TAROTThe Wheel of Fortune
Upright
Good things will happen. The world repaying a favor. Being in alignment with change.
A significant change for the good.
The universe ‘paying it forward’.
Intuition
The Wheel of Fortune looks significantly different from most other decks because it only uses symbology associated with the archetype on the card. This is to promote strong archetypes.
The wheel of Fortune is often seen as a good/bad luck card, but both the upright/reverse are actually about change
Reversed
Now is not the time. Beware of the world repaying a slight. Being out of alignment with change.
A significant change where you are on the losing side if you move forward. Timing is everything, and it may be better to wait.
Burnt bridges or past behavior coming back to you, resulting in slowed progress or setbacks.
Astrologia
Growth in knowledge and skills, leading to an abundance of opportunity. Diplomatic and resilient. Social and generous. Can be prone to arrogance or naïve optimism.
The Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune denotes change. It signifies that a major event or occurrence will lead to a shift in your life.
As with all Major Arcana, the Wheel of Fortune is concerned with significant life events rather than day-to-day occurrences.
This means a reading denoting a favorable turn may actually be preceded by events perceived as 'bad luck'. This temporary misfortune will result in a long-term good outcome, highlighting the importance of reading the surrounding cards carefully.
A reversed Wheel of Fortune does not signify a bad turn of events; it signifies you are out of alignment. This reversal is often addressed simply by waiting for alignment to return. Change comes in cycles. Putting off a venture that looks bound to fail today may allow it to succeed tomorrow. Be patient, read the room, and wait for the elements causing failure to dissipate. What goes around comes around, but it does not last forever. Rebuild burned bridges, clear misconceptions, and resolve problems so you can try again later with better odds.
While many Tarot decks use esoteric symbology to denote the combination of luck, divine will, and fate, Torch-Tarot relies strictly on archetypes. The oldest archetypes concerning chance include Lady Luck, Blind Lady Luck, Dame Fortune, and Fortuna. All of them stem from the same root archetype: the Goddess of Luck, Tyche.
Tyche
Tyche is the Ancient Greek Goddess of Luck and Fate. When no cause for an event could be attributed to the gods or the actions of humans, the root cause was said to be Tyche.
Tyche was popular far beyond Ancient Greece, having been adopted by the Romans as Fortuna. She appears on coins from the Middle East and further south, remaining highly popular in literature well into the 15th century.
She is often depicted as capricious, sometimes blindfolded, or simply with her eyes closed. Because of this, her gifts to humanity are handed out without her knowing where they will land.
Perhaps one of the most succinct stories involving Tyche is Aesop’s Fable, The Traveler and Tyche;
A man was worn out after a long journey, so he threw himself down beside a well and went to sleep. He would certainly have fallen in, but Tyche appeared and woke him, saying: ‘Hey, friend! If you had fallen down the well you wouldn’t have blamed your own foolishness – you would have blamed me’. Thus, plenty of people who meet with misfortune through their own fault blame it on the Gods.
Sometimes there is no such thing as chance; we create luck (or lack of it) ourselves, but often forget the point we became responsible for it.
Description and Symbology
A woman, the Goddess Tyche, sits in a darkened room. With her eyes closed, she allows coins to drop from a container, oblivious to where or on whom they fall. Some of her clothing, such as her floral headdress, gives her an air of frivolity and capriciousness. Other elements, like the military greaves on her legs, give her an air of gravity (reminding us that chance plays a massive role in conquest and war).
Some of the coins fall to the floor, but others change as they drop: fruit, riches and treasure, old bones, ancient parchments containing hidden knowledge, or even a dagger in the back. The items on the floor are gifts from chance or providence; some are good, and some are deadly.
Of particular note are three other objects on the floor that did not fall from Tyche:
Firstly, we see an Egyptian statue of a man with the head of a snake. This is the Egyptian God Shai, the God of fate and destiny, and the personification of a person’s life. His name means 'determiner'. He sets the lifespan of each person at birth and is involved in the final weighing of a person’s heart to decide their afterlife. Thus, he represents absolute fate.
Secondly, a ship’s wheel sits behind Tyche, with a rudder in front, near her feet. We all like to think we captain our own ship and steer it with our wheel, but Lady Luck’s foot is always near the rudder. One slip of her foot, and the ship goes in a direction of her choosing.
Finally, we see a strange wooden wheel with two rims at right angles to each other. This is an Ezekiel Wheel, representing The Chariot of God / God’s Throne as described in Ezekiel 1:4-28. It symbolizes a God that moves in all directions and is everywhere (and perhaps we call random events ‘Acts of God’ for a reason).
Behind Tyche, a fairground Wheel of Fortune lies unused. There is no need for a mechanical wheel when the Goddess of Luck herself is present in the room.
Wheel of Fortune Symbol
The card symbol represents a ship’s wheel. See ‘Tyche’s rudder/Ship of Fools' below.
Tyche and chance
Tyche carries a cornucopia full of coins that she allows to fall, giving favor or curses to those they fall near. She has her eyes closed, so rarely knows who the coins will affect. This represents the randomness of chance.
The effects of chance
The items that fall from the cornucopia can become boons or curses, or lead to new understanding, and we see this by the things the coins transform into.
