The Wheel of Fortune
a.k.a. The Lord of the Forces of Life
card number: 10
rulership: jupiter
hebrew letter: kaph
translation: hand
The path between Chesed (mercy) and Netzach (victory). This position seems to represent ROTA, the wheel, quite well. Associated with the wheel are notions of Destiny, Fortune, Karma, Samsara, and Chance. Life is a game and through mercy comes victory: chance and fate mingle to weave a grand tapestry of Life which includes us all. There is not a "sine wave" thread that is apart from the richness of the weave.
the number 10: Earth; Samsara; Reincarnation; (1 + 2 + 3 + 4) The Tetractys; Yod; number of the sephiroth; Commandments; Malkuth. This is the number of new beginnings based on a harmonious conclusion to previous activities. It is the lower exponent of the Monad, the created world. It is the individual: unique power as it appears in harmonious context with the other uniqueness of the world. It is great fortune.
Jupiter: Represents the point at which a tendency to blur the distinction among the other planets occurs. It is all encompassing and like the peacock's tail produces the full panoply of influences at once (as contrasted to the sun which is the epitome of specialized individualization). A planet of expansion and fortune indicative of all manner of growth. Also: gaining wealth, position, or friendship; gaining good health; and, ironically, becoming invisible.
Kaph: Signifies every object that is hollow in general and the half-closed hand of a Human in particular. As a grammatical sign it is the symbol of reflection and assimilation and typifies the assimilative nature and the passing life. It is a kind of mold, receiving and communicating indifferently all forms. The movement which it expresses is that of simility and of analogy.
Kaph is Q + P (Peh), which is 20 + 800 = 820 = 10 = 1.
10 and 1 have both been surveyed (see the magician for 1).
In readings:
Dignified: Change of fortune. The beginning of a new cycle. Progress. Advancement. Improvement. The card of good fortune and karmic change (but recall: all karma--"good" or "bad"--keeps us chained to Samsara!).
Reversed: As above but further away. Resistance to change is inevitable sometimes (depending on surrounding cards).
Mythological links: Pluto as blind giver of wealth (NO DOUBT: he didn't see those few people sneaking back in line again and again while pushing their way past the majority of the rest of us). Njord as the guardian of wealth. Jupiter and Zeus, expansive and beneficent bringers of good fortune.
Metaphysical musings: Gotta' love the wheel--always in motion it never stops. I suppose you could place your bets, but the ball never lands in a slot (it is all elaborate smoke and mirrors). Rota is what pulls the individual away from Nirvana. The fortunes it brings are what fuel desire, and desire is what perpetuates suffering. Ask any good Buddhist and they'll tell you all about that!
The Wheel is a mandala, enabling the would-be magus to master the polarities within him/her self. It represents cycles of all sorts esp. life, death, rebirth (quite likely our punishment of "Hell" unless we can escape Samsara). Its motion is that of this process of creation: the maintenance of reality. It seems to me that the Wheel is the magus on the outside, where the Magician is the magus on the inside. Do not be confused: 10 = 1! (the internal is the external is the internal is the external is the...and this is the true nature of the Wheel).
ORAT
ROTA
ATOR
TARO |
