Wheel of Fortune Tarot Card Meaning

The Wheel of Fortune Card - What It Shows

One of the most symbol-rich cards in the deck. It depicts a compass wheel surrounded by four winged creatures - the angel, the bull, the eagle, and the lion - representing the four evangelists in Christian belief. On the wheel are four Hebrew letters, YHVH, the unpronounceable name of God. The middle wheel holds the symbols for mercury, water, sulphur, and salt, the building blocks of life. A snake on the outer left represents the Egyptian god Typhon (the god of evil), a warning about losing the value of life by loving material things; on the right is Anubis, who welcomes souls to the underworld. At the top, a sphinx represents knowledge and strength.

Wheel of Fortune Upright Meaning

Upright, the Wheel of Fortune is the turning of cycles - change arriving, fortune shifting, a turning point you can feel but not fully control. As advice, it tells you to accept the flow of events and learn from them; the lesson inside this turn will benefit you for a long time. Resisting the wheel exhausts you; reading it wisely carries you.

Wheel of Fortune Reversed Meaning

Reversed, the Wheel of Fortune suggests you may have fallen back, or hit rock bottom. But the card doesn't leave it there - this low is a chance to start over with a new plan. The wheel that took you down is the same wheel that will turn again; what you do at the bottom shapes the next rise.

Wheel of Fortune as Advice

As advice, the Wheel of Fortune counsels acceptance and attention: stop fighting the change, find the lesson in it, and adjust your plan. What feels like fate is also feedback.

Wheel of Fortune in a Tarot Reading

As a Major Arcana card it points to a significant theme, not a passing detail. Its meaning sharpens against the cards around it, its position, and your question - which is what a live reading interprets for your situation. See all 22 cards on the Major Arcana meanings hub, or start a full phone tarot reading.

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