Legacy of the Divine - Wheel

NatKat

10. The Wheel

This card has some interesting departures from RWS and Thoth. Legacy of the Divine’s Wheel has its own unique symbolism, yet it feels to me more closely based-on the Thoth deck than RWS.

The Legacy Wheel is crowned by a realistic image of Jupiter – its patron planet. Although I personally dislike photorealism in Tarot cards I find this image an excellent use of the modern technology which allows an artist to put a realistic image of Jupiter in the card representing it.

The Thoth Wheel seems to turn in the center of a galatic spiral. RWS’s Wheel turns in the cloudy heavens. Legacy’s Wheel is positioned between heaven and earth. Brilliant.

Marchetti also departed from the classical symbolism of the mythical beasts and elemental archangels. Instead, Legacy’s Wheel holds the 4 Elements and the 12 signs of the Zodiac, although I disagree with his placement of the elemental symbols on the zodiac. Technically speaking, if Earth is shown on top next to Capricorn, then Water should be at the bottom next to Cancer, etc. To me this is a flaw in an otherwise beautifully-rendered card.

Rather than mythical beasts, Marchetti places our old friend Mr. Fool on the Wheel. Also a brilliant touch depicting with great humor the Fool’s journey through the major arcana. As with the Chariot, I like Marchetti’s changing of the classical symbolism. I understand the Fool spinning around on the Wheel. The mythical beasts always seemed obscure to me although I know they are supposed to represent the interplay of the three Alchemical elements (Salt, Sulpher, Mercury) which I personally see as the three Vedic forces of Tamas, Rajas, and Sattvas.

Marchetti’s vision adds meaning to the wheel on one hand, but loses a layer of symbolism on the other. A trade-off. If the card had got the Elements correctly placed and included the Alchemical/Vedic symbolism … it would have been perfect.

In Gateway to the Divine Marchetti comments that his Wheel is an actual physical structure – not just a metaphysical concept. This echoes Gurdjieff’s axiom that everything in the Universe is material.