Wheel of Fortune

No Coincidences. No Lessons. Just the Wheel.

The Wheel of Fortune is card number ten in the Major Arcana, and marks a major turning point in the Fool’s journey: a moment when the story stops being about characters and starts being about forces. Up until now, the Fool has encountered a series of powerful archetypes: mentors, mothers, teachers, adversaries, lovers, and inner guides. Each one shaped the Fool’s identity and worldview. From the bold beginnings with The Magician and the intuitive knowledge of The High Priestess, to the structured lessons of The Hierophant and the internal reckoning with Strength and The Hermit, it’s all been deeply personal.

But now the Fool meets something that can’t be reasoned with.

The Wheel is the first inanimate object featured in the Major Arcana. There’s no human face to look into or conversation to have, just motion and change. This marks a new chapter in the Fool’s evolution. If the first half of the Major Arcana were about shaping the self, the Wheel is where the Fool realizes that not everything in life responds to intention or effort. Some things just happen. The forces in play now are timing, chaos, fate, randomness, and luck. The Fool is moving to a rhythm they didn’t choose.

In the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith card, the Wheel floats in the sky, flanked by mystical beings and odd creatures that hint at fate and mysticism. Clearly, I took a lot of liberties with my visual interpretation, but I’ve kept its core themes intact. I thought it would be interesting to bring the card into the modern world with a DJ spinning cosmic beats on a turntable. The Wheel doesn’t offer guidance or comfort, it just spins. 

A skeleton is spinning the wheel, but not for you. He doesn’t smile, or judge, or speak. He just turns. He has no face because fate has no face. He’s already dead because whatever force is behind the wheel doesn’t need to be alive.

You’ve felt it before. The sudden text from someone you were just thinking about. The missed flight that somehow saved a relationship. The stranger you met who changed your life. No coincidences. No lessons. Just the wheel.

And maybe you call that god. Not the god who watches. Not the god who loves. The one who spins without explanation. The one who moves the world forward with no promise, no pattern, and no reason, just rhythm. If there is a god, maybe you’re not being tested. You’re just being spun. This is where the tarot stops being comforting and starts being true. The wheel turns. Not because you're ready or because you deserve it. But because that's just what it does.

Let’s look deeper into the symbols

Those of you familiar with tarot will notice the same mythic ingredients from the classic card, just remixed through a different medium.

The letters TARO are etched into the spinning turntable. It’s a nod to Pamela Colman Smith’s interpretation. The letters aren’t frozen in place, they’re moving and rotating. It’s both a mystical riddle and a groove of fate. TARO, ROTA, TORA, ORAT— these hidden words still whisper wisdom, but now they do it on vinyl. (Read more about this Historical Interest in the sidebar.)

A snake winds around the volume knob, symbolizing entropy and modulation. Are you turning the chaos up or down? Are you amplifying temptation or transformation? You don’t get to control the Wheel, but maybe you can control how you experience it. 

Beside the turntable sits Anubis, the Egyptian god of the underworld. A subtle but powerful presence. He isn’t menacing, just observant. A guide through uncertain transitions. In the midst of randomness, Anubis offers quiet structure. If death is in the room, he’s making sure it’s handled with dignity.

The Sphinx is on the DJ’s shirt, close to his heart. The traditional keeper of riddles, it guards the truths no one can decode. Maybe your fate isn’t something to solve. Maybe it’s something to wear.

The skeleton is a reminder of time’s slippery grip. Death is in the room. Not as a threat, but as the ultimate equalizer. You don’t have forever. So why not dance? There’s a kind of freedom in realizing that everything is temporary. Jobs, relationships, feelings, fortunes. They rise and fall like beats in a set. When the Wheel of Fortune shows up, it asks: what would you do if you stopped trying to predict the drop and just felt it instead? The only people out of place on a dance floor are those who don’t dance. 

So what does all this mean?

How can this actually play out in your life? The Wheel of Fortune tends to appear when something feels like it’s about to shift, or already has. And it often comes with that eerie feeling of not having seen it coming.

Here’s what this card might be saying, depending on where you are:

In Work or Career:

Sudden changes: a promotion, a layoff, an unexpected offer, a weird synchronicity. Things are moving behind the scenes. Don’t cling too tightly to how you thought your path should look. Be adaptable. Your big break might look nothing like you expected. Try seeing disruption as redirection. If the DJ changes the song mid-set, maybe it’s time to switch up your moves.

In Love and Relationships:

You meet someone by accident. Or someone leaves and you don’t get closure. A breakup feels like a collapse, but then something better arrives. This card reminds you that you can’t logic your way through connection. Sometimes the universe swipes right for you. Maybe it’s time to stop forcing outcomes and let the story unfold. What if your love life isn’t broken, it’s just on shuffle?

In Finances:

Upturns, downturns, windfalls, surprises. The Wheel reminds you to zoom out. Are you basing your self-worth on your net worth? That’s a dangerous game when fortune is a revolving door. If you’re flush, practice gratitude, not entitlement. If you’re strapped, this cycle will shift. Stay in motion. Keep the beat.

In Mental and Emotional Patterns:

If you’ve been in a funk, this card is your remix. You don’t have to keep dancing to the same old trauma playlist. Fate might be ready to drop a new track. Are you willing to hear it? This is where free will enters. You don’t get to control the Wheel, but you do get to choose how you move with it. That’s agency. That’s resilience. 

Reframing the "Luck" Narrative

It’s easy to treat this card like a fortune cookie. “Good luck is coming!” But that oversimplifies it. The real wisdom of the Wheel is that luck isn’t always about gain. Sometimes what looks like chaos is the precise shift that gets you unstuck. Sometimes loss is the turn that leads you home.

Instead of asking, “What’s going to happen to me?” try asking:

• How can I stay centered while the world spins?

• What if this isn’t happening to me, but for me?

You’re not the DJ, sure. But you’re not just on the dance floor either. You’re part of the mix.

When this card appears…

• Say yes to something you can’t fully explain.

• Release your grip on the plan. Rework your timeline if life already has.

• Notice what’s falling into place without your effort.

• If the song changes, don’t stall out. Move to what’s playing now.

Look for the pattern behind the chaos…just enough to stay curious, not controlling. This card loves people who stay open and curious. People who keep showing up even when they don’t have a plan. People who know how to take a hit, shake it off, and spin anyway.

Final Beat

The Wheel of Fortune is usually a sign that something is aligning in your favor, and it tends to bring positive, meaningful change. Even if you can’t see the outcome yet, the wheel is turning toward motion, possibility, and unexpected gifts. It’s the universe’s way of saying, “Get ready, something is shifting.” 

It reminds you that change doesn’t have to be scary. It can be thrilling. You might find yourself in the right place at the right time. You might receive help you didn’t expect. A door might swing open that you weren’t even knocking on.

Stay open. Say yes. Let life surprise you.