The Wheel of Fortune
Most tarot enthusiasts understand tarot as a system of correspondences, patterns and connections inherited from esoteric traditions such as the elements, astrology, mythology, numerology, and Kabbalah. The Wheel of Fortune, associated with Jupiter, the planet of expansion and luck, is filled with imagery that functions as a symbolic language for both reader and querent. Chang (2021) describes the usefulness of correspondences as a way of examining the “this goes with that” nature of reality (p. 3). My own yearning to understand how all things connect (how everything fits together) is often limited by my narrow vision and the brief span of my life. Even in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the great wizard Gandalf cannot fully access a complete vision of life’s interconnectedness. He cautions Frodo stating, “Do not be too eager to deal out death and judgment, for even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
In an attempt to explore the “this goes with that” quality of existence, I will briefly connect the film Marty Supreme to the lessons of the Wheel of Fortune. Marty’s pride ultimately becomes his downfall, yet this downfall initiates transformation. The film’s final scene echoes the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth symbolized in the Wheel by figures such as the Egyptian snake god Set, associated with death, and the jackal-headed Anubis, guide of souls and giver of new life. Fate, understood as the destiny God has chosen for each individual, is central to the film, which depicts Marty’s repeated attempts to escape his destined path. He believes that evading fate will save him from what he imagines will be a mundane life, especially if he fails to outmaneuver destiny itself. Pollack (2019) suggests that fate is an illusion, a way of explaining the unknown forces that animate life and shape events (p. 85). Despite our efforts to control outcomes, there remains a mystery behind the seemingly random events of life, a mystery often depicted as a spiritual force. In Marty’s case, the death of his dream becomes a call to embrace a new life—both that of his newborn child and his own. As Quinn (2009) writes, “Every turn of the Wheel fulfills an appointment on the cosmic calendar, a schedule created without our conscious participation” (p. 85). Despite Marty’s attempts to control his future, he ultimately fulfills the inevitable appointment of his fate.
The Wheel of Fortune is powered by what Quinn (2009) calls “The Great Mystery” (p. 82), and Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith sought to capture the essence of this mystery through the card’s dense symbolism. The Babylonian astrological figures in the four corners of the card represent the fixed signs of Leo (fire), Scorpio (water), Aquarius (air), and Taurus (earth), evoking the zodiac as a whole (Pollack, 2019, p. 87). In Christian symbolism, these figures were associated with the four evangelists and referred to as the guardians of heaven (Pollack, 2019, p. 87). The elements—fire, water, air, and earth—correspond to the suits of Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles in the Minor Arcana. From a Kabbalistic perspective, the four letters on the rim of the Wheel symbolize the mysteries of the world, while the symbols on the spokes, Mercury, sulphur, water, and salt, point toward the alchemical goal of transformation.
When a querent pulls the Wheel of Fortune, the card often signals a turning point, an invitation to recognize the forces of change at work and to reflect on how fate, choice, and mystery intersect in their own life.
References
Chang, S. (2018). Tarot correspondences: Ancient secret for every day readers. Llewellyn Publications
Pollack, R. (2019). Seventy-eight degrees of wisdom: A tarot journey to self-awareness. Weiser Books.
