Take Your Chances with The Wheel of Fortune: A Look at the Impact of Major Arcana Card Ten
Do you feel lucky? Is today the day the odds are in your favor? Take a spin on the Wheel of Fortune and behold your destiny…
A force for the choices we make when faced with unexpected opportunities and challenges, the Wheel of Fortune is the Major Arcana guide that reminds us the only constant in life is change.
We must take the highs and lows in stride, embracing the good and bad in equal measure. It’s all temporary, after all. Your fate is ever evolving as the wheel turns.
The Wheel of Fortune is one of the guides whose presence in a reading can be taken literally and/or figuratively. In the Fountain Tarot deck booklet for Major Arcana card ten, the description says that the Wheel of Fortune means “you are about to have a random encounter with chance, and the outcome is unknown.” It goes on to say that in general, the card’s upright orientation means the odds are in your favor, while a reversed card is indicative of failure, bad luck or misfortune.
I use this deck’s description as an example of the literal interpretation for a couple reason. First, this is the deck that I use for the general energy readings below, so you will get an opportunity to see how this meaning influences and is influenced by the cards around the Wheel of Fortune.
The other reason I think this is important to state is because there are also more figurative interpretations. To me, this guide is often talking less about luck and fortune, and more about progress and momentum. When the Wheel is upside down, it is stuck and stagnant. It takes a lot of effort to reverse circumstances and get moving again.
Upright, however, the guide tells us that we are a small push away from moving forward, spinning faster and faster as we go. We still encounter the peaks and valleys, but they whirl by quicker. We are less impacted by them because we are on a roll.
In the tarot newsletter this week, I shared a story about my encounter with the Wheel of Fortune (you can sign up to receive the remaining newsletters in the series here). It was the card I pulled to tell me about the day ahead—what most people refer to as a “single-card pull” or “daily pull.” I pulled it in reverse, and wow did the universe deliver on that promise!
That said, when doing a reading for others or responding to questions, it would be rare to only pull the Wheel of Fortune in isolation. That’s why I like to include the general energy readings with three additional cards. It shows how the cards play off one another to share a larger message about what’s going on.
A general energy reading is not designed to answer a specific question. It addresses what the universe wants someone to know about their overall situation or energetic presence at the moment. Below, I read the cards as if I am talking directly to you. Enjoy!
Spread 1: Overcoming Loss by Leaving the Past Behind
No one every said change was easy, but damn, they also didn’t say it could feel so emotionally taxing either. The reversed Knight of Cups indicates that you’re feeling a lot right now. It’s overwhelming because you’re not particularly clear on how to shake the overhead rain cloud that’s been following you around lately.
The good news is that these feelings are a sign of positive forward progress. You could easily try to ignore these emotions or distance yourself from this dreary mentality, but you’re leaning in. By allowing yourself to experience the anguish fully, you’re preparing yourself to move beyond it very soon.
The Wheel of Fortune tells me that there will soon be a resolution to your woes. An unexpected period of joy is on its way, so try to keep your chin up while you continue to do the work The card’s position above the reversed Three of Swords is telling.
You likely experienced heartbreak or another profound loss recently, but you’ve found a way to see the bright side. You’ve learned not to let the situation change who you are at your core nor keep you down for long.
The Six of Swords confirms that you’re slowly making moves in order to leave the past where it is. This experienced has shined a light on what no longer serves you. The loss was necessary to bring you to this place. You may still feel hurt and heavy, but this hasn’t stopped you from taking control of your destiny. Stay the course. The destination that awaits is where you’re meant to be.
Spread 2: The Art Balancing Freedom and Routine
It’s always fun to experience a reading where Major Arcana cards gather together. The message is a powerful one because it calls on grandiose, overarching themes to tell a story. This one is yours:
Your instincts to find the middle way between two extremes are spot on. Temperance tells me that you’re interested in maintaining your grip on the traditions, rituals and sacred wisdom of your ancestors and larger community, but you’re resistant to anything that makes you feel tied down, limited and gullible to the realities of what’s going on in today’s world. You’re not content to continue doing things “the way they always have been” whenever that feels like a restriction on your freedom.
The Wheel of Fortune tells me that you’re on the right track. Your exploration of the truth is essential to move you forward. It will bring you greater happiness to balance the old with the new. I get the sense that something unexpected happened recently in order to spur this change. You’re giving your next steps a lot of thought because it’s unsustainable to keep going the way you have been.
