X · Major Arcana

Wheel of Fortune Tarot Card Meaning

“The turns of life”

Wheel of Fortune is the card of change, destiny and cycles. It signals a turning point, luck and new opportunity — nothing stays in the same place for long.

Change
Turning point
Luck
Opportunity
Trust

Number: X
Season: Autumn
Element: Fire
Yes or no?: Yes

What you see
The story
Upright
Reversed
Love, work
Questions

What do you see on the card?

A great orange wheel turns among the clouds, marked with mysterious letters and signs — TARO, the Hebrew letters of the Divine Name and alchemical symbols. On top sits a blue sphinx holding a sword. On one side a red, jackal-headed figure rises; on the other a serpent descends. In the four corners, winged creatures — an angel, an eagle, a lion and a bull — read from open books.

The turning wheel — the cycles of life: what is down comes up, what is up comes down.
The sphinx — wisdom that stays calm above all change — Waite calls it "the equilibrium therein."
The rising and the descending figure — the rise and fall of fortune.
The four winged creatures — the four elements, and stability in the middle of change.
The letters on the wheel — the hidden laws of destiny.

The story of the card

The Wanderer comes down from the mountain, and at a bend in the road he finds an old, moss-covered wheel. He stops beside it and, curious, gives it a turn.

The wheel starts slowly, then spins faster and faster. Now the crown is on top, now the moon is at the bottom; now joy, now trial. The Wanderer watches the wheel stop, then start again.

Then he understands: nothing stays in the same place for long. What is down today may rise again tomorrow.

He smiles, thanks the wheel for the lesson, and sets off again with trust.

UprightWheel of Fortune Meaning

A turn of fate, change, luck. When the Wheel of Fortune appears upright, things start moving — often in your favor, and often unexpectedly.

Waite gives the card "destiny, fortune, success, elevation, luck, felicity." It asks you to trust the process and to take the opportunity when the wheel turns your way.

ReversedWheel of Fortune Reversed

Reversed, the Wheel of Fortune can point to an unlucky turn or an unexpected setback — the moment when the wheel is carrying you down.

It can also signal resistance to change: holding on tightly to something that has already ended. Remember: the wheel keeps turning.

Wheel of Fortune in Love, Work and Life

Love

A fated meeting, a turn in a relationship, a new chapter. Reversed: repeating patterns, bad timing.

Work & money

An unexpected opportunity, a step up, a lucky turn — stay open. Reversed: a temporary setback you can learn from.

Spiritual path

After the silence of the Hermit, the Wheel of Fortune sets life in motion again: nothing stays in place, and what is down today may rise again tomorrow.