Wheel of Fortune
A great current starts to move and a turning point comes round. Don’t fear change; ride the wave of opportunity lightly.
- Card
- Major Arcana · X
- Upright keywords
- Turning point, Good luck, Opportunity, Flow
- Reversed keywords
- Stagnation, Missed connections, Bad luck, Poor timing
- Yes or no
- Leans yes
Traditional correspondences Hebrew letter: Kaph (כ, palm of the hand) / Astrology: Jupiter / Tree of Life: 21st path (Chesed to Netzach) / Element: Fire
Upright meaning
A turning point where the tide changes. Ride the opportunity that has come round.
A great wheel turns in the sky, marked with letters and alchemical signs, with a sphinx on top, a snake sliding down one side and a jackal-headed figure rising on the other. Upright, this card says that the wheel is turning in your favour. Luck, chance meetings and sudden changes open new doors. You can’t control everything, but you can be ready to act when the moment comes. Look out for synchronicities: things that seem to fall into place by themselves.
Reversed meaning
Timing is off and things feel stuck. The wheel will turn again.
Reversed, the wheel seems to have stopped, or is turning the wrong way. Plans fall through, timing is off, or the same problem keeps coming back. Remember that the wheel never stops for good. A downturn is part of the cycle, and it often teaches what the good times couldn’t. Use this phase to prepare, notice patterns and let go of what you can’t control.
For ways of reading reversed cards, see how to read reversals.
Love
A fated-feeling meeting, or a relationship reaching a new stage.
Bad timing, or old patterns repeating. Notice what keeps happening and why.
Work
A lucky break, a new opportunity or a positive change of direction.
Setbacks beyond your control. Prepare quietly for the next upturn.
Money
A financial upturn or unexpected gain. Good time to act on an opportunity.
Ups and downs in income. Build a buffer for leaner times.
Relationships
Chance encounters and connections that seem meant to be.
Missed chances to connect. Reach out again when the time is right.
Health
Things improving as a cycle turns. A good time for a fresh start.
Recurring issues. Look at the patterns behind them.
Tarot does not diagnose physical conditions. If you have symptoms that worry you, please see a doctor.
Mind and spirit
Trusting the larger flow of life and your place in it.
Feeling like a victim of fate. Focus on what you can choose.
As a person
Someone who seems to bring luck or change into your life.
Someone unpredictable, or a person you keep running into at the wrong time.
Timing
Things may shift suddenly and unexpectedly. Natural cycles, such as the end of a month or a change of season, are likely turning points; be ready to move when the tide comes in.
Advice
Seize the chance while the wheel is turning your way.
Be patient; the wheel will turn again.
Questions to ask yourself
- What chance or change is coming round in my life now?
- What can I control, and what should I leave to the flow?
- What is a pattern that keeps repeating trying to teach me?
A common misreading
The Wheel of Fortune doesn’t mean “fate is fixed, so nothing I do matters”. Its real message is that while there is a larger current, you can choose how to ride it. Nor should you fear the reversal as an endless run of bad luck; the wheel always turns, and you are simply on a downswing. Prepare, and you can catch the next rise.
The story of this card
Having found the inner lamp with the Hermit, the traveller now meets the Wheel of Fortune, a great current beyond their own control. Ten finishes the cycle from one to nine and returns to one: completion and a new cycle. So far the traveller has faced their own will and inner life. Here they learn that life holds turns of fortune no one can steer. Sometimes you rise, sometimes you fall; if you hold to the centre of the wheel, you can meet any change.
The Waite deck’s picture and symbols
In the Waite deck an orange wheel floats in a blue sky, inscribed with the letters TARO (or ROTA) and the Hebrew letters of God’s name, along with signs for mercury, sulphur, salt and water. A blue sphinx with a sword sits on top, a snake descends on the left, and the Egyptian god Anubis rises on the right. In the four corners, winged figures of an angel, an eagle, a lion and a bull read books: the four fixed signs of the zodiac.
History and differences between traditions
The medieval image of Fortune’s wheel showed figures rising, ruling, falling and lying beneath, with the words “I shall reign, I reign, I have reigned, I am without reign”. Early tarot decks kept these four figures. Éliphas Lévi added the sphinx and the Egyptian elements, and Waite combined them with the four creatures of the Book of Ezekiel.
Words for today
I ride the changes of life with an open heart.
Even this phase will turn.