No, silly, not the game show!
So we’ve looped back around to the beginning numerologically: 10 = 1 + 0 = 1 again. More accurately, the combination of the qualities of 0 and 1. Therefore, the 10th Trump is the “embodiment of growth and the reciprocal action between opposites.” Case calls it the “eternal creativeness of Life Power whirling forth.”
The Hebrew letter for this card is Kaph, which means comprehension or grasp. If you make a fist and look at it with your fingers facing you, you kind of see a spiral. Spirals, loops, wheels, whirling forth…there’s starting to be a theme here. Case stresses the “universal cyclic activity” inherent in the meaning of the card.
Astrologically, the Wheel is aligned with Jupiter, who is also known as Greater Fortune. The zodiac sign is Cancer, the same as the Chariot. Think of the wheels of the Chariot as the Wheel of Fortune. Jupiter is also known as the Sky Father, and the clouds on the card are meant to represent this.
The figures at the corners of the card are the fixed astrological signs, one for each element. So Leo (Lion, Fire), Scorpio (Eagle, Air), Aquarius (Man, Water) and Taurus (Bull, Earth).
The Wheel itself is known as the “Wheel of Ezekiel”. The innermost circle is meant to reflect the design on the Fool’s tunic. The next one holds the alchemical symbols for Mercury, Sulphur, Salt and Dissolution. The outermost circle contains the word ROTA, which means (surprise!) “wheel”. If you play with the letters, you can make the Latin sentence ROTA TARO ORAT TORA ATOR, which roughly translates to “The Wheel of Tarot Speaks the Law of Hathor”, Hathor in this case representing the Empress.
The Wheel itself is colored orange to signify sunlight. The serpent along the left side is gold, for light and wavy for vibration. The Wheel is held up by Hermanubis, a man with the head of a jackal. At the top sits a sphinx, a woman with the body of a lion. Not coincidentally, a woman and a lion are the main figures of the Strength card.
Case’s exercise for this week is to search out spirals in everyday life. Knowing what we do now about the universe and how it’s formed, this is a fun way to spend your meditation!
Lucina's Cauldron 