Wheel of Fortune
Fortune (the Wheel) represents the changing course of life, alternating between what is perceived as luck and misfortune, and invites awareness of the interplay between instinct, intellect and spirit. It encourages using opportunities, taking risks, seeing the bigger picture, and attempting to shape one’s own fate. The card stresses acceptance of change, flexibility, and optimism while acknowledging that some aspects of life feel fixed by circumstance. Ultimately it suggests that fate is partly given and partly created through effort and choice.
Keywords
Card
X – Fortune
Correspondences
Jupiter
Keywords
Fortuna, the Fates, the wheel of existence, the ages of man, destroyer-creator-preserver, experience of the openness of the future (apprehension or excitement), accepting change, accepting all aspects of oneself, flexibility and optimism.
Meaning
The card signifies the course of life through what is perceived as luck and misfortune. It stands for human nature between instinct, intellect and spirit and for change and chance. It advises us to use opportunities to our advantage, to risk something, to see the bigger picture, and to try and play fate ourselves. If you pull Fortune in a spread, you can be sure that the wind will change direction. If you're at the bottom of the pile, you'll get your chance, if you're on top of the world, better watch out...
Exploring the Card
Iconography and Destiny in the Books
Fortune traditionally shows a wheel with figures perched on it, some rise to fame and fortune, others fall into poverty and misery. While there are a lot of ups and downs for some of the characters in the books, nothing as iconic as the "Wheel of Fortune" stands out. However, there is a whole discourse on "destiny" in the books. Upon coming to Hogwarts the sorting hat allocates everyone to their house, and thereby makes implicitly a statement about the person's character and future: Hufflepuff - nice folks but not too bright, Ravenclaw - unconventional brainiacs, Gryffindor - noble and reliable friends, Slytherin - ambitious and somewhat warped and predestined to go off to the dark side in later life.
Breaking House Conditioning
So is fate fixed? At one point Dumbledore suggests that the school is sorting people too soon - and some folks manage to spectacularly break through their "house conditioning" like the traitorous Wormtail and the ultimately heroic Snape who each don't quite fit the bill.
Nature and Nurture
Perhaps fortune is a bit of both - there always is some sorting happening in life - which part of town are you born in, how much education could your parents afford, what self-image did others give you (fat, smart, popular, a geek, a jock, a reliable friend)? But you also have to work with what you're given, and there your fate isn't fixed.
Choice and Agency
The combination of the hat and the houses in the card alludes to the "fixed" stuff, but having everyone compete and add or lose "marbles" for their house showed that there also is room for personal effort and reward. Some cards life deals you - and some you get to pick yourself, and it's always up to you how you play your hand.
Visual Description
A gothic stone arch frames four ornate cylindrical containers or scroll-holders hung in two vertical pairs, each decorated with crests and patterns. A battered, pointed hat sits on a small wooden stool in the foreground beneath the suspended cylinders. Curving ribbons and flourishes weave around the arch and columns, and small planetary or zodiacal symbols are inset in the archway. The top of the card shows the Roman numeral X and the bottom bears the word "Fortune."
Harry Potter tarot
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