Big Wheels Keep On Turnin'

[Eruditus]

Since I am new here I will offer a gift as a sign of goodwill. I'm a big fan of Joseph Campbell, and in an interview with Bill Moyers he described the Wheel of Fortune in a way that enlightened me. Hopefully by sharing this tidbit I will allow Mr. Campbell to gift you with that insight.

Most often Fortune betokens, well, Fortune. Good luck's coming your way. Sometimes it foreshadows ill fortune. It all depends, as you know, on Fortune's placement.

What I would not have realized about this important Major Card without Mr. Campbell's help is that Fortune contains both a promise--and a warning.

Have you ever wondered what the creatures attached to the rim of the Wheel signify? On the bottom is a demon. On top of the rim is a creature that looks a whole lot better and nicer. But soon the demon will ascend to the Wheel's zenith, and he will be the attractive creature. And the attractive creature will descend to the Wheel's nadir, where he will be abased.

The message is that if you're on the bottom of the Wheel, don't worry, your luck will improve--that's just the nature of life. Conversely, if you're at the top of the Wheel, if your life is a Shangri-La of lovers and money and good feelings--watch out, you're on your way down. Again, that's just the transitory nature of Life.

But the real power of the Wheel lies in what it offers you: a chance to transcend the flux of becoming and passing away. In that sense it is highly reminiscent of the Buddhist concept of Nirvana. Now, "nirvana" is a Sanksrit word which means "blowing out, extinguishing." If you want to get a good mental picture of the Buddhist heaven, imagine a bonfire's last few coals flaring briefly in the wind...and then winking out forever.

This is the Heaven represented by the Wheel of Fortune. This card says, "Don't be on the rim of the Wheel like these poor stupid animals. For then you will constantly transition between states of abasement and exaltation. Instead *place yourself at the center of the Wheel*...center yourself, escape the flux, and there you will find your bliss. Once you find your bliss, you will be at peace no matter what, you will enjoy life in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth. You will be above the dominion of Fortune. You will be the Master of Fortune." And isn't this part of what the Major Arcana signify? Heroic mastery of the soul's lessons?

Indeed, Mr. Campbell likened the Wheel of Fortune to the promise of unconditional love inherent in the marriage vow.

I hope this miniature essay has helped to expand your awareness of this important and powerful card.

 

[AJ]

welcome Eruditus, and thank you for sharing another way of looking at the Wheel.

 

[afrosaxon]

Deep.

Thx for sharing, Stephen!

T.

 

[Moonbow]

Nice post and very thoughtful.

The Wheel can turn both ways, it can speed up and slow down, and you need to hang on tight because just as you approach the top you can be thrown downwards.

I've never seen it to mean good fortune alone, but the analogy of striving to stay in the center is a good one.

 

[Eruditus]

Thank you all for reading and responding to my post. The Wheel is one of those cards that I've gotten attached to, and I think I've been fascinated by it in one way or the other my entire life. The idea that there's some divine King of Disks sitting in heaven who can bless me with just a wave of the scepter....that idea alternately torments and comforts me. The Wheel is truly an enigmatic, life-changing card.

Moonbow, you blessed me by amplifying my concept of the Wheel. Believe it or not, I never thought of it as turning at all! Maybe because I intuited that what I want is to perch on the Wheel's zenith, and then have the Wheel just stop, freezing me there in a hallucinogenic gelatin of good luck.

Carrying that concept further--the idea of the Wheel moving--I am reminded of a ride at the fair that terrorized me in my youth. It was called...what was it called? I forget, but it was a massive loop. And the ride operators would halt it at the top, and you would just hang there, gravity causing your body to strain alarmingly against its life-preserving restraints, the blood pooling in your face and causing your tongue and eyes to bulge, and you wonder when that redneck fool of a ride-operator would hit that lever which would restore equilibrium, which would lower you safely from this lofty dangerous height, and ground you comfortably with your friends, the rest of humanity, who are not in danger of falling from a great height. But when you're up there, with the Fortunate, at the top of the Wheel, you look down at all the normal people and you hate them for a brief white-hot moment, because THEY are safe, THEY won't fall, can't fall. This is the despair of the Lucky. The message of this seems to be, There is the despair of the people at the bottom of the Wheel, and there is the despair of the people at the top.

I've already spilled enough ink on this card to show that it fascinates me. Anyway, thank you all for contributing to my understanding.

Warmly,
Stephen

 

[starrystarrynight]

What goes around comes around with the Wheel, so don't forget its karmic nature. It is by our own hands that this Wheel is spun. What we do today affects our tomorrows' outcomes.

 

[Eruditus]

Hello Starrystarrynight,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post.

One of the reasons I love the Wheel so much is because it is karmic. I'm getting to the point in my life where I'm very curious about my karma. For example, how much of it do I experience as a result of past-life activities? What's my karmic profile? Questions like that interest me, and I suppose that's why I'm fascinated by the Wheel.

 

[GoddessArtemis]

I really like that description. I think I have a pretty good handle on the interpretation of the Wheel, but the visual that you painted is very helpful and makes the card more accessible/approachable. Good post, and welcome to AT!

GA

 

[Eruditus]

Dear Goddess,

Thank you very much for writing. I know how irritating the Enthused Neophyte can be (have you ever talked to a recently born-again Christian?), and you all have done a great job at welcoming me.

I guess what I'm hoping for is one of those situations where the Student accidentally helps the Master. We're all unique, and bring different disciplines to bear on the occult. And seeing as how I am in a volcanic fury of learning right about now, I figured that all you guys could benefit.

I bet you have an excellent handle on the Wheel. I don't. It's one of those cards that I'm attached to, yet don't conventionally understand. Oh, I'm great for off-the-wall characterizations or left-field analyses. But the conventional foozles me. What can I say? I've learned to trust my intuition (my astrology is a very wet one). Still, I am one of those precocious, Icarus-esque students who always want to fly too close to the Sun (my astrological father).

Again, thanks for your thoughts.

Warmly,
Stephen

 

[Honda Civic]

This is the Heaven represented by the Wheel of Fortune. This card says, "Don't be on the rim of the Wheel like these poor stupid animals. For then you will constantly transition between states of abasement and exaltation. Instead *place yourself at the center of the Wheel*...center yourself, escape the flux, and there you will find your bliss. Once you find your bliss, you will be at peace no matter what, you will enjoy life in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth. You will be above the dominion of Fortune. You will be the Master of Fortune." And isn't this part of what the Major Arcana signify? Heroic mastery of the soul's lessons?

I thought this was informative-- thank you, Eruditus.

I have a qualm about one place, however-- where you talk about being the heroic master of Fortune. I don't really think there's anything heroic about being in the middle... and when you become heroic, well, then you're back on the wheel again. It sounds a lot like the apotheosis of the swords mentality to me-- how heros and drama queens fare in the ten of swords, getting on an apex (martyrdom) and a nadir (death) at the same time. The whole point of being in the middle is that you're neither a hero or a loser. It's a lot more modest.

I agree with you in your ferris wheel-esque analogy-- I get an "oh s___" feeling when I pull this card, too.