Well, have I got my hand on The Wheel? I'll be honest, when I picked this card from the deck, I thought "Oh, more change".. like it was the last thing I wanted or needed....
Pick A Card..Meditations on a card picked out face down from my Tarot or Oracle Deck Collection. Here I will share my first thoughts on seeing that card as I turn it over...
Manu, Angel of Fate. Number 10. The Wheel, Major Arcana.
From The Angels Tarot. Rosemary Ellen Guiley & Robert Michael Place
Maybe this unsettled feeling I was experiencing was because I certainly haven't felt entirely relaxed lately, an undercurrent of unease presiding over everything. I am sure quite a lot of people have felt somewhat unmoored with everything seemingly in a state of turmoil on the world stage. This filters down into our own lives, perhaps affecting us more than we realise. And personally? There is no doubt I am still recovering from the awful years of the covid pandemic, yet at the same time, counting my blessings.
So, all I am craving is some stability. When I picked this card it was with a sort of sigh as I turned it over, recognising that perhaps fate has more in store to offer me!
But let us not forget The Wheel card in the Tarot Major Arcana can also be a positive indication, right? Maybe, sometimes...depending on your circumstances at the time!
We can attempt to turn The Wheel of Fate this way and that to do our bidding, and it may work for a while, but eventually fate seems to catch up with us. The sensible course of action to take from the appearance of this card is to plan ahead prudently as much as you can.
But generally, the appearance of Manu in this deck means a change of fortune, as you can see how he moves the wheel with his hand. But it is a warning as well, because he is making it quite clear that he is the one moving the Wheel of Destiny, not us.
Just as riches or influence may be granted, they can also be taken away, and here we have wealth depicted as coins, pearls as beauty, dice adding up to seven which means luck, the ace of hearts which represents love, while the ace of spades embodies death. What goes up, has to come down eventually...
The trouble is the Wheel of Fortune card is a misnomer really. A better name for it is the Wheel of Destiny or Fate. This card is number 10 in the Major Arcana of the Tarot Deck, so we have reached half way, double digits, and therefore it often represents the halfway point of our lives, in as much as it might be time to re-evaluate our lives, or take stock, as it were.
Life, Death, Everything...
The clue to the meaning of this card is the word 'wheel'. And the brilliance of this depiction by Robert Place is in showing the Angel Manu as physically turning that wheel. This is also the Wheel of Time, which is continual and inevitable. Things will come to fruition, and then they will pass. The experiences to come that this card is indicating are ones that we have to go through as they are necessary for our personal growth.
This card is a 'calling' to recognise your true path in life and to step forward and acknowledge it. The message that this card is giving us is an opportunity to transform our lives and become whole, even if that means facing difficulties on the way and making choices that will alter your current path to realign yourself with your fate.
Essentially it is all about acceptance. But this acceptance does not mean following your fate with blind faith. Manu has the flame of inspiration and spirituality issuing from his head. What this is telling you is that if you can rise to maturity on your life's path through your own efforts you will be able to complete your own personal masterwork, or goal, that you are best suited to achieve.
A word of warning however. The divine influence of this card does not give anybody the right to use expressive force to achieve their goals. Force must be tempered by morality, or else The Wheel will turn rapidly, counteracting any ill-gotten gains.
The Clock Is Ticking...
Don't forget that Manu faces forward, and here on this card it almost looks as though he is riding a chariot, forging ahead. This shows he will not stop for you, he cannot, as time moves on. It would be wise to accept his message of fate and use it to improve your own path while you can.
The only thing stopping you from achieving your life's path at this point is your own ego, or stubborness. We may be required to do tasks we would rather not, that involve patience or settling for something lesser than what we wanted, or even worse, feel entitled to have without perhaps working the necessary hours or having enough dedication to the task in hand.
"To the victor, the spoils" goes the old saying, but what is the point of having those spoils if you have not worked for them? Or achieved them through deception and violence? The Wheel of Fate does not discriminate; just as The Fool in the medieval court could make fun of the King in the most viscious and ironic way possible and [mostly] get away with it, so The Wheel in the same Tarot Court can bring the fate of that same King dragged down into the dust from where he cannot rise.
The riches of the powerful and the stolen goods of the petty thief will all suffer the same fate. Eventually the weight of regret or sullen greed will make The Wheel speed round faster, shredding that person of their position, wealth or power, especially if it was a fast rise to the top. Fate can be a cruel master, a savage mistress. History has enlightened human nature on this lesson of hubris time and time again on the world stage, as it does in every level of society.
Part of this card's message is this battling of the self. This card is a direct challenge to you to consider your decision making carefully from now on. But if we have enough courage and fortitude to accept that challenge, the rewards are of not only feeling more complete than you ever have in your life, but also the knowledge that if you have had to overcome some inner demons to achieve it, this will give you an inner purpose and confidence that will become an eduring part of you for the rest of your life.
So whatever destiny this card has for you or me, let us move that Wheel with a gentle touch and see what the fates have in store for us...
Please note that all images are my own from my own personal Tarot and Oracle Deck and Collection.
The Tarot card featured in this Blog is from the Tarot Deck:
The Angels Tarot
Rosemary Ellen Guiley & Robert Michael Place
Published by Harper Collins 1985
ISBN 0-06-251193-9
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Your photos here are very beautiful Shelley. This does look like a very attractive set of Tarot cards. Who knows what I would draw? But you are certainly right when you say that ego very often gets in the way of what we want. And that includes attachment to things in a world that is rapidly passing into oblivion. Looking forward is certainly the only path we can follow. And that requires faith and trust that our lives are in God's hand.