Legend: Wheel of Fortune/ Arthur's Dream

snowy25

Arthur sits upon a winged chair placed there by Fortuna.
Here he can overlook all that happens as a spectater of his own dream.
I tend to think the winged chair isn't winged at all, but the wings are lady Fortuna's and lady Fortuna standing behind the chair.
For she and not Arthur is spinning the wheel.

I like to think of the wheel as the table being on it's side and the two kings holding it, fortunate or not, it's their desteny.
For kings and the little men have their own ophill climbing and downfalls.

The serpents in the water feast on all who's faith is out of luck.
They are the bad times as we persieve them.
Feeling like our world falls apart when our life goes downhill.

Behind all of this are the rocks.
They where and are allways there.
This is the boldness of life where the water is our emotions.
 

WalesWoman

Hi Snowy,
I like your insights on this card. Fortuna's favors are fickle, that she can be so sweet one minute and become menacing and downright mean the next. No wonder I always don't trust the lasting quality of good fortune coming my way, looking for that proverbial other shoe to drop, that for every good thing that happens something else is taken away. LOL To quote a tiny bit from the book ,
"Past experience with the downturn of the wheel can shake our confidence, leaving psychological wounds, particulary insecurity and mistrust of fortune."
Yep...that's me!

But we can't let that mistrust or insecurity stop us from trying, or we will be forever caught in that pool by the serpents of our fears and never climb out of it. I guess the other thing is not to become to comfortable in that chair either, or wear a seatbelt so we don't fall out on the downturn and can still be sitting there once it rights' itself again.

I guess the other important thing about this is the lack of fairness, Fortuna is fickle and just doesn't care really if you are deserving or not...those bodies of the unfortunate ones floating there with the serpents. Did they not use their luck wisely, did they ever get a fair shake at all? Why do some people seem to have all the luck and others never any at all, when in fact they are much better people and deserve atleast a little bit, if not all that some SOB gets.

But the turning wheel is part of what gives life it's spice and sometimes the feeling of living in a soap opera...it's how we handle it and avoid those rocks, get over our fears and learn the best kind of luck is making it and not waiting for it to come to us.
It's been really good to me and given me some wonderful people and times, it's also driven me to despair, but I've been firm on never jumping off to avoid the ups or downs of life.
 

snowy25

WalesWoman said:
Hi Snowy,
I like your insights on this card. Fortuna's favors are fickle, that she can be so sweet one minute and become menacing and downright mean the next. No wonder I always don't trust the lasting quality of good fortune coming my way, looking for that proverbial other shoe to drop, that for every good thing that happens something else is taken away. LOL

Maybe good people see the world like it should be.
A perfect world without hunger, war or pain.
And then looking around seeing the errors mankind has created for itself.
Life is a constand struggle.
Like Arthur's story in a Keeper of Words he had a horrible dream about war and slaughter.
In the deepest level this is a feeling of being out of controle.
Before this dream he has won many battles and now he sits on a chair with Fortuna behind him.
I see this immage as overlooking the things that have been part of his good fortune in full aware it may not last forever.
Like when we ourselves become wiser in time we just know after good times there are times when there comes something that turns our luck.
It's only from the first downfalls and recovering them we know we must embrace the good and be strong in the bad once.

Fortuna could be eccepted as the teacher of the lessons we learn from all of this.
I see her as blind but not stupid.
Everyone must experiance and go thru the downfalls.
And there is no one who likes it.

I know someone who doesn't know how to cope with all of this.
It's realy hard to try and help cause you know she must climb upwards herself.
You just want to lift her up but that won't do.
It can make you feel powerless.
But that's something I can't explane on the net.
Back to the card...

But we can't let that mistrust or insecurity stop us from trying, or we will be forever caught in that pool by the serpents of our fears and never climb out of it. I guess the other thing is not to become to comfortable in that chair either, or wear a seatbelt so we don't fall out on the downturn and can still be sitting there once it rights' itself again.

You are so right on this.

