Wheel of Fortune: Your
Destiny
Where are you today in your life? Is it unfolding the way
you would like? Do you wonder if your experiences are just a twist of fate or
part of a larger plan? What is your destiny?
Spin the “Wheel of Fortune” for some answers.
“The fundamental building blocks of
nature, the wheel, is the circle of life flowing through all aspects of
existence.” Anodea Judith “Wheels of
Life” Llewellyn, 1988
The Wheel of Fortune in a Tarot deck
essentially symbolizes the ups and downs of a person’s life experiences,
including phases of having to deal with good and evil. Where did this concept of “fortune” originate?
Why is it included in the Tarot? As an
art form, early illustrations and little paintings of the Wheel of Fortune are
found in many old manuscripts from Medieval times and throughout the
Renaissance. In these, the Roman goddess Fortuna
turns a crank and four figures, who are attached around the edge of the wheel, are
seen rising and falling and one is being crushed underneath. Constant change and
instability of the human condition is reflected in these illustrations. Over
the centuries, the Wheel of Fortune has been interpreted as an allegorical
symbol of cycles of ever changing circumstances, the result of chance, fate, happenstance,
or just plain luck. In many illustrations, these persons are either moving
upward or downward seemingly enduring or mastering life’s lessons, or being
defeated in tackling the challenges of life’s complex activities. It’s like gambling.
In the game Wheel of Fortune, you choose
a number and take a chance, hoping to win on the spin of the wheel if it stops
on the number you chose. If not, you may be unhappy to lose and either keep
putting more money foolishly on your bet, or go home broke. The future is
unpredictable.
“The Wheel of Fortune in the Tarot and in
European tradition in general, has long symbolized the role of chance in life.” Brian
Williams, “The Book of Fools,” Llewellyn, 2002
Medieval European imagery
of the Wheel of Fortune
Petrarch’s Poem
In
Petrarch’s poem, De Remediis Utriusque Fortunae, in a 15th centuryMedieval manuscript, we see the Wheel of
Fortune is illustrated in several little paintings. (See the excellent essay by Michael J. Hurst on Petrarch’s poem, including
the paintings.) The goddess Fortuna is in the background cranking a wheel and people are either going up
or down on it. In the picture, “Prosperity,” Fortuna’s face is white on one side and black on the other. People on
the left side of the wheel are moving upward and experience good fortune with prosperity
and happiness. While on the other side, people are subjected to bad fortune and
experience betrayal, adversity, hate, and pain. Some illustrations have a
little mock king at the top with ass-ears.
Wheel of Fortune in
Carmina Burana
(This is from a
collection of poems from “Benediktbeuren”, a Latin manuscript of the 12th
century; the figure of the Wheel of Fortune illustrates its first page. The poems are
satirical and moralizing about gambling, drinking, and bawdy love songs, and
other ribald tales. The following is a translation from the album, Carmina Burana; music by Carl Orff).
Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi
I bemoan
the wounds of fortune
On fortune’s
throne
I used
to sit raised up,
The many-colored
flowers of prosperity;
Though I
may have flourished
Happy
and blessed,
Now if I
fall from the peak of glory.
The
wheel of Fortune turns
I go
down demeaned;
Another
is raised up;
Sits the
King at the summit
Let him
fear ruin
For
under the axis is written
The
queen Hecuba.
Visconti - Wheel of
Fortune: Visconti-Sforza
Tarot (Pierpont Morgan Library, 15th century)
In the
illustration, a young kingly figure sits at the top but upon closer examination,
he has ass-ears. This card is about the futile desire for power. The figure on
the left aspires to power (also wearing ass-ears) and the figure on the right (with
an ass-tail) falls from a position of power. The figure on the bottom has lost
everything. Goddess Fortuna is in the
center forever turning the wheel. We can take this as a warning about the
dangers of “asinine ignorance” and “animal instinct” in the climb to the top.
(Notes from Visconti Tarot by Giordano Berti and Tiberio Gonard, Lo Scarobeo, 2002.)
Ship of Fools
In “The Book of Fools Tarot” (Llewellyn,2002) Brian Williams has portrayed at
least 16 images of the Tarot discovered in Sabastian Brant’s illustrated 15th
century book The Ship of Fools” (Das Narrenshiff, 1494). He has re-drawn
the Wheel of Fortune much as it was in the original woodcut. Brant’s book is a
satirical allegory of moralistic poems about the follies and vices of humans. (By the way, Plato wrote about the dysfunctional crew on the ship
of fools in Book VI of The Republic.) On the left side of the wheel, a fool, a man with an ass’s
behind is falling, and an ass with a man’s lower body is rising on the other
side. A long-eared donkey straddles the top (the Fool). in the Tarot of
Marseilles, the Wheel of Fortune is similar.
(There is a possibility
Brant’s book was seen by Hieronymous Bosch as he also painted a version of the
ship of fools as an allegory of follies and vices.)
Other similar wheels
The Wheel of Samsara: Symbol of cycles of life in Hindu
and Buddhist thought
In Hindu
and Buddhist teachings, “Maya is a projection of consciousness…” Anodea Judith
The word
“Maya” describes the illusion of separateness. To seek enlightenment means to
gain release from the Wheel of Samsara and stop going around and around in an endless
fog of illusions. In Hindu thought, this represents a belief in cycles of life,
death and rebirth, forever occurring over and over, where one is reborn again
and again, according to one’s karma. Hence, the believer is always seeking
escape. Cycles of life’s experiences are constantly changing in an endless
rotation. Some seek Nirvana, which is realized in overcoming a sense of
separateness and experiencing the unity of oneness.
