The world's most popular game show!
Understanding the spin of the Wheel of Fortune
“It's America's game, Wheel of Fortune! The world's most popular game show! And now, from the Sony Studios, here are the stars of our show, Pat Sajak and Vanna White!”
Beloved game show host and television personality Pat Sajak announced last year that he will not be returning to host "America's game," Wheel of Fortune, in 2025. After 41 seasons of watching that wheel spin round and round while contestants attempt to uncover a mystery word letter by letter (my personal favorite category is "Before & After"), he has decided to step away from the monotonous world of Deborahs from Columbus, Marks from Phoenix, and Erins from Providence, to experience a new kind of inertia in his life: retirement.
However, beyond the impending departure of the show's longest-acting host, we forget that another influential star sits on the Sony Studios sound stage—and no, it's not Vanna.
The famous wheel from the show's namesake, weighing just under 2,400 pounds, has one of the greatest impacts on the success (and failure) of the contestants on the show. While physical force is necessary to set the behemoth in motion, fortune always steps in to take hold of the wheel after a contestant lets go. Will it stop at $250? 'Lose a Turn'? '$1 Million'? 'Bankrupt'? No one can be certain where the spin will land, but the randomness builds palpable anticipation in both the contestants and those watching from the comfort of their homes.
Just as the beloved game show's essence lies in a giant prop, most will notice that the tenth card's focus centers on a single object, rather than a character. Devoid of the human form (save for an angel on occasion), the image introduces us to a familiar yet otherworldly force that has spun down from the sky. In most instances, the wheel has stopped just before a crash-landing, suspended in mid-air as it continues to rotate (or so we assume). Even stranger is the cast of characters who accompany it. Whether lounging, dancing, or observing, all appear to "act" on or with the stage known as the Wheel of Fortune.
Because the first ten cards of the Major Arcana show us characters, it's natural for us to anthropomorphize this wheel and its spokes, perhaps asking questions like "What does it want?", "What is it doing here?", "What does it want us to know?", or "Who sent it here?". However, it's difficult to unpack this card as a unit. By focusing on the details of the card, we can come to understand how this unidentified flying object arrived and the message it wants us to hear.
To avoid the proverbial "spin" as we touch on visuals in the Wheel of Fortune, I have selected five decks that will help keep our focus sharp: the Pagan Otherworlds Tarot by Uusi, the Golden Art Nouveau Tarot by Giulia F. Massaglia, the Somnia Tarot by Nicolas Bruno, the Fyodor Pavlov Tarot by Fyodor Pavlov, and the Morgan-Greer Tarot by Bill F. Greer.
X. The Wheel of Fortune. Clockwise from top left: the Pagan Otherworlds Tarot, the Golden Art Nouveau Tarot, the Somnia Tarot, the Fyodor Pavlov Tarot, and the Morgan-Greer Tarot.
When approaching the Wheel of Fortune, it's customary to orient ourselves to the card and understand how the wheel sits. Are we looking up at it on a vertical axis, similar to a car tire or a Ferris wheel? Or are we looking down at it in the same way we'd look at a turntable or the 2,400-pound spinner from that game show? In the case of the Morgan-Greer Tarot, artist Bill Greer has chosen the vertical route, showing a king and queen lounging undisturbed at the top of the wheel being turned by a disembodied hand. As the pair lift a chalice in celebration, they're completely unaware of how near the edge they are, risking tumbling to its bottom. The legs of the previous 'victim' can be seen flying off the card's edge. The imagery highlights the unstoppable cycles of life. Sometimes you're up. Sometimes you're down, and sometimes you're in-between.
But what happens if we see the Wheel more like a turntable, tilt-a-whirl, or merry-go-round?
When the Wheel of Fortune appears in a reading, our minds might step into surrender mode—a simple "hands-off" attitude where we find it necessary to relinquish power to the Universe. However, if we take into account that the wheel might exist on the horizontal, feelings of control and steadiness become more accessible, more grounding. In the Golden Art Nouveau Tarot, Anubis seems to glide along the bottom edge of the wheel, raising an important question about control: Could he sit in the middle and observe if he chooses? Just because the Wheel of Fortune appears in a reading doesn't mean we need to abdicate all of our power or can't retain some personal freedoms.
If we imagine this wheel and its eight spokes (a nod to the eight Sabbats or seasons) as an amusement park ride, one where the attendant lets us choose how much inertia we will feel as we participate, that control is returned to us. By sitting in the middle, our motion becomes slower, less obvious, and more effective to watch as the world goes by. But if we want to fully engage with life, letting the wind whip at our hair, we can climb on out to the edge by way of the spokes, inching out to a place that feels good for our development rather than riddled with anxiety.
In both of these instances, the Wheel of Fortune does indeed keep spinning, but how we look at it and where we choose to sit can offer more comfort and compassion than simply abdicating all of our power. Yes, life can throw us plenty of ups and downs, but how we choose to engage with them is up to us and not the Universe.
But who sent this omen that spins before us? As mentioned, this is the first card in the progression of the Major Arcana void of any true human characters. So where does that leave us? Perhaps asking "Who sent it?" could offer some insight into the role the wheel plays in our life or the life of a Seeker.
Fyodor Pavlov's depiction of the Wheel of Fortune includes a female figure with her sight obscured by a scarf. Throughout history, the Wheel of Fortune, or Rota Fortunae in ancient philosophies, was under the patronage of Fortuna, a goddess in ancient Roman religion and mythology who personified luck, fortune, and fate. Her influence extended over various aspects of life, including wealth, success, prosperity, and the ups and downs of human existence. The idea of a temperamental and unpredictable force shaping our lives has persisted throughout history and remains a notable theme in various mythologies and belief systems today—including the Tarot!
The Wheel of Fortune created with the help of artificial intelligence.
What I love most about Pavlov's depiction of Fortuna is her blindness, which speaks to her successor—Justice. While we have yet to explore the nuances of that card, it's an interesting dichotomy. Both characters are traditionally depicted with obscured sight. However, while Justice seeks to balance out their surroundings, Fortuna embraces the inequities spin to spin.
If we shift our attention to the supporting cast within the Wheel of Fortune, we encounter a notably different and seemingly opposing narrative compared to the one Fortuna prefers to share. Instead of the randomness associated with the spin, we grasp a sense of consistency that resonates throughout the seasons. Upon closer examination of the Fyodor Pavlov Tarot, it becomes evident that the four corners of the card are imbued with the four fundamental elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. This suggests that, just as inevitably as one season approaches, the next one is not far behind.
Alternatively, within the Golden Art Nouveau deck, the card's corners are inhabited by an angel, an eagle, a bull, and a lion. Each of these figures represents a spectrum of ideas in the Tarot community, but most commonly they signify the Four Evangelists of the Bible. However, in ditching the "good book" and adopting a more astrological perspective, these winged creatures can also serve as symbols for the four fixed Zodiac signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Perhaps now the origins of this wheel become clearer: the heavens! Just as the celestial bodies above our heads turn, so does the wheel of life.
As we reflect on just a few of the intricate symbolic layers woven into the Wheel of Fortune, we catch only a glimpse of the meanings that extend beyond the four sides of this card. Who would have thought that Pat Sajak's impending departure from the iconic game show could also mark a turning point, much like the spins of the wheel he presided over for 41 seasons? While the Wheel of Fortune's rotations might appear random (and maybe Sajak’s retirement), fickle, or fated, they ultimately mirror the rhythm of nature's seasons and we should feel empowered to choose where we sit on this captivating ride of life.