Wheel of Fortune symbology

Richard

Going counterclockwise starting at upper left corner, the living creatures also represent the fixed signs and the elements: Aquarius (Air), Taurus (Earth), Leo (Fire), Scorpio (Water). The snake to the left of the wheel is another symbol for Scorpio.

The innermost circle could represent the Fifth Element (Æthyr or Quintessence).

There are also some alchemical symbols.
 

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Zephyros

There are also some alchemical symbols.

You know, I've wondered about that? The symbols don't mesh with the Thoth symbols, but for seemingly no reason. I seem to remember this being discussed somewhere, maybe even in my own thread about Fortune.
 

ravenest

Sorry if I state the obvious, but the four winged creatures are obviously the winged man (angel), lion, bull and eagle that appear in the Hebrew Bible (vision of Ezekiel) and were adapted in the New Testament as symbol figures for the four Evangelists (that's why the symbol of Venice is the winged lion - it's the animal associated with St. Marcus who is Venice's patron).

These animals appear everywhere in Western art and culture, they symbolize the four directions, temperaments, seasons etc. Even the houses of Hogwarts show traces of the fourfold symbolism - fiery Gryffindor, watery Slytherin, airy Ravenclaw and earthy Hufflepuff with their symbol animals.

Combined with a book, these animals show universal wisdom.

I had to add a thank you here :) (I just read the opposite them elsewhere :( about how they were bad )
 

ravenest

Going counterclockwise starting at upper left corner, the living creatures also represent the fixed signs and the elements: Aquarius (Air), Taurus (Earth), Leo (Fire), Scorpio (Water). The snake to the left of the wheel is another symbol for Scorpio.

The innermost circle could represent the Fifth Element (Æthyr or Quintessence).

There are also some alchemical symbols.

Which again relate to earth air fire water, formed in a cross type sigil at the centre

" Learn first — Oh thou who aspirest unto our ancient Order! — that Equilibrium is the basis of the Work. If thou thyself hast not a sure foundation, whereon wilt thou stand to direct the forces of Nature?"

and

" Therefore, as hath already been said, Establish thyself firmly in the equilibrium of forces, in the centre of the Cross of the Elements, that Cross from whose centre the Creative Word issued in the birth of the Dawning Universe."

http://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib30.html

An interesting thing about this card is it demonstrates the 3:4 principle, the triangle of the 3 gunas sit inside the square of the 4 elements ... much food for meditation there.

Who knows why Waite chose those specific 3 animals ??? Wierd ! Some even show a fox chasing a rabbit ( On what I call the Wheel of MISfortune http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.7680646.7280/flat,550x550,075,f.u1.jpg )

If they are gunas, one might expect animals that show creation : preservation : destruction. Crowley terms them feeling, thought and ecstasy.
 

Abrac

In the Pictorial Key, "2, CLASS l, TRUMPS MAJOR" (10. Wheel of Fortune), Waite says:

"These are replaced in the reconstruction by a Hermanubis rising with the wheel, a Sphinx couchant at the summit and a Typhon on the descending side."

So here we have Waite describing them. But wait, there's more. :laugh:

In the main description of the Wheel, he says:

"In this symbol I have again followed the reconstruction of Éliphas Lévi, who has furnished several variants."

Here's a picture of Lévi's Wheel.

Lévi's Wheel

His description reads thus:

"Hieroglyph, THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE, that is to say, the cosmogonical (a theory of the origin of the universe) wheel of Ezekiel, with a Hermanubis ascending on the right, a Typhon descending on the left and a sphinx in equilibrium above, holding a sword between his lion's claws - an admirable symbol, disfigured by Etteilla, who replaced Typhon by a wolf, Hermanubis by a mouse, and the sphinx by an ape, an allegory characteristic of Etteilia's Kabalah."

Here we have Lévi also describing them as Typhon, Hermanubis and Sphinx.

Waite also seems to have borrowed from Lévi with his alchemical symbols. Here's Lévi's description from Transcendental Magic followed by a diagram. Waite's placement of the symbols differs from Lévi however:

"Here let us add a few words on the four magical elements and elementary spirits. The magical elements are: in alchemy, Salt, Sulphur, Mercury and Azoth; in Kabalah, the Macroprosopus, the Microprosopus and the two Mothers; in hieroglyphics, the Man, Eagle, Lion and Bull; in old physics, according to vulgar names and notions, air, water, earth and fire. But in magical science we know that water is not ordinary water, fire is
not simply fire, etc. These expressions conceal a more recondite (obscure) meaning."

Diagram
 

ravenest

The whole card seems to be a little alchemical discourse.

The wheel revolves, reminding me that the whole basis of the alchemical process is about circulation.

In needs to be performed in an 'arena' or environment of balanced elemental forces. (One can even equate the lab and apparatus to the elemental formula much as a blacksmiths; workshop fire water air earth : forge quenching bellows anvil.

Within are the three elements ... yes there are 4 sorta ... a primary element that contains the 3, from which they are divided and a 4th when they are bought back together.

Another 3:4

The Gunas - This Vedic principle is an example of the primary triangle. In Samkhya philosophy, there are three major Gunas that serve as the fundamental operating principles or 'tendencies' of prakṛti (universal nature) which are called: sattva guṇa, rajas guṇa, and tamas guṇa. The three primary Gunas are generally accepted to be associated with creation (rajas), preservation (sattva), and destruction (tamas).

Beyond these forces or their influence or balanced within them lies a ‘supernal consciousness, depending on the tradition; Brahma, Krishna, etc. “The World deluded by these Three Gunas does not know Me: Who is beyond these Gunas and imperishable.” Who is this ‘Me’?

