The Rider - Waite Tarot Deck - Starbridge Centre

The Rider - Waite Tarot Deck
CARD 10: THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE.
Keyword:
Contemplation:
The laws of karma are ever-present
ASCENDING OR DESCENDING - WHO TURNS THE WHEEL
A huge revolving wheel consisting of three concentric circles, representing body, mind
and spirit, is appearing in the blue sky.
The outer ring which is relating to the body, the physical, is covered with the letters T A R
O (T), alternating with Hebraic which letters also read as tarot. Together the two alphabets
are representing variations of the same essence of wisdom. The middle ring in the wheel
is covered with cabbalistic symbols referring to the mysteries of life.
This is the wheel of life, or THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE.
On the right side of the wheel is a dog-like creature ascending. He is Anubis, the god of life
and death in ancient Egyptian mythology. Anubis is a part of the mind, his influence leads
to either death, or to rebirth and new life. His essence is transformation, ultimately leading
to higher consciousness, to the breathless state while still physically alive, obtainable in
true meditation which St. Paul referred to, when he said: "I die daily."
A snake is descending on the left side of the wheel. He is a lower part of the mind, the
temptator, and to follow him is leading towards deepening sense-attachment and
materialism, to spiritual "death".
We are attached, like the two creatures, to the wheel of life by our breathing pattern -
which also in a complex way is connected to the two vertical energy currents moving in
opposite directions inside the spine. Gradually, we learn something in this process of the
ceaselessly revolving wheel, over time causing our attachments to loose influence.
A strange creature with a sword is sitting on top of the wheel. He is a sphinx, and he marks
the point where we make the choice. The blue-coloured sphinx symbolises a quicker
© 2005 Starbridge Centre Ulla and Erik Sandersen
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