to embrace in its reversed position. The difference here lies in the fact that we are trying to fight against the tides, against the natural order of things, and fear progress, transformation or death. It is a warning sign that we might not be ready for our own choices just yet, as if we haven’t consulted our heart on matters we are seeking information about. It shows things we need to get out of, negative loops that have kept us in one position for too long, and the faith we have to remember in order to outgrow circumstances that limits us.
The Wheel of Fortune Time Line
Past - When connected to the past, this card represents things that happened in their natural order even when we don’t see them this way. Releasing us of heavy duty and the burden of personal responsibility, it shows how fate and much larger forces had their intent to follow, and we aren’t to blame for things that reached their ending point or need to be thrown out into trash. Depending on the rest of the reading, it might show of a circled, rounded up unit of time when an important project or relationship were finished. It reminds us that we are to leave the past in the past, where it belongs, instead of carrying unresolved emotions from it into each new adventure we embark on.
Present - Things are set in motion as we speak and think about them. Even if the first step hasn’t been taken yet, it is only a matter of days, and it will be our task to understand and fully grasp the magnitude of the choices we are making right now. The Wheel of Fortune won’t show in the present time reading unless we are really ready to let go, care for our breathing and allow situations to take us on a ride until we see where we can truly affect our own growth. It is a card of lucky turnouts and circumstances that can also represent the reading in question, and shows stability of character in one individual that is needed to reach the destination, step by step, with dedication and respect for belief in higher forces.
Future - Things will be shaken to their core, changed and shifted in ways that are defined by our current readiness to learn. When our future shows a surprising change of course such as this one, it also reminds us to not be lazy, to keep on moving towards the goal ourselves, and to fully respect God and the higher authority that gave us the path to follow in the first place. It shows the growth needed to grasp the situation and the cause and effect that will bring us to the point of interest. It also shows the change of personality that is necessary in order for us to jump over outer authorities and find our authentic calling within, so we can be the master of our own fortune.
The Wheel of Fortune History
The drawings and depictions of the Wheel of Fortune throughout history have varied greatly, and even today, the sources differ and interpretations may be many. Symbols weren’t commonly used on this card from the start, but rather people who were either centered and in the middle of the wheel, or falling of it and climbing it in a constant loop. As if to show the essence of Self, it always had human, or half-human characters in it, some of them blindfolded and lost, others wise, old or crowned kings with one role to follow. Half-humans were often half-sphynx, representing the search for knowledge incorporated deep into our being, but also the core of instinct and our animal nature that has been overcome by awareness and light. Symbols came as an addition to the factual nature of humans, the four elements or those depicting fixed signs of the zodiac (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius) as bearers of stagnation and change, life and death.