Tyche’s rudder/Ship of Fools
Plato’s Republic introduces the Allegory of the Ship of Fools. This describes a dysfunctional ship crew, all of whom are constantly vying for control of the ship’s wheel. All are as incompetent and unsuitable to steer the ship — perhaps sounds familiar! In any case, the only person who really controls such a ship is chance via Tyche. One flick of her foot and the ship goes in a direction of her choosing!
Shai, God of Fate and Determination
As well as chance, there is also fate and destiny. This is represented by the God Shai. He was syncretized into the Greek God Agathodaemon, who as a bonus is often seen as a God of fortune-telling, so is perhaps also the God of Tarot.
Ezekiel’s Wheel and the All-Seeing God
One of the items on the floor is a wheel that can roll in two directions. This matches the description seen in Ezekiel, which describes God in a wheeled chariot that can quickly move in any direction without turning, suggesting God can appear quickly anywhere. Such a God would see all and judge certain actions immediately, which we would see as chance having a moral aspect.
Tyche as a Goddess of Warfare
Tyche wears a hoplite’s bronze greaves, suggesting a relationship between chance and warfare. Battles often relied heavily on chance or ‘acts of the gods’, and Tyche was seen as important in this area.
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
A period of harmony or growth; past gestures and acts on your part are now returned.
Positive change may occur when it comes to relationships, but you will need to recognize the seeds of change and put in the work for them to flourish!
A period of downturns or some of your past coming back to haunt you.
Remember; The Wheel of fortune is not there to punish, but to cause reflection.
Changes are afoot that will eventually be for the better. They may require hard work.
Now is the time to strive out if you have been feeling enclosed by your current career, as the universe is on your side. At the very least, spend some time talking to contacts or looking at the online job-boards; your chances of being fortunate are higher!
A period of change and uncertainty, or past mistakes finally manifesting themselves through recent negative occurrences
A time to keep your head down and await better times. Not a time to ask for promotions!
The universe is on your side. Although not all news will be good, it will be for the better in the long term.
Expect hidden illnesses to be revealed, or positive results to occur.
Remember in all dealings with the Wheel of Fortune that it does not represent Good Luck, but more of ‘Positive Change’, and there’s a lot you can do there yourself!
Current adverse issues in your life may be affecting your health. Look after yourself to avoid complications.
Remember; the wheel of fortune is not a lottery, it is a process. It will eventually turn from bad to good. Learn from the dark clouds today, but also look to the light on the horizon.
Expect new paths or ways of thinking to reveal themselves to you via chance or serendipity.
The Wheel of Fortune represents Positive change rather than good luck, and you need a successful mentality to make best use of it; a positive spiritual outlook will multiply your gains!
The universe is testing your faith, but it may be all part of a greater plan.
Good and bad fortune is cyclical, and the worst of the current downturn may be over.
Expect improvements, or something to reveal potential problems before they manifest.
There may be windfalls or lottery wins, but more usually, this is not how the Wheel of Fortune works. It represents positive change rather than good luck; you need a positive outlook to your finances to make use of the positive changes coming!
Don’t gamble or take risks, as the universe is not on your side. Delay anything that relies on elements outside your control or watch them carefully; things could turn sour.
In dealings or contracts, expect snarl ups and allow longer time to complete anything.
Yes, noting that this is via a long term view; you might initially see bad luck that makes you a better person for it!
No, but again, note that the Wheel of fortune takes a long-term view.
Reading the Card
Both the Upright and Reversed Wheel of Fortune represent the cycles of change, fate, and destiny that direct our lives.
It is important to differentiate between positive or negative change and 'good' or 'bad' luck. Although we use the term 'luck' often, it often means change. The difference is that you have to make use of a change to get the best of it. There is a requirement to put the work in to maximize the outcome. True 'luck' is a lottery win: instant, unearned riches.
Tyche and the Wheel of Fortune usually brings change, not luck.
The Upright Card
The Upright card suggests trusting the cycles of change about to happen. They may initially seem good, bad, or indifferent, but in the longer term, they will be positive. When in doubt, trust in the natural order of things and trust that change is working in your favor.
The Reversal
The reversed card suggests the same cycles will have a disrupting effect on your life overall, and that the natural order of things will not be working for you. This is not inherently a bad result. A Tarot reading is never final because you can change the outcome. Perhaps it is better to wait, or to fix the situation before proceeding.
Treat a Reversed Wheel of Fortune as a warning of what will happen if you change nothing.
Card Design Process
This design was an attempt to step away from traditional Wheel of Fortune cards that rely on a physical wheel or a series of abstract symbols. Such designs tend to scatter their focus across multiple, weaker archetypes, or rely on occult systems of thought (which are not archetypes at all).
The choice of a single, well-defined main archetype aims to create a much stronger card.
The objects on Tyche’s floor were made in several ways: 3D modeling, AI, and photography. Tyche herself is a combination of AI generation and digital painting.
Final Words
The Wheel of Fortune represents cycles of change, divine will, and fate. It suggests a series of events will cause a significant shift in some part of your life, and this may initially appear good or bad. You may also experience serendipitous events that warn you against a choice, or conversely, signify you are on the right path.
