Tarot Card of the Day: October 22, 2021 — Wheel of Fortune
Tarot Card of the Day: October 22, 2021 — Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune turns, relentlessly.
Nothing in the universe is static or stationary. Things are constantly in motion. Remember that the atoms that make up all matter in the universe — although they are very, very small — are always moving.
The symbolism of the card is four-part in the Rider-Waite deck: it includes symbols of the elements — earth, air, fire, and water. The wheel also features the four letters TARO/TORA/ROTA. These letters, depending on their order, can spell the taro(t)/tora(h) — sources of wisdom or guidance. Also, ROTA is Latin for “wheel.” Completing the quartet, the wheel has the Hebrew letters for Yahweh.
Traditionally, the card means that change is coming or likely. It also tells us that our “fortunes” — often, those things we have little to no direct control over— are moving in our favor.
Think about this: if you want something to happen, but its happening depends on someone else’s actions, or several other people’s decisions or actions, then you cannot control 100% of the factors involved. We often tend to think of or describe those things we can’t control as our “fortunes.”
To give a few examples, “fortune” can also include the weather, car accidents, “Acts of God,” and new people you meet. (It is also closely related to “fate,” which is a topic for another post.)
What leads us to think that the Wheel of Fortune card usually means things will “turn” (like a wheel) in your favor, and not “against” us?
In a couple of words, optimism and self-preservation. Usually, we prefer to think of things we can’t control as helping us instead of hurting us. Thinking that way increases the likelihood that we will find ourselves in better circumstances, not worse situations, in the future.