...those bodies of the unfortunate ones floating there with the serpents. Did they not use their luck wisely, did they ever get a fair shake at all? Why do some people seem to have all the luck and others never any at all, when in fact they are much better people and deserve atleast a little bit, if not all that some SOB gets.

In my line of work (I give advise to about a hundred people a day) I have learned many people are overwhelmed with life.
A very big part of the people in our world tend to get stuck in bad luck not always brought upon them theirselves.
Many of them turn to help for others and mostely they have trouble with organisations now.
We depend on others in everything we want.
A good house, a good job, children have to go to good schools, a great hobby, we need to have good food and besides this we want to be eccepted by others.
It's all linked to organisations and we have to pay taxes, have a job, have plans for ourselves and everyone wants to have his place in society.
If things go wrong no one magicly knows all the right steps to take.
It takes other people to fill us in.
And if something important is falling away or is taken from us not every one is prepared.
Sometimes it seems like good souls have the least of luck.
I used to be so ignorend to think that was just their path in life.
But maybe it still is the battle of the strongest.
There should be more people providing help for the needy once.
And many people should realice not to turn to others for everything when they don't realy need the help.
I don't realy have an awnser to all of this but it sure makes my head krack.
Like you said:

...it's how we handle it and avoid those rocks, get over our fears and learn the best kind of luck is making it and not waiting for it to come to us.
It's been really good to me and given me some wonderful people and times, it's also driven me to despair, but I've been firm on never jumping off to avoid the ups or downs of life.

Sounds like you had your share of the moods of the lady to.

Whising you the best of times

Snowy
 

Sophie-David

The Wheel of Fortune and its companion, Justice, are the two Majors I have the most problem with. I can accept the Hanged One, Death or the Tower, but these two can be so unfair. They seem to act without mercy and compassion, and are probably the two that can most raise me to anger, for so often the become Oppression and Injustice.

But in some cases we do shape our own downfalls. Making the wrong choices can make all the difference. Call it Karma or consequence, sometimes the fall of the wheel is a result of some bad decisions. In the picture on the card, why does Arthur not help the two colleagues who struggle out of the waters of death? Perhaps if they all worked together, if they hugged or hung on to each other at the top, in their mutual strength they could survive the turn of the wheel. But Arthur in his arrogance is content "to be fed all manner of fruit and wine".

This card is an inner metaphor for Arthur's life; in the story that wraps around this we see that he makes some critical mistakes, particularly in putting Guenevere to the stake in the Eight of Swords. Fortuna has a mind of her own, but sometimes we can reduce the effect of her downturns, or catch her at an unexpected upturn which turns our lives around. Making the right choices is not easy, but perhaps that's one reason we read Tarot, both for ourselves and to help others.

Perhaps learning to accept Fortuna and her Wheel, maybe even one day to embrace, even begin to love her, is the current challenge of my life. In those recent times when I have dwelt with the eternal self, I have seen that there is no reason to fear her. But today is not one of those days. Today it sickens me to see those hideous creatures polluting the waters of life. They belong with the unholy Wasteland of the Five of Shields.
 

WalesWoman

No one ever said Life would be fair, we are given it to make the most of or waste it away if we so choose. It's all about the latitude of our attitude and how we decide to look at what Fate throws at us.

My philosophy is something like walking down a road, Fate gives you both the opportunities and obstacles between where you are and your destiny...it's not always good and it's not always bad, there are mountains to climb to watch the sunrise , to be like an eagle and valleys full of darkness and shadows, meadows where you can see forever and forests that may make you lose your way, but nothing ever stays the same, everything is always changing, the main thing is how you choose to deal with it. Make it real...

I'm not much of a gambler...but when you think about it, all of life is a gamble, nothing is guaranteed, except things manmade, but that doesn't mean they won't break or disappoint. And even those come with limitations.
 

Lyones

It's great to have you with us Snowy :)

Originally posted by Snowy
Sometimes it seems like good souls have the least of luck.

