Wheel of Fortune
Major Arcana · Number X · Element Fire · Planet Jupiter
Keywords: cycles, fate, turning point, luck, karma
About This Card
A great wheel spins in the sky, covered in alchemical symbols and the letters T-A-R-O (which can also be read as T-O-R-A, Torah, or R-O-T-A, Latin for wheel). Creatures of the four fixed signs — angel, eagle, bull, lion — anchor the corners of the image. On the wheel: a sphinx at the top, a serpent descending, Anubis ascending. Nothing stays at the top forever; nothing stays at the bottom forever. The wheel turns.
Upright Meaning
Good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny, turning point, abundance.
The Wheel of Fortune upright heralds a turning point — often a lucky one. Forces larger than your individual will are in motion, and they are moving in your favour. This card asks you to recognise patterns and cycles in your life: what goes around comes around. It is a call to trust the flow rather than fight it. Seize the opportunity this turning brings — good fortune favours those who are ready to act when the wheel turns up.
Reversed Meaning
Bad luck, resistance to change, breaking cycles, no control.
Reversed, the Wheel of Fortune suggests you are fighting the natural cycle — resisting a necessary change, trying to hold a situation in place that needs to move, or struggling against the consequences of past decisions. It can also indicate a run of bad luck or the sense that life is happening to you rather than through you. Remember: the wheel always turns. What goes down eventually comes up. How are you responding to what life is currently teaching you?
Wheel of Fortune in a Reading
When Wheel of Fortune appears in your spread, notice your immediate emotional response — tarot works through resonance. Consider the card's position (past, present, future, obstacle, or outcome) and the surrounding cards, which can amplify or soften its meaning.