Tibetan Wheel of Life
-Bhavachakra
In
Tibetan Buddhist paintings of the Wheelof Life, we see, on the white half of the circle, that people move to
higher states of existence of happiness and prosperity. Contrary to that, on
the black half, people are experiencing miserable conditions because of
negative actions and false desires. They are being drug along by demons. In
Buddhism, the desire to have this and that and the other leads to suffering and
sorrow. Release comes from understanding the consequences of impermanence of
everything and letting go of all desire
Six realms of human activities are
shown on the wheel as an allegory of people’s lives.
1.
Realm
of the gods – a
temporary paradise where prosperity is achieved by good deeds but, in their
vanity and haughtiness, the people don’t recognize the suffering of others.
2.
Realm
of titans –
endless warring against the gods and each other because of ambition and
competition, and the will to power.
3.
World
of men - people
are trapped in egoism and ignorance and experience endless cycles of birth, sickness
and death.
4.
World
of animals –
beasts of burden are examples of oppression, who eat each other, and are stuck
in mindless misery.
5.
Realm
of greedy ghosts
– Strange beings suffering from insatiable hunger/thirst for more. Realm of addictions,
and obsession where they never get what they want.
6.
Realm
of Hell – places
of hot and cold torment where people are tortured for evil deeds, and consumed
with hate and anger.
The
wheel is held by Yama, a monstrous symbol of impermanence; the Lord of the Dead,
who weighs the deeds of the deceased. Buddha is seen in various places and
postures on the wheel and brings the flame of light and jewels of spiritual
life. He points to the moon of hope and possible release from suffering.
Buddha
taught that anyone could attain enlightenment by expressing the spiritual
jewels of the Four Noble Truths:
1.
Truth
of suffering: living righteously
2.
Truth
of origin of suffering: restraining the “monkey mind” of turbulent thoughts
3.
Truth
of the goal: overcoming suffering by eliminating egotistical desires
4.
Truth
of the path: expressing compassion and practice of meditation
(Notes
from Ghogyam Trungpa, Cutting Through
Spiritual Materialism, Shambhala, 1973)
In Zen
Buddhism, the practice is more an exercise in logic in distinguishing reality
from unreality.
"It takes
tremendous effort to work one’s way through the difficulties of the path and
actually get into the situation of life thoroughly and properly." Chogyam Trungpa,
Cutting
Through Spiritual Materialism
The Wheel of Fortune in the Waite
deck in present time
In the
popular Waite deck, we see different symbols on the Wheel of Fortune card,
which are Egyptian rather than Medieval, and so represent the mystery of life.
The Sphinx on top indicates a more mystical approach pertaining to the mystery
of the Self. Who am I? What am I? What is my purpose in this life? Do I have a
purpose? Rachael Pollack discusses the meaning of the figures on this wheel in
her book, Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom.
She sees the snake as Set, the god of evil who brings death. The jackal
headed man is Anubis, the giver of new life; the guide of souls. The sphinx is
Horus, god of resurrection and secrets of life.
“Life is powerful, chaotic,
surging with energy. Give way to it and Horus, the god of resurrection with
bring new life out of the chaos.”
Rachael Pollack, Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom
Evolution and
involution- another way to think about the Wheel of fortune
In “Meditations on the Tarot” by Anonymous,
the author discusses the meaning of the rotation of the wheel from rising up,
to falling down, in terms of evolution
and involution. Evolution begins with
a primitive state and rises to a higher and higher status, while involution
means turning in on oneself – the spiritual inner path of the soul, so to
speak. He talks about Teilhard Chardin’s proposal of “a prototype for all
beings.” He sees life arising from a potential state at a higher level in an
emanationist cosmology where creation is flowing from a so-called God-head.
Plato’s “theory of forms” in the Republic,
discusses the reality of the Idea
behind the material form, or model, as in the blueprint of a ship, and that
these forms are reflected imperfectly in human activities. For example, a
drawing of a circle may never be quite perfect but it exemplifies the Idea of
circularity.
The human condition
The
Wheel of Fortune is all about the
cycles of the human condition: destiny, fate, change, chance, luck, surprises
and unexpected events.
“…Men constantly create their own
self-made conditions... “Foremost
in our minds at this moment is of course the enormously increased power of
human destruction; that we are able to destroy all organic life on earth and
shall probably be able one day to destroy even the earth itself.” Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition
What should we do when we receive this card in a reading? The
lesson is to be prepared for sudden unexpected situations and shocking
surprises. “Hang onto your hat’” and be open to new opportunities that may come
into your life. Don’t be afraid to act on whatever might come up. Your goals
may change and you may go in a different direction. New people may come into
your life and everything takes on a different meaning. Whatever happens, it’s
time to “go with the flow.”
References:
Ship of Fools Tarot,
Brian Williams, Llewellyn, 2002
The Human Condition,
Hannah Arendt, “University
of Chicago Press, 1958
Cutting Through
Spiritual Materialism, Chogyam Trungpa, Shambhala, 1973
78 Degrees of Wisdom,
Rachel Pollack, Aquarian
Press, 1980