That is so true ... Fortuna seems to ignore the vulnerable and helpless ones for the most part.

Originally posted by Sophie-David
The Wheel of Fortune and its companion, Justice, are the two Majors I have the most problem with. I can accept the Hanged One, Death or the Tower, but these two can be so unfair.

I agree, the Wheel and Justice can portray the most unfair circumstances, but I'm glad that it does keep turning, because it gives the opportunity at some point to take advantage of a situation that can lift you out of what is happening - I guess the knack would be to recognise it for what it is ... because if we miss it, one cycle just backs onto another.

The Keeper of Words says "The water is the subconscious and the serpents represent our deep-rooted fears which lurk here." I think at some point we all feel that we may, or have, toppled from the Wheel and that fate is against our every move. It reminds me to try to treat everyone equally even if I am at the top of the Wheel, because it may not always be so.

I also think how real it is from the aspect of finding favour with someone, but that a misplaced word or action can leave us dangling precariously over hungry looking serpents, and much like Fortuna, they will turn a blind eye as the mood takes them.

Originally posted by WalesWoman
But the turning wheel is part of what gives life it's spice and sometimes the feeling of living in a soap opera...it's how we handle it and avoid those rocks, get over our fears and learn the best kind of luck is making it and not waiting for it to come to us.

It's been really good to me and given me some wonderful people and times, it's also driven me to despair, but I've been firm on never jumping off to avoid the ups or downs of life.

Yes, Fortuna certainly makes it an exciting ride. There are times when I would have loved to have been able to say "Stop! I want to get off." ... and I think that's another purpose of the serpents in the water ... to remind us of the alternatives ... I think it's safer on the Wheel, and there's always the chance that it will turn in our favour :D

The word "destiny" gives us a sense of purpose, of being alive to fulfil it, that everything happens for a reason and in it's season or time, that the world keeps turning for better or worse, and it is up to the individual to make the most of it for themselves as well as for others when we have the means to do so. I also see it as being a reminder, that however badly done by I think I am, there are those worse off.
 

Sophie-David

WalesWoman said:
I'm not much of a gambler...but when you think about it, all of life is a gamble, nothing is guaranteed, except things manmade, but that doesn't mean they won't break or disappoint. And even those come with limitations.
Well I am a gambler (but with no interest in gaming for money) and I realize that I'm quite willing to gamble when I know what its about. Then I can usually accept the consequences, good or bad. Its when something comes out of the blue, something which I feel I have had no knowledge or opportunity to commit to, that's when I find it hard to accept. I suppose this is a common reaction. If I feel that if I am actively participating in the gamble then it makes a huge positive difference, even if the situation, rewards and risks are the same as in a gamble of which I have no preknowledge.
WalesWoman said:
No one ever said Life would be fair, we are given it to make the most of or waste it away if we so choose. It's all about the latitude of our attitude and how we decide to look at what Fate throws at us.
I think that's what I need to work on, to see that by accepting my incarnation I did actively accept all the gambles of life. I may have forgotten, but I did sign up for all of them. Its all part of learning to cherish life.

In the Connolly meditational sequence, the Wheel was one of the worst cards: it was definitely in its reversed aspect. But the solution - in fact the only way out - was to accept it with humour. Humour seems to be the answer to quite a few of life's problems. :)
 

WalesWoman

I'm sure at some points it could be a warning...don't tempt Fate!

Guess it would depend on what came around this card. If it was the Fool, I'd say it was a good thing and to stop pacing in indecision and go for it. With Temperance I'd bet that it would be a mixed blessing and with the Hanged Man, uhhhhhh, maybe pass if it's possible? Justice would make me hope I had only nice things written in the profile on me, cause what ever happened would be well deserved, good or bad.
The Star, hmmm the wheel could bring something with the tower or that turning point when things seem crappy, but there's still hope for better days. Or hang on, you are going to need all the hope and faith you can get.

Wow, it's sort of fun thinking of what WOF can mean with a following card.