The Wheel of Fortune Path 21 on the Tree of Life

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he Wheel of Fortune walks Path 21, called the Path of Kaph connecting the Sefirot of Chesed (Mercy) and Netzach (Victory) on the Tree of Life. 

The Wheel of Fortune’s journey through the Tree of Life represents the process of accepting the cyclical nature of life and embracing change. It teaches us to recognize that all things are temporary and that we must be adaptable and flexible to navigate life’s changes. 

The path of The Wheel of Fortune teaches us to find stability and balance amid change and to trust that every turn of the wheel brings new opportunities for growth and transformation. This is the path whose energies manifest in our life as ups and downs.  This path manifests situations to teach us the law of synchronicity.  On this path we discover our sense of adventure. Through this path we begin to recognize that there is justice in all aspects of the world – especially within the physical where we often feel it is most lacking.  This path opens the door to revealing greater philosophy, theology, religion, and ritual as an integral and workable part of life

Benefits: Unselfishness, abundance, new opportunities, hearing the call to the quest, prophecy,

understanding of Divine law, practical philosophy and religion.

The Hebrew Letter representing this path is Kaph (Kaf).

Kaph relates to the palm of the hand and may either be like a cupped outstretched palm waiting to receive or an upright palm held high like a crossing guard moving traffic or like when you push or invoke something to happen. It is similar to that of a container but relates more to the possibilities of that which can be received by matter by the power of spirit and likewise the ways in which spirit can move matter.  It relates to the beginning of formation or things made more solidified now that there is primordial mud and the intelligence of knowing how to use it this is the actual motion of creation itself.  This path holds the space for all created possibilities including physical matter for us.  Kaph teaches us to shape our characters continually refine ourselves and bring spirit into the material world.

In her book Kabbala Pathworking, Sandy Anastasi suggests some of the areas Path 21 can helps us work on include: Neutrality; Non-attachment; Unconditionality and acceptance; Calmness and peacefulness; being centered; Getting ‘ out of the rut by breaking old patterns’; Overcoming the tendency to overcompensate; Trusting in faith and ‘going with the flow’; Anticipating change, not dreading it; Being able to make new beginnings in your life.

Andy Matzner, in his book Tarot for Transformation, Using the Major Arcana to Discover Your Best Self and Create a Life Worth Living says of The Wheel of Fortune:

The real problem is, people think life is a ladder, and it’s really a wheel.  Charles de Lint

Life is like a book.  There are good chapters, and there are bad chapters. But when you get to a bad chapter, you don’t stop reading the book!  If you do … then you never get to find out what happens next! Brian Falkner

He says:  The Wheel of Fortune is a syncretic card packed full of symbolism reflecting both dualism and wholeness.  Fate and destiny.  Determinism and free will.  Blind luck and the wisdom of the ages.  Good and evil.  Elemental alchemy.  The circle of life with its unending cycles.  And the forever-fixed seed point at the very center of that wheel.

The Wheel of Fortune asks us to accept that life is constant change.  Birth, Growth, Death, Rebirth.  The wheel is never static, but always in motion.  Sometimes fast, other times impossibly slow.  Yet it is always moving.

In his book The Soul's Journey, Finding Spiritual Messages in the Tarot, James Ricklef says of The Wheel of Fortune:

This, too, shall pass away.  Traditional saying

This card represents the perpetually changing aspect of life.  As Heraclitus famously said, “change is the only constant in life.”  So it indicates the up and down cycles of life, including those of our successes and failures.  Similarly, it is sometimes called the Fate card.  It also counsels us to learn from adversity and to learn equanimity in the face of any change.

One of the ways he suggests one might wish to use his book is to do a daily draw and review the basic messages and then consider one of the messages for the card as a lesson or insight to keep in mind throughout the day. In the case of the Wheel of Fortune the messages to choose from are: The “Maybe” parable; Escape from attachment to results; The spiritual value of failure; Permanent joy in the sacred reality.

Do any of these speak to you right now?

While both Andy Matzner and Sandy Anastasi focus only on the Major Arcana, James Ricklef also has information on the Minor Arcana. Since I chose a card for each of the Sephirot I thought I'd share some of his information on these too.

Nine of Wands: This card is often about boundaries and defenses, and it says that the strength of our spirit is often achieved through the lessons of our wounds.

 His messages to consider with the Nine of Wands are: Everyone has their won wounds; The value of a wound; Barriers against relationships; Never give up.

King of Pentacles: This king is adept and enterprising. Having the easy generosity that comes from wealth (or at least financial security), he typically becomes a benefactor or philanthropist.

His messages to consider with the King of Pentacles are: The flow of wealth; A spiritually successful businessman and A material "what" and a spiritual "how".

Where will your journey take you?