The reversed Fool and The Hierophant give some indication of what’s going on. When The Fool is upside down, it is a sign that you felt overly naïve and careless with the way you operated previously. You stopped being curious about your thoughts, patterns and biases, and this has led you to make poor choices and bad, sometimes harmful, decisions.
Whatever shook you awake, won’t let you continue as you had been. You’ve begun seeking truth, diving into the depths of the rituals and traditions that feel right to you. You’re ready to bring more routine to your daily life. Being untethered has caused confusion about what you really know, think, believe.
Continue your exploration with a renewed sense of purpose. The answers are out there. With diligence, you’ll find what you need to return to your true center. The universe is rooting for you.
Spread 3: Stagnancy is the Price of Forgetting Who You Are
This spread is really interesting because it showcases what we often experience between the powerful beginning to an exciting new adventure and the destination where we are completely at peace with our whole and perfect selves.
That sounds pretty ethereal, so let me break this down further. On the left side, we have the Ace of Swords. This card is in the Minor Arcana, but it can act a little like The Fool in that it is a card that indicates you’re taking a fresh approach. You’re ready to start something new, and you have the energy to do it. You’re ambitious, determined and clear on what needs to be done. Things cannot remain as they are. You are seeking something more.
On the other side of this powerful beginning is the serene end. The Fountain is a special card that completes the Major Arcana in this particular deck. If The World is the traditional end to The Fool’s journey, The Fountain is what happens after we stop journeying and surrender to the forces of the universe.
The World is the guide that tells us we have either completed a cycle and are ready to begin another one (upright) or that we are stuck in an unhelpful pattern and need to break the cycle (reversed). The Fountain is what happens when we move beyond the cycle completely. If the traditional cycle is one of birth, life, death and rebirth, then The Fountain is our enlightenment. This guide shows us who we really are: whole, complete, untouchable and fully awake.
What does this mean for you? Well, these cards tell me that you know you need to move beyond the endless spinning that keeps you trapped in the same situation over and over. You’re ready to seek the peace that comes from being one with the universe.
This journey to the beyond, however, is not straight-forward. There are two cards and an abundance of obstacles that you need to overcome. Few people have the strength to keep going. This is the ultimate marathon. It may take lifetimes to complete. You must continually fight (Knight of Swords) to progress, lest you stagnate (Wheel of Fortune) and find yourself discouraged.
The reason that this journey is so taxing is because we have forgotten who we really are. We work so hard to remember because somewhere between death and rebirth, we stop seeing ourselves as perfect and complete. You are awake now. Do not let these challenges stop you from pushing forward. Take rest as you need, but battle until the end. The right amount of effort and surrender will get you where you’re going.
Spread 4: Stop Wasting Your Energy on the Wrong People
Right now, your heart is rather heavy. Strained relations with ones you love and a whole lot of disappointment are keeping you from happiness, joy and connection. In times like these, it can be difficult to see the ways we’ve contributed to our discontentment. We also play a role in the situations we find ourselves in.
But, first thing first. The reversed Eight of Wands is what tells me you’ve been searching for brighter horizons, only to find that things have not been what you’d hoped. The people in your life are dimming your light a bit. Their needs are becoming overbearing, and it’s weighing you down. Until you break free of these bonds, you’ll continue to struggle to move things forward.
The reversed Wheel of Fortune indicates that this is already happening. You feel stuck in a bad situation. Because you’ve lost inertia, you need a lot of willpower to reverse your circumstances.
The reversed Three of Wands isn’t a lot of help here either. You feel like you can’t rely on the people in your life. You’re alone and untethered at a time when you need connection to light your fire. It can be especially difficult to keep working and increase your effort when you feel like you’ve given all you can and things didn’t pan out.
The reversed Six of Coins is here to deliver some truth bombs. Your disappointment in your fellow humans has made you feel a bit cold-hearted. You’ve stopped being generous in an attempt to focus on yourself and your needs. But hoarding your prosperity, abundance and coins merely contribute to the illusion that you’re blameless in what you’re experiencing. Harmony and peace are the result of being more open, giving and warm-hearted, not less.
By all means, stop wasting your time and energy on the wrong people. Give to those who bring you joy, who have your best interests in mind. Do not shy away from the world. Be a force for good within it, even at your lowest, and watch the Wheel of Fortune being to circle back in your favor.