The Fluidity of Fortune in "Wheel" Time
The Wheel of Fortune from: Universal Goddess Tarot
by Maria Caratti and Antonella Platano
The Fluidity of Fortune in "Wheel" Time: Understanding the Connection of Fortune, Fate and Free Will with the Wheel of Fortune
When people are interested in learning to read and understand the Tarot, they are often introduced to the Major Arcana cards via the Fool's Journey. During this walk of learning, the student is taken through the cards in their respective order, discovering - with the Fool (0) - that each card has a lesson to impart before the Fool is allowed to move on. It is after he visits the introspective Hermit (XI) that he comes upon the large, and sometimes intimidating, Wheel of Fortune (X). The Fool soon learns that not is all as it seems, that the Wheel has much to teach him before he is to voyage on to the wisdom of Justice (XI).
Before we go any further. lets review the definitions of FORTUNE, FATE and FREE WILL:
FORTUNE: position in life as determined by wealth; wealth or riches; chance or luck; things that happen or are to happen to a person is his or her life; to endow with a fortune; to happen by chance; to tell someone's future; a power or force, often personalized, regarded as being responsible for human affairs, chance
Synonyms: fate, destiny, providence, karma, kismet, lot, moirai
FATE: something that unavoidably befalls a person, fortune, lot; the universal principle or ultimate agency by which the order of things is presumably prescribed; the decreed cause of events, time; that which is inevitably predetermined, destiny; a prophetic declaration of what must be
Synonyms: destiny, circumstance, future, fortune, predestination, providence, moirai, decree
FREE WILL: free and independent choice; voluntary decision; a philosophy or doctrine that the conduct of human beings expresses personal choice and not simply determined by physical and/or divine forces; the ability to make a choice without coercion; the ability to choose, think and act voluntarily.
Synonyms: free choice, consent, freedom, option, person's full intent and purpose, voluntary decision and/or action, one own's choosing, independence
Understanding the definitions and concepts of these words will come in handy.
The Wheel of Fortune is often seen being under the jurisdiction of the Goddess Fortuna, who was the goddess of fortune and personification of luck in the Roman religion. In some cases, she was also depicted as Lady Justice, using her wisdom to impart fortune - both good and bad - upon those who sought her aid. It is with her sagacity that the Wheel of Fortune, otherwise referred to as "Fortune's Wheel" or Rota Fortuna, finds itself placed before many seekers, such as our Fool find itself now.
Keeping our above-defined words in mind, the first aspect of the Wheel that the Fool discovers is the Pagan concept of the God and Goddess and how their concepts are connected to the Wheel. In this belief, the Goddess is eternal, always alive and forever within time, however the God, the male aspect of the Divine, dies during the sabbat of Samhain (Halloween, October 31st) and is reborn during the sabbat of Yule (aka Winter Solstice, December 21st).** It is the God's fate - his DESTINY - to go through this process each year. During the coming year, he will grow and mature to the adult form of the God, returning to the Goddess' side as her consort and as the solar presence that complements the lunar spirit of the Goddess. And yet, even as we view the fact that his life is preordained, we also see that it is his choice, his free will, to continue with the death and resurrection each year. It is his immutable and everlasting bond with the Goddess that keeps him in this perpetual cycle, his dedication and loyalty to his female counterpart that tells us that, within fate there can also be free will. Or can it?
It is here we begin to comprehend the connection of the Divine and the Wheel of the Year and how it also connects with our own Wheel of Life. Just as the God and Goddess play out their parts within the Wheel of the Year, so do we with the Wheel of Life, with each option, each challenge, each situation insisting that we weigh ourselves and our beliefs, our thoughts, our ethics in order to make the best decision. When we are faced with the Wheel, we are often asked, "What has brought you to this place?" We gaze upon the wheel as we are lost in thought, ruminating over the question posed to us. We discover tha, in addition to representing the eight pagan sabbats of the year, the spokes of the wheel also represent polarities - or opposites - that Fortune can sometimes place on us and upon us, by putting us in situations that may have us saying and/or doing things we might not normally consider. It is then we - again - come upon the concepts of fate vs. free will. Are our actions truly our own? Are they predetermined? Have the actions and events that have placed us in this spot RIGHT NOW based on outcomes that we made of our own accord, with no influence from elsewhere, or are we here because this is where we are SUPPOSE to be? Because fate - destiny - has made it as such? Can we have both? or does the existence of one negate the ability for the other to exist?
