nisaba
Here we have trump number 10, nice and central in the Major Arcana, and central as central does, it is not just the Wheel, but the hub around which the rest of the Major Arcana circles. And what is a stellar equivalent of a wheel or a hub? The wheel would be a spiral galaxy, seen in the round, and the hub would be the central cluster, where stars are close together and space is warped by heat and gravity and plasma-exchanges into a very strange set of dimensions. And gosh, what is slap-bang in the middle of this card? A spinning spiral galaxy, streamers (technically, "arms") of stars being flung off by the spin into outer space.
Often in this deck, human figures are defined by being comparatively "empty" dark-space, the Hanged Man, which we've already talked about, is a very striking example, possibly my current favourite. In this case we have another one, the figure of a woman visible only because she is the emptiness and darkness itself ("She is like a cat in the night, / And then She is the darkness", as Fleetwood Mac might have sung if they had seen this card). The bubbling, fiery galaxy rests on her left hip under her raised left arm, she seems to be dancing, her eyes "blindfolded" by a strip of interstellar cloud.
Around her and through everything else are gigantic whorls, like the Fingerprint of God (don't use that phrase, it's the working-title of one of the books I'm scratching away at). I've always been struck by the fingerprint-like quality of this card: is it a fingerprint that is so huge, or a whole galaxy that is so small? I am reminded of a story by HG Wells in which the central character started shrinking, slipping between molecules, then atoms, then seeing the components of the atoms grow to be as large as planetary systems, then being on the inhabited planets within, then seeing them grow giant-size around him as he shrinks further. The Fingernail of God, indeed.
Around the Wheel of the galaxy is some Latin text. My Latin is atrocious and I don't have a dictionary: Kay or Chris, are you still here? A translation would add to our understanding of the card. I see word-components that remind me of royalty, but that's about the best I can do, I'm afraid <blush>.
The discussion of this card (as Quantum Mechanics) refers to the duality of wave-particle existence (the whorls of a gigantic intergalactic fingerprint could easily be ripples on an equally enormous "pond" of universal substance), interference patterns, and irrepressible movement in very strange ways. And the Wheel is indeed irrepressible. It doesn't wait on our pleasure, but just as we sit astride it rolls, tipping us off, or it raises us up, or it just runs us over. We have minimal control over Wheel situations in our life - the lesson of the Wheel is in fact about human powerlessness: no matter what wee do there are some things that strong minds or strong bodies or strong political power or strong military power simply can't control, movements and changes beyond our grasp that will just keep happening. the only control he have is to recognise the motion of the Wheel for what it is, and scramble to change out positions so as to not be run over and crushed.
Are you waiting for the Wheel to turn in your favour? You'll be waiting a long time - find out how it is turning and change yourself to fit it, because it will never change to fit you.
Often in this deck, human figures are defined by being comparatively "empty" dark-space, the Hanged Man, which we've already talked about, is a very striking example, possibly my current favourite. In this case we have another one, the figure of a woman visible only because she is the emptiness and darkness itself ("She is like a cat in the night, / And then She is the darkness", as Fleetwood Mac might have sung if they had seen this card). The bubbling, fiery galaxy rests on her left hip under her raised left arm, she seems to be dancing, her eyes "blindfolded" by a strip of interstellar cloud.
Around her and through everything else are gigantic whorls, like the Fingerprint of God (don't use that phrase, it's the working-title of one of the books I'm scratching away at). I've always been struck by the fingerprint-like quality of this card: is it a fingerprint that is so huge, or a whole galaxy that is so small? I am reminded of a story by HG Wells in which the central character started shrinking, slipping between molecules, then atoms, then seeing the components of the atoms grow to be as large as planetary systems, then being on the inhabited planets within, then seeing them grow giant-size around him as he shrinks further. The Fingernail of God, indeed.
Around the Wheel of the galaxy is some Latin text. My Latin is atrocious and I don't have a dictionary: Kay or Chris, are you still here? A translation would add to our understanding of the card. I see word-components that remind me of royalty, but that's about the best I can do, I'm afraid <blush>.
The discussion of this card (as Quantum Mechanics) refers to the duality of wave-particle existence (the whorls of a gigantic intergalactic fingerprint could easily be ripples on an equally enormous "pond" of universal substance), interference patterns, and irrepressible movement in very strange ways. And the Wheel is indeed irrepressible. It doesn't wait on our pleasure, but just as we sit astride it rolls, tipping us off, or it raises us up, or it just runs us over. We have minimal control over Wheel situations in our life - the lesson of the Wheel is in fact about human powerlessness: no matter what wee do there are some things that strong minds or strong bodies or strong political power or strong military power simply can't control, movements and changes beyond our grasp that will just keep happening. the only control he have is to recognise the motion of the Wheel for what it is, and scramble to change out positions so as to not be run over and crushed.
Are you waiting for the Wheel to turn in your favour? You'll be waiting a long time - find out how it is turning and change yourself to fit it, because it will never change to fit you.