The traditional title of this Tarot card is The Wheel of Fortune. The wheel shows the positive use of the respective power of consciousness: to attune to cycles, to swim with the current, and to go with the flow.
The respective faculty of consciousness produces the fabric of space-time. According to string theory, everything is composed of energy that moves to (mysterious) rhythms. Also, galaxies, solar systems, planets, and moons move in cycles.
History proceeds both in a linear fashion and in cycles. That’s where the saying history repeats itself and history rhymes come from.
According to ageless wisdom, the universe doesn’t only rhyme, it also evolves. Have you heard of Big History? Big History is an academic discipline that examines the history of the universe from the Big Bang to the present. Big History stipulates a cosmic evolution that went through three phases and seven epochs. The three phases and epochs are the physical evolution (Big Bang, galactic, stellar, planetary, chemical), the biological evolution, and the human (cultural) evolution.
In the context of experiences, the wheel in the picture stands for the cyclic progression of experiences, the yellow serpent signifies involvement in experiences, Anubis stands for the evolution of experiences, and the sphinx represents attainment. The four inner segments of the cycle represent the four levels of human expression. The point at the center signifies the intentional-spiritual level, the eight-spoked circle represents the creative-feely level, the circle with the alchemical symbols stands for the intellectual level, and the outer circle with the Roman and Hebrew letters symbolizes the bodily-practical level. This suggests the concept of (countless) circles within circles.
Adversity involves us in challenging experiences, which lead to insight. Insight marks the turning point at the bottom of the wheel. Insight gives rise to expansion and evolution, symbolized by the right side of the wheel and Anubis. For instance, a financial bear market is the right time to research and find investment opportunities. A bull market is the right time to let investments grow.
Cycles can be benevolent or detrimental. You know the latter as vicious circles and the former as virtuous circles or positive feedback loops. But at the end of the day, vicious cycles are benevolent, too. They lead to insight, which kicks off evolution. The word fortune in Wheel of Fortune pertains to both vicious and virtuous cycles. That’s the reason Eliphas Levi said the faculty of this card turns everything into good.
The respective power of consciousness is timing. Timing means to align one’s efforts with the cycles of the external world. Research found that major success factors of businesses are talent, IQ, a good product idea, opportunity, and timing. Of all those success factors, timing has proven to be the most important factor.
Not surprisingly, people have tried to time their actions since ancient times. They have interpreted the flight of birds, examined the intestines of sacrificed animals, gazed at tea leaves on the bottom of a teacup, scrutinized the patterns of cast bones, and read Tarot cards.
The Cycles card reveals the correct approach to fortune-telling: by leveraging the fact that history rhymes. But mind that historical rhymes allow us to foretell what will happen, not how and when.
Hence, of all the fortune-telling methods, horary astrology and Feng Shui are the most trustworthy ones. That’s because they calculate the cyclic movement of cosmic and planetary energy. They indicate when the vibes of the external world favor an undertaking and when not.
Some situations are too complex to allow for precise timing, for example, when to buy or sell stocks. That’s when timing turns into gambling, which is an unconstructive use of this faculty of consciousness.
An auspicious Cycle card may indicate that the querent is in the right place at the right time and that she has wind in her sails. Hence, this card serves as an encouragement.
An inauspicious Cycle card may indicate that the querent’s challenge resulted from bad timing, bad time management, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or that she is caught in a vicious circle.
An inauspicious Cycle card may also indicate that the querent is working through something, meaning she is on the involution arc of the wheel. This is a time of endurance and seeking insight into what caused her challenges.
On the Tree of Life, the path of the Cycles card connects the spheres Grace (4’s) and Creativity (7’s). The blue sphinx stands for Grace (benevolence).
We can lift ourselves to a state of mind where personal wishes merge with cosmic wishes. The faculty of the Cycles lifts us to this place. Ageless wisdom assigned three epithets to the Cycle card: the intelligence of desirous quest, the rewarding intelligence of those who seek, and the intelligence of conciliation. This pertains to the 7→4 direction. Here, the Cycle card represents the alignment of one’s desires with cosmic intention, which is a secret of building a long-lasting fortune.
The titles and the five core meanings of the Cycles card are:
Enlightenment Tarot title: Cycles
Traditional title: Wheel of Fortune
Power of consciousness: Timing
Constructive use: Synchronization, synchronicity, timeliness
Unconstructive use: Bad timing, gambling
Auspicious state of mind: Momentum
Inauspicious state of mind: Monotony
On the spiritual-intentional level, the Cycles card stands for geomancy and the timing of enlightenment work.
On the creative-feely level, the Cycles card stands for pursuing one’s heart’s desire.
On the intellectual level, the Cycles card stands for historiography, the pursuit of knowledge, and the timing of actions. Mind that speech is a form of action. There is a time to speak and a time to remain silent.
On the bodily-practical level, the Cycles card stands for bodily cycles, like breathing, the wake-sleep cycle, blood circulation, and the menstrual cycle. An inauspicious Cycles card may hence indicate, in particular, in children, afflictions with the mentioned bodily cycles.
More Attributions:
Number: 10
Letter: Kaph, meaning closed hand
Astrology: Jupiter
Color: Violet. Violet is the color of benevolence. Violet = red + blue. Red is the color of drive and ambition. Blue is the color of balance, harmony, and peace. Hence, violet signifies calm ambition. Seasoned artists cultivate calm ambition. When they became artists, there was a lot of ambition in their art. Over time, the influence of blue increased, and their art became less about what they wanted and more about their audience’s needs.
Chakra: the chakra behind the solar plexus.