These are things that perplex our Fool. He is quiet as he considers the extremes that the Wheel of Fortune can create. On the one hand, he is faced with the "this too shall pass" and "go with the flow" mindset while, in the other hand, he ruminates over the "you are in charge of your own destiny" ethos. How is it possible that one concept, the Wheel of Fortune, encompass such diametrically opposed ideologies? As our Fool remains in his pensive state, his mind wanders and expands on these ideas, that, while we - as human beings - have the potential to change our fates, we also must remember that fate and fortune can (and are ) fleeting, and can change at a moment's notice. In the Wheel of Fortune card depicted at the beginning of the article, we can clearly get that feeling as the Goddess frolics in front of the Wheel, ever mindful of how She, and we, are all part of the dance of life.
In many versions of this card, there is a wheel in the middle, with the word TARO / ROTA in the center, which shows that it is the Wheel (or cycle: ROTA) that also "speaks or teaches" (ORAT) through the Book of Thoth, also known as the Tarot (TARO). The symbols seen between the lettering are usually understood as YHWH (Yahweh), the Israeli name for God. We can also see other symbols, such as Anubis, Eqyptian God associated with the afterlife, and the snake which some connect to the Greek Titan, Typhon. (There are some that feel the snake is connected to the one found in the Garden of Eden, that tempted Eve with an apple which is representative of receiving hidden knowledge.) Sitting atop the Wheel we view the Sphinx in traditional Egyptian headdress, relating to the mysteries and riddles of life. We also are able to view four winged beings - one in each corner - representing the four elements, the four suits of the Tarot, as well as the four seasons using the fixed astrological signs:
Man: Aquarius - Winter - Swords
Eagle: Scorpio - Autumn - Cups
Bull: Taurus - Spring - Pentacles
Lion: Leo - Summer - Wands
In front of each is a book, opened, with a writing instrument poised to write. Some feel that these are the Books of Life, sometimes known as the Akashic Records, while others feel that these books hold information about the four beings. Depending on your view, once again, we ponder on whether our lives are predestined, or within our own control.
When the Wheel of Fortune comes up in a reading, some helpful keywords and phrases to remember are:
fate
destiny
providence
karma
kismet
lot
moirai
circumstance
future
disorienting
fortune
cycles
abundance
coincidence
choices/options
changes (possibly major)
predestination
taking risks
accepting challenges
"go with the flow"
"this too shall pass"
"roll with the changes"
On a final note, I'd like to share a recent story of mine involving the Wheel of Fortune.
In one of the tarot groups I am in, the daily question posed to the members was "Pull a Card to Describe Your Inner Child". After a very thorough shuffling of my deck (Connolly Tarot), I directed by query to the cards, and pulled a card based on an intuitive "feel", coming up with a reversed Wheel of Fortune. Now, as an aside, because of the nature of this card, this card can mean the same thing in both its upright and reversed position. In regards to the question, I wrote the following in the group: "I pulled the Wheel/Fortune reversed ( Connolly Tarot ) although I'm a bit perplexed on how I should read this for my inner child. Reversed it can mean ( based on the LWB ): "everything may appear to be wrong, no matter how hard you try. Have courage, be strong, put your thoughts on higher things". I know I was loved, growing up however it was a rocky childhood, my parents fought and eventually divorced when I was about 15 ( after several separations and reunions ) .... My mother had a longtime boyfriend who she eventually moved in with after I turned 18. I grew up old school New England style, and with a mom who still held on to some "50s" kind of thinking. I also had a very tough time in school, w/peers, got teased constantly, came home crying a LOT. There's more .... it just wasn't very easy. So, not 100% sure of the WoF's message ...?" However the more I've thought about it the more I realize that I, and my inner child, are having to come to terms with whether my life is/was completely at the mercy of others, or if (or at what point) I am truly at the helm of my own destiny? It is also possible that changes are coming my way, things that may change my perspective on things and on life, and may shift my current string of "luck". Maybe it is a sign that a transformation is on the way, that another layer of learning is to be had. That, as with life, the wheel is always turning, always in motion, and that we can only avoid it and fight it for so long.
**Please note that these dates are for the sabbats in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, October 31st corresponds to Beltane, with December 21st lining up to the Summer Solstice, or Litha.
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