Here we have another three implying a fourth, this time , ‘above’ (as opposed to ‘below’, a pendant or result, i.e. 4, balance all three above or bring into manifestation, bring together back to a unity that has grown from the process of splitting the one into two / three).

A good example is the dialogue from the first part of The Rite of Jupiter . There are three central characters representing the Gunas and a central character; Centrum in Centri Trigono (C.I.C.T.) – the one in the centre of the triangle. But here Crowley, although identifying them with the gunas lists them as feeling thought and ecstasy.

Later in the play, the ‘Gunas’ argue, C.I.C.T. admonished them;

C.I.C.T. “Irreconcilable, my children, how shall ye partake of the Banquet of Jupiter, or come to the centre of the wheel? For this is the secret of Jupiter, that He who created you is in each of you, yet apart from all; before Him ye are equal, revolving in Time and in Space; but he is unmoved and within.”

Although it appears as a map of three it is describing a process of four (or 3 ‘implies’ 4). One example is a three sided pyramid that creates an apex or a three sided pyramid and its base. Models of three often include a fourth principle (originating) above or within the triangle (the eye within the triangle symbol) or extending ‘below’ to show an ‘outcome’, e.g. all three elements combine to make earth.

The three model with the 'One' resultant (instead of concealed within) - making the 4 model is everywhere present:

The 4 world of the Qabalah, Tarot suits and elements, G A C T - genetic code, divisions of the soul (and many other things) in Kabbalah, the four systems of the body ( nervous, circulatory respiratory, muscles skeleton, etc ) - note the fire water air earth arrangement in this and the other examples), the four Buddhist principles for divine living : Loving kindness, Compassion, Equanimity (balanced mind) and Appreciative Joy (or Sympathetic Joy) - and the 'Four Noble Truths' , four principles of Aikido, 4 male archetypes ( King, Warrior, Magician, Lover), the 3 'emergency drives' of Psychology (the 4th being the actual physical response (earth) to the drives, the Three Psychic Divisions of Freud and the Fourth Jung added, vegetative life ( A plant needs four elements plus the ‘fifth element’ to grow ('quintessence is seen as 'hidden' in the elements or a pre sate that generated the elements); ‘Spirit’– light. Fire – temperature. Water – moisture. Air – CO2 and O2. Earth – ‘growing medium’. Most consist of 4 basic components; seed (archetypal pattern)and fruit (or seed container), flowers (or their equivalent), leaves / stems and roots ( also ; Primary nutrients for good plant growth; N, P & K. Further to this we can construct another triangle of nutrients with N, P & K at one point, secondary nutrients at another ( Ca, S & Mg) and micro-nutrients ( B, Cl, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mo & Se) at the third - fertiliser should be put out with lime to maintain Ph balance, so that is the 4th grounding principle) ... also ; Four principles for agricultural consideration; cosmic forces, earthly forces, location and type of plant. The Four Forces in Physics. Four psychological truths ( review the internal map, witholding truth, sublimation of desire and balancing the first three - a great demo of the 4th coming from the 3rd).

Colour perception is a good demonstration; singularity splits into duality, the main pattern is a reception of 3 but that creates 4 and result : There are 3 ‘primary’ colours; red, blue, yellow. There are 4 ‘natural’ colours; red, blue, yellow green : fire, water, air, earth.

We look at one thing ... through 2 eyes. We have 3 sets of colour receptors; black and white, blue and yellow and red and green. These three combine to give hundreds of possible hues like purple and magenta.

Within the eye the retina has two types of light sensitive cells called rods and cones. Cones absorb red blue and yellow but do not work well in detecting colour in low light. Rods have ‘sacrificed’ colour reception to work as ‘night vision’ and detect black and white.

Signals travel from the retina along the optic nerves to the visual cortex for sorting and sending to the three relevant parts of the brain to analyse the signals in respect to three qualities; movement, colour, distance. These three parts of the brain send their processed information back to the visual cortex where it integrates the information.
Light – singularity, passes through two types of receptors to make three dimensions of colour, in a duality (or polarity) black / white, blue / yellow, red green, to process through the visual cortex to three parts of the brain and back again to make it possible to observe the four ‘natural colours’ and their combinations.

So, in my view the revolving wheel with 3 characters on it, amidst the world generating 4 principles is an underlying principle of order and structure in nature.
 

Zephyros

So, in my view the revolving wheel with 3 characters on it, amidst the world generating 4 principles is an underlying principle of order and structure in nature.

And this connects the card to the Magician, who's table bears the symbols of the three alchemical elements, with the four elements of the suits resting on it. Neither his table nor his implements, though, are moving. This is probably because it is too early for them to move and interact, they are as yet only the principles of creation. Going further, one could also connect the Courts and their astrological placement to this scheme: every element is made of one sulphur, one salt and one mercury (Knight, Queen and King) with the Page being the "World" of each suit. Indeed, the Page may very well be at the center of the wheel, from a certain point of view.

In any case, very nice symbolic poetry going on in this card and others to which connections can be made, quite beautiful.

With all the different threads I think I'm getting mixed up a bit, with Fortune and the Universe and the World... where am I?
 

ravenest

You are IN the World ON the Wheel MOVING THROUGH the Universe - on your way to ....

(fill in the 4th hidden principle yourself ;) )

[ Yeah, I skipped a lot, make the post too long otherwise ; 12 astro signs - 4 x 3 , each divided x 3 (decans) ... could all be a model from the hand ?

Hand - actually we have two of them ... duality. 4 fingers divided into three segments the 5th 'quintessential' thumb (or spirit) - 2 segments , spirit active and passive. ]