X – Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune spins eternally, the cosmic mechanism through which all circumstances rise and fall, the great mandala of destiny that governs the cycles of existence. In the Western Mystery Tradition, this card represents the rotation of the universe itself—the ceaseless revolution of worlds within worlds, the spiral dance of galaxies, and the turning of karma that brings each soul its appointed experiences. Assigned the Hebrew letter Kaph (כ), meaning "palm of the hand" or "grasp," the Wheel teaches that fortune can never be held permanently—what the hand grasps today will slip through the fingers tomorrow, and what is lost will return transformed.

On the Tree of Life, The Wheel of Fortune traverses the twenty-first path connecting Chesed (Mercy) to Netzach (Victory). This is the path of the intelligence of conciliation, the rewarding intelligence of those who seek, where the expansive abundance of Jupiter is channeled into the sphere of Venus and emotional experience. The path teaches that the forces of growth and contraction, success and failure, are not random but operate according to cosmic law—what appears as luck is often the working out of patterns seeded in previous cycles. The four figures at the corners of the card—the lion, eagle, man, and bull—represent the fixed signs of the zodiac (Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius, Taurus) and the four elements stabilized, reading sacred texts while the wheel turns beneath them.

Under the planetary influence of Jupiter, The Wheel of Fortune embodies expansion, opportunity, and the benevolent ordering of the cosmos. The serpent descending on one side represents the involutionary force (Set-Typhon, energy descending into matter), while the jackal-headed figure ascending represents the evolutionary force (Hermanubis, consciousness rising through experience). At the top sits the sphinx, the integrated being who has mastered the turning wheel and no longer rises or falls with its rotation. The eight spokes of the wheel connect to the eight festivals of the year and the eightfold path of the Buddha. The letters TARO/ROTA/TORA spell not only "Tarot" but also Latin "rota" (wheel), Hebrew "Torah" (law), and the Egyptian god "Ator" (Hathor). In readings, The Wheel announces that circumstances are about to shift—the only question is whether you will ride the wheel with wisdom or be dragged by it in ignorance.