Jupiter, Jupiter Returns and the Tarot: The Wheel of Fortune Card

(Based on the representations found on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.)

I typically breathe a sigh of relief when I pull the Wheel of Fortune. Whether upright or reversed, its meaning is ultimately a positive one. I appreciate that, in theory, there are no “good” or “bad” cards in Tarot, but as a student of astrology, I must admit that trying to find the good in an out-of-sect malefic transiting my twelfth house just doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. Similarly, some of the more cringe-worthy cards — the Lord of Cruelty (Nine of Swords), Lord of Material Trouble (Five of Pentacles), or Lord of Sorrow (Two of Swords) for example — just don’t warrant a positive spin by default. It’s not that we can’t use our tremendous emotional or mental faculties to weather difficulties; it’s that these cards should help us prepare for choppy waters. Thankfully, the Wheel of Fortune can bring hope for a positive change in circumstance.

A.E. Waite ascribed the following to the card when upright: “destiny, fortune, success, elevation, luck, felicity.” Reversed, he indicated that the card still had positive significations: “increase, abundance, superfluity.” I have read interpretations of the card suggesting that the positive meanings should be met with a measure of caution: falls from great heights, the cyclical nature of karma, and Lady Luck’s fickleness. While these are all useful lessons to keep in mind, I feel that the Wheel of Fortune’s main message in a reading is gratitude.