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Although Waite was sworn to secrecy when in the Golden Dawn Lodge, he use a loophole of subtlety in the design of his tarot cards. Therefore, he used Hebrew letters of the Qaballah around the perimeter of the Rider-Waite-Smith Card, to further explain the Tarot Cards. In Western Hermetic Qabalah the Wheel of Fortune card is assigned the Hebrew Letter -Kaph, which basically means "a curve". Kaph-means Fist, and represents the hand of man grasping to hold, to comprehend, and to master. Hence, what can be grasped mentally is clear, intelligible, explicate, positive, and precise. Very different than the ineffability and abstractness of those ideas that relate to Yod and the Hermit.

Wealth and Poverty are the pair of opposites (light and shadow) that relate to the letter Kaph. Hence, it is the Wheel of Most Fortunate or the Most Unfortunate. This is not a roulette wheel, for it isn't a gamble, as each person is in charge of their own fate. Wealth and poverty are the extremes of property, the external signs of one's grasp of circumstances.

The title of the Rewarding Intelligence, is attributed to the Wheel of Fortune that is ruled by Jupiter, the Benevolent Planet, which in astrology is called the Greater Fortune, and is stated to have tremendous influence for prosperity and all benefits when well placed in a horoscope. For those who don't "believe" in astrology, one should understand that the ancients lacked a psychological descriptive vocabulary, and therefore, assigned planets to represent types of behavior and personalities.

The Kerubic/Cherubic emblems of Bull, Lion, Eagle, Man, are the Cherubs mentioned in Ezekiel and Revelation and are also depicted on the Waite card as the 4 fixed signs of the zodiac.

The four fixed signs of the Zodiac are:

• Taurus (Bull ): Spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere.
• Leo ( Lion): Summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the southern hemisphere.
• Scorpio (Eagle ): Autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere.
• Aquarius ( Man): Winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere.

The Wheel of Fortune combines the ideas of rotation, cyclicity, sequence, whirling motion, simultaneous accent and decent etc.. All with the ideas of fortune, destiny, chance, fate, necessity, probability and the like. The Qabalistic teaching emphatically states that what seems to be chance-whether absence of purpose or absence of design- is really the working of unalterable law. Hence the law of cause and effect, as every effect is the product of preceding causes. Therefore, the best we grasp this law of sequence and cyclicity, the greater our command over subsequent events. There is periodicity in everything.

Unlike the traditional design of the Wheel of Fortune, the Modern Witch Tarot- Key 10- illustrates a woman is shown on top of the Wheel and on the bottom of the Wheel of Fortune. In the past, the male figure was used to represent "mankind" not just the gender of the male body. However, this Card represents the Mother who determines the experience of the Son/Sun/Soul by adjusting the Wheel. In Western Hermetic Qabalistic Tarot, the Son is known as "self-awareness" and here, the conscious (upper woman) and subconscious (Lower woman) move closer together towards something new in the world of self-consciousness as the conscious acts on the experiences generated by the survival mind of the subconscious.

The golden Wheel of Fortune represents all life, with it's many ups and downs. Also shown is the Alchemy of the entire world represented by the astrological symbols of Leo (Fire), Scorpio (Water), Aquarius (Air), and Taurus(Earth). This card shows very little knowledge of the Western Hermitic Qabalah.

The Wheel is symbolic of the whole cosmic expression, and is an emblem of any particular series of events.The Archetypical World of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot is represented as the pivot-center. The Creative world is seen as the inner circle, with symbols of alchemy. The middle circle is the Formative World and the outer circle is the Material World. The Eight pointed star in Key 17, is represents as the eight spokes, symbolizing The Radiant Energy.This central circle is also represented as Pranayama and/or Life-Breath, ten times on the-0- the Fool's tunic. In the Formative World middle circle, are the symbols of Mercury (above), Sulfur (to the right), and Salt -to the left. Here is represented the corresponding concepts of the 3 gunas of Yoga philosophy; sattva (Mercury-Consciousness), rajas (Sulfur-activity & passion), and tamas (Salt-ignorance & inertia). At the bottom of the Formative circle is the alchemical sign of dissolution, identical to the astrological sign of Aquarius. It is said in Alchemical circles that Dissolution is the Fundamental Process of the Great Work.

The Jackal-headed Hermanubis represents the evolution of consciousness from the lower forms to the higher. His jackal head represents intellectuality, while the red color symbolizes passion and activity. Above and beyond his is the position of the Intellect that most people have not as yet traversed. In his position on the wheel, he symbolizes the mundane person's level of intellectual activity.

The Sphinx represents the Real Self of the human, behind the veil of personality. When the inner senses develop and/or unfold (Divya Sidhis/Magic Abilities), corresponding to the outer senses, we become aware of the One Thing, which transcends personality. The One Thing is the propounder of the riddles of existence. It remains motionless while the wheel turns. The blue color relates the Sphinx to Memory, the basic function of the subconscious, as if to emphasize the idea that the highest self-knowledge is really self-recollection. (Man know thyself).

The Wheel itself, is the whole whirling cycle of cosmic expression.The involution of Cosmic Radiant Energy into matter (FOHAT), is represented by the yellow serpent on the Rider-Waite-Smith card.

On the outer wheel dedicated to the material world are the letter TARO, counter changed with the Hebrew letter IHVH (YHVH). Since Hebrew Letter represent numbers, the numerical value of TARO is 671, important in Qaballah as a number of certain titles of Malkuth-The Kingdom. The value of IHVH (YHVH) is 26, hence the total numeration of the eight letters on the wheel is 697, an by adding the digits of 6+9+7 we get 22, a number associated with the wheel since time immemorial, and the numbers in the Hebrew Alphabet, symbolized by the 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot (The Fool is the 22nd).

Transposition of the letters TARO, may make the following five words: ROTA-TARO-ORAT-TORA-ATOR. "Ator" is the old Latin form of the Egyptian Goddess Hathor (Mother God). Therefore, this rather barbarous Latin sentence is often translated as, " The Wheel of Tarot speaks the Laws of Hathor (Laws of Nature)." Physiologically, the Wheel represents the law of periodicity in mental activity, whereby, mental states have a tendency to reoccur in definite rhythms , as well as, the law of the involution of the undifferentiated conscious energy, and its evolution through a series of personalized forms of itself. It is the Law of Cause and Effect, making sure that we "reap what we sow'".

When the Wheel of Fortune Card is thrown in a divination it implies:

• Continual growth and decay.
• Eternal change.
• Alteration. 
• New beginnings.
• Acceptance of destiny.
• Understanding the purpose in life.
• The transformation of the lower into the higher.
• Unexpected turn of events (good fortune).
• Perception of Karma.
• Composure and high spirits through deep self-knowledge and acceptance of purpose in life.

If reversed:

• Turn for the worst.
• Fatalism.
• Not taking responsibility for your own thinking.

Thank you for your interest, comments, and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper.

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