The Wheel of Fortune
"Maybe So, Maybe Not"
By Geraldine Amaral
"Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too sorrowful in misfortune.” (Socrates)
EACH and
EVERY card in the Tarot pack contains a special gift, a lesson or a healing
message. This gift is not just the
meaning of a card or what the various symbols on the card stand for; rather, it
is the deeper, esoteric doctrine of the card that can teach us about the inner
processes of the psyche and how to strengthen its untapped power.
By meditating on a card or by writing about a card (having an imaginary
dialogue with the figure(s) on the card, for example), we can absorb that
teaching and raise our own energy or vibration to improve the quality of our
lives. The goal is to activate the
archetypal wisdom associated with the card and embed its teaching into our
unconscious mind.
In the
Tarot’s Major Arcana, Key #10 is the Wheel
of Fortune. The teaching of the
Wheel of Fortune is one of the most important lessons that we can learn about
life. In its basic interpretation,
it portrays a time of change, movement or a desire to progress and move forward.
It may portend a turning point, a change of direction or a period of
growth and evolution. The Wheel
represents the entire spectrum of life, from triumph to disaster, from success
to defeat. It depicts the continual
cycles of life, the flux of human events: birth,
growth, death, rebirth and all the irregular phases in between -- stagnation,
slow progress and energy bursts. These
cycles can be applied to any and all aspects of life -- health, career,
finances, relationships -- anything that is subject to cyclicity.
Furthermore, the number "10" includes the numerals 1 + 0.
In numerology, 1 indicates the beginning of a new cycle, whereas 0
represents the completion of another cycle.
Therefore, the number 10 implies hope that the wisdom and life
experiences gained in the previous life cycle (0) will carry over to the new
cycle (1). The outer images of the
Wheel include the Sphinx at the top of the wheel (wisdom), the descending
serpent and the ascending Egyptian god, Hermes-Aubis which together illustrate
the cyclical nature of life; the four mystical figures correspond to the four
elements. These images alone render
powerful symbolism.
In addition,
each Tarot image operates as an archetype, a universal human experience, and
therefore has both a negative "pole" and a positive "pole."
We think of the positive pole as the gift
of the archetype and the negative pole as the shadow
of the archetype. The gift of the
Wheel of Fortune teaches us to accept the cyclicity of life, enabling us to find
some advantage or benefit from each and every life experience (even the most
challenging). This gift allows us to
take responsibility for our lives, without blaming others.
This gift allows us to see ourselves as part of the flow of life, with
all its ups and downs.
The shadow
of the Wheel of Fortune conveys the idea of victimization, and lack of inner
strength. Individuals caught in the
shadow of the Wheel of Fortune may be chronic "people pleasers", may
feel destroyed by adversity, may feel stuck, may lack the energy to
follow-through on projects and challenges. These
individuals often blame others for their problems.
Such individuals often get "snagged" on life's problems,
exaggerating and over-reacting to a difficulty.
In the gift of the Wheel of Fortune, an individual would operate proactively;
in the shadow of the Wheel of Fortune, an individual would operate reactively.
Thus, the
esoteric wisdom of the Wheel of Fortune invites us to take life as it comes, without
attachment, to simply observe. This
is a major challenge for most of us. However,
if we can understand that the outside of the Wheel symbolizes the external world
of our lives, we can also understand that the center of the Wheel symbolizes the
tranquility and peace that is inside each of us.
As the outer rim of the wheel is moving, traveling over both smooth and
rough terrain, the very center of the wheel is where we learn to accept
circumstances and change. Here we
learn about non-attachment to the ups and downs of life; we learn to be a good
"witness"; we learn to flow with the changeable quality of existence.
If the Wheel spoke, it would remind us that "Today's adversity is
tomorrow's opportunity." Through
the Wheel's symbolism, we can teach ourselves to practice non-attachment to the
ups and downs of life, to find our center of inner calm – no matter what.
Like our own spiritual core, the wheel's center holds serenity and peace.
A Tarot
reading in general can assist you in seeing the "big picture" of your
life. The Wheel of Fortune, in
particular can demonstrate a way to name and reframe an experience -- to see
singular events as part of the whole. It
can show us a way to embody an opportunity to develop or expand an aspect of the
self. It could show us a path for
overcoming a life challenge. It
allows us to see the larger picture, and gives perspective on experiences and
events. It shows how to depart from
the present moment, the present situation and see life as a whole, so that each
experience is not a separate piece,
but rather a pattern of connected
events.
Like
a Zen puzzle, the Wheel of Fortune poses such questions as:
What have I learned from the challenges and adversity of the past?
Have I changed or grown from my life experiences?
Have my past mistakes enabled me to live more successfully, to be more
proactive and to live more happily? In
such a highly evolved state, you decide how you will view the events,
encounters, people, situations, circumstances and experiences in your life.
Do these experiences bring struggle and pain, or does adversity help you
expand to new and greater aspects of yourself?
The actual circumstances are far less important than your attitude toward
the events that occur. You cannot
control what happens to you (that which is outside of you), but you can control
your responses (that which is inside you) to what happens.
Even the most painful life experiences have hidden benefits, something to
teach you or expand your self-concept. Perhaps
you can recall an event or circumstance in which some good emerged out of
something tragic or unpleasant. For
example, the job you lost resulted in opening up your own successful business.
Or the relationship that caused you great sorrow when it ended actually
cleared the way for you to meet the person you would eventually marry.
As you learn to reframe your experiences into this big picture, you will
see that everything in your present is also part of the very same design and is
promoting your inner development. By
choosing such a positive perspective toward life, you allow a higher force to
enter your life and lead you to a greater good and stronger self-concept.
James Ricklef, author of Kighthawk’s
Tarot Readings offers an ideal affirmation for use with the Wheel of
Fortune: “I see all that befalls me as part of a divine plan -- the greater
cycle of life.” He recommends using this card
when you are “beset with problems,
when you are tempted to fall into a "why me?" attitude, or,
alternatively, when you have found success and are tempted by pride to place
yourself above your fellows.”
There's a
wonderful story about a farmer who experienced a number of life's ups and downs
(See Don't Sweat the Small Stuff by
Richard Carlson). The story recounts
a series of events in the farmer's life, beginning with his ox dying which
prevented him from being able to plow his fields.
But then the next day, he found a strong healthy horse to replace the ox;
this was followed by his son being thrown from the same horse and breaking his
leg, and so on. Each time one of
these events occurred, the farmer would run to the village wiseman for advice.
The farmer would say to the wiseman, "Isn't
this the worse thing that could ever happen?" or "Isn't
this the best thing that could ever happen?"
Each time, whether the questions was positive or negative, the wiseman
would simply say "maybe so, maybe not." This
is precisely the teaching of the Wheel of Fortune.
In the big picture of life, we never really know if some event is the
best thing or the worst thing to happen. The
village Wiseman showed great insight to "suspend judgment."
In the present moment, we can never know for sure if any so called
"bad" event or "good" event is either good or bad.
The conclusion of the farmer's story proves this point:
a war breaks out in the surrounding towns and the injured farmer's son is
unable to fight in the war -- his life is saved by the "bad" luck of
breaking his leg.
If you find yourself being buffeted about by life's ups and downs, feeling victimized by others or fate in general, this card is for you. By meditating on it, carrying it around with you, drawing it or writing about it, you can start to learn and practice new ways to deal with both the triumph and the disasters of life. You can begin to raise your own vibration and energetic patterns to that of the Wheel of Fortune. Like the village wiseman, you can find your center of serenity in which you may be able to say, "maybe so, maybe not."