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3. The 22 Major Arcana
4. Wheel of Fortune

By ModUpdated 1 Nov 2026

Upright meaning

Reversed meaning

Imagery and symbols

• The letters T A R O on the wheelReadable as ROTA (wheel), TARO, TORA (law) and ATOR (Hathor), alternating with the Hebrew letters י ה ו ה, the four-letter divine name.
• Alchemical symbols on the spokesMercury, sulphur, salt and water: the basic elements of transformation.
• The sphinx with a sword on topWisdom and balance above the rise and fall; whoever understands the wheel's law is not shaken.
• The serpent Typhon on the leftThe force carrying downward: decline and ending.
• Jackal-headed Anubis on the rightThe force carrying upward: rebirth and guiding souls through change.
• Four winged creatures in the cloudsAngel, eagle, lion and bull — the four fixed signs (Aquarius, Scorpio, Leo, Taurus) and the four evangelists. All hold books: they are still learning.

Details most readers miss

• The four creatures return in the World (XXI), now without books, as if the learning along the way is complete at the journey's end.
• There are no humans on the wheel, unlike older decks where people rise and fall. Smith shifted the card from personal luck to cosmic law.
• The Wheel is 10, reducing to 1, so it shares a constellation with the Magician (1) and the Sun (19): personal will and the world's cycles are always linked.

History and origins

The wheel of Fortune (Rota Fortunae) was a favourite medieval image: blindfolded Fortuna turns a wheel on which people rise to power and fall. The Visconti–Sforza deck carries four Latin words around the wheel: "I shall reign, I reign, I have reigned, I am without reign."

Smith redrew it after Éliphas Lévi, replacing the riders with Egyptian and Kabbalistic symbols. The Golden Dawn gave the card Jupiter, planet of luck and expansion, and Kaph (palm): the open hand that receives what life gives — and where palmists read fortune.

The story of the card

After the Hermit's solitude, the Fool looks out at the world again and sees that everything turns; prosperity and decline belong to one cycle. The Wheel marks the middle of the journey.

Understanding the Wheel prepares him for Justice, which teaches that even as luck turns, the results of our actions always follow.

Element and elemental dignities

This card belongs to Fire, the energy of drive, courage and action.

Under the Golden Dawn rules of elemental dignities, Fire is friendly with Air and opposed to Water. Beside cards of the same or a friendly element this card grows stronger; beside an opposing element it weakens or shows its harder side.

When Fire dominates a spread: heat, haste and acting before thinking — watch for conflict and burnout. When it is missing: Add Fire by taking one small action now, setting a challenging goal and moving your body.

Sign, planet and timing

This card is ruled by Jupiter ♃, the planet of expansion, luck, wisdom, opportunity. In the Golden Dawn system the seven classical planets belong to seven Major Arcana cards, matching the seven Hebrew "double" letters that have two pronunciations.

Jupiter also rules 5 decans in the Minor Arcana: Six of Wands, Nine of Cups, Four of Swords, Eight of Swords, Two of Pentacles. Those cards show the same planetary energy working in specific areas of life.

Key of Life: number, birth cards and quintessence

The card's number 10 reduces to 1, so it belongs to constellation 1 together with The Magician, The Sun. This group is the initiator who creates by their own will. If your birth-date total is 10, this is your Personality card and card 1 is your Soul card.

To find your birth cards with Mary K. Greer's method, add your birth day, month and year, then add the digits until the result is 22 or less. Born 14 June 1990: 14 + 6 + 1990 = 2010 → 2 + 0 + 1 + 0 = 3, the Empress.

The same card can also be a "year card" when you use the current year instead of your birth year, and the "quintessence" of a reading when the numbers of all cards in the spread reduce to 10.

Path on the Tree of Life

The 22 Major Arcana are the 22 paths (numbered 11–32) linking the ten sephiroth of the Tree of Life. This card is path 21, joining Chesed · Mercy (expansion, generosity, stability) with Netzach · Victory (emotion, desire, endurance), and the Hebrew letter כ Kaph, meaning "palm".

Read as a journey of the mind, the path teaches how to bring the power of Chesed down into Netzach, or how to climb from below to above. It runs along the Pillar of Mercy (right): expansive, giving, open, growing.

Uranian astrology connection

Uranian astrology (the Hamburg School) uses eight hypothetical points beyond Neptune alongside the real planets. This card resonates with Apollon and Kronos.

• Apollon (Apo)Apollon, the first of Friedrich Sieggrün's points, means multiplication and spread: knowledge, trade, reputation and success that reaches beyond oneself. Keywords: expansion, multiplicity, science, commerce, success, fame
• Kronos (Kro)Kronos is the top of the hierarchy: rulers, experts and the ability to stand alone. It reads as rank, credibility and decisions made from above. Keywords: authority, high office, expertise, law, independence

The Wheel is fortune expanding and turning — Apollon, the Jupiter-like point — and Kronos is the law above the turning.

This correspondence is TarotMod's own synthesis from the meanings of the Hamburg School factors; it is not part of traditional tarot. Cast your Uranian chart

Related cards

• The MagicianSame constellation
• The SunSame constellation
• Six of WandsJupiter decan
• Nine of CupsJupiter decan
• Four of SwordsJupiter decan
• Eight of SwordsJupiter decan
• Two of PentaclesJupiter decan

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