Transmutation of Soul within Changing Fortune / Gunas

Hammer of Thor / Mjølnir

• The inevitability of change. Change is the one thing that is permanent.
  
  
• The cycles of Karma - the sequence of cause and effect.
  
  
• "Kaph" means cup, or hand. Either holds water - showing again the relationship between Key 10 and Key 12, The Hanged Man. "Kaph" is the "Soul Vessel," a metaphor that fits nicely with the idea of water held in a cupped palm.
  
  
• Like the Hanged Man, the Wheel of Fortune shows inversion, or a binary, on/off nature. The cup is either half empty, or half full, depending on how you look at it.
  
  
• This is where the numerical flip occurs in the tree. This is the transition zone, where the polarity is reversed. Here's a deeper look at the Tree - Helix.
  
  
• The hand of Kaph is in the act of grasping, and this image shows comprehension, as well as a hand grasping a doorknob. It is also the "palm of the hand," so we can see this as the protective "nest," "vessel," or "cradle" in which the cycles of the wheel can transpire.
• Grasping a doorknob and opening a door, grasping an opportunity, this is the "hand" that influences fortune, the subject of this key. It shows the learning that comes from repeated cycles, and the influence we can have over what seems to be chance.
  
  
• This is "In the Notch," "In the Groove," In the right place at the right time, in the Hand of God, Perfect Timing, Making all the Right Moves, Feeling at Home, Landing on Both Feet.
  
  
• Kaph is a "Double Letter," with two sounds.
  
  
• The wheel also shows conciliation, with its cycling aspect, and even distribution of direction. The Wheel is the Round Table of King Arthur.
  
  
• The wheel also symbolizes progress, advancement, and the Great Work. This wheel is like the wheels in Key 7, The Chariot, seen from the side.
  
  

  • The center, or pivot of the wheel is the archetypal or thought world: Atzilut

  • The inner circle is the creative world: Briah

  • The middle circle is the formative world: Yetzirah

  • The outer circle is the material world of manifestation: Assiah

  The eight spokes are the same eight points in Key 17, The Star.

  
  
  

• This is the wheel that is repeated 10 times on the clothing of The Fool, Key 0.
  GUNAS
  
  
• On the spokes of the wheel, in the circle representing the formative world, are the alchemical symbols of mercury (top), sulphur (right), and salt (left). These respond to the three gunas of yoga philosophy: sattva (mercury), rajas (sulphur), and tamas (salt). The glyph at the bottom represents dissolution, and is also the Aquarius symbol.

  As long as the gunas maintain their equilibrium, Prakriti remains undifferentiated and the universe exists only in its potential, seed state. As soon as the balance is disturbed, a re-creation of the universe begins. The gunas enter into an enormous variety of combinations - all of them irregular, with one or the other guna predominating over the others.

  The gunas are sometimes described as "energies," sometimes as "qualities"; but no single English word can define their whole nature and function. Collectively, they may be thought of as a triangle of forces, opposed yet complimentary. In the process of evolution,

  • Sattwa is the essence of the form which has to be realized

  • Tamas is the inherent obstacle to its realization

  • Rajas is the power by which that obstacle is removed and the essential form made manifest.

  Several chapters of the Bhagavad Gita analyze the gunas, and their involvement with every aspect of daily life, food, sleep, excretion, breathing, etc.

  
  
  
• Alternating in the circle of manifestion are the letters TARO and IHVH, the Tetragrammaton.

  TARO

  Volumes are dedicated to the permutations of these letters and their numerical equivalents. Startling coincidences can be found at every turn.
  
  

• The serpent Typhon, or Fohat, descending on the left shows cosmic vibratory force; it also is the serpent of the letter "Tet," in Key 8, Strength.
  
  
• Ascending on the right is Hermanubis (Hermes-Anubis), the jackal headed Egyptian god, showing evolution from lower to higher consciousness. His jackal head is clever, intellectual. His red color shows desire, enthusiasm, and activity.
  
  
• The sphinx at the top, holding a sword, shows the triumph of intelligence; having risen from the ashes, the evolved human soul holds the sword of cutting-through wisdom. Swords also appear in Key 1, and Key 11.
  
  
• The cherubim at the corners are the same ones in Revelation and Ezekiel:

  "And their rims, and their spokes, and the wheels were full of eyes round about - the wheels that the four of them had. As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing the whirling wheels. And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second of a man, the third of a lion, and the fourth of an eagle." (Ezekiel 10:12)

  
  

  

  Tibetan Prayer Wheel

  These wheels are made of wood, and many are kept in public areas, where passersby keep them spinning at all times. They are inscribed with prayers so that by spinning them, people can send the prayers. (Praying machines?) Written on this virtual one is OM MANI PADME HUM - the Sanskrit Heart Mantra - Directing the meditator's attention to the infinite compassion and light at the center of each person's universe.
  
  

• Other wheel images: A pump, a turbine, a revolving door, a merry-go-round, a washing machine, a squirrel wheel. This is the Karmic impeller of the Tree.
  
  
• 10 is the number of the tenth Sepher, Malchut.

The following opening lines from the Carmina Burana, a 13th century German manuscript (in Latin) that was lost for 500 years, present a darker, medieval take on fate:

O Fortuna               O Fortune,
velut luna              like the moon
statu variabilis,       you are changeable,
semper crescis          ever waxing
aut decrescis;          and waning;
vita detestabilis       hateful life
nunc obdurat            first oppresses
et tunc curat           and then soothes
ludo mentis aciem,      as fancy takes it;
egestatem,              poverty
potestatem              and power
dissolvit ut glaciem.   it melts them like ice.

Sors immanis            Fate - monstrous
et inanis,              and empty,
rota tu volubilis,      you whirling wheel,
status malus,           you are malevolent,
vana salus              well-being is vain
semper dissolubilis,    and always fades to nothing,
obumbrata               shadowed
et velata               and veiled
michi quoque niteris;   you plague me too;
nunc per ludum          now through the game
dorsum nudum            I bring my bare back
fero tui sceleris.      to your villainy.

The wheel is turning and you can't slow down
You can't let go and you can't hold on
You can't go back and you can't stand still
If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will

Robert Hunter

David Dodd's commentary on "The Wheel" is illuminating. [External Link]

Jupiter

Jupiter's placement at birth sets the character for the person's Higher Mind; their relationship with the 'inner guru.' It shows appetite and capacity for learning, and the flavor of one's enthusiasm.

Jupiter transits bring opportunity, lucky breaks, prosperity, learning phases, etc.

Jupiter takes 11.86 years to complete it's orbit through the zodiac.

Jupiter infuences the bounty of life, and the range of spiritual or intellectual experience. Afflictions to Jupiter create poverty (spiritual or physical), or excess. Jupiter is a 'Guardian Angel' who protects, like a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card. It's presence can make a bad situation livable. Jupiter impaired can create lack of imagination, or squandering of energy.

THOR

MJØLNIR

Jupiter is Thor - Thor is the Thunderer, who wields Mjølnir, the divine Hammer. His chariot racing across the sky generates thunder. Thursday (Thor's Day) was named after him.

 

Immigrant Song Ahhhiyaaahhh! We come from the land of the ice and snow From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow The Hammer of the Gods will drive our ships to new lands To fight the horde, sing and cry: Valhalla, I am coming! On we sweep with threshing oar Our only goal will be the western shore Ahhhiyaaahhh! We come from the land of the ice and snow From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow How soft your fields so green Can whisper tales of gore Of how we calmed the tides of war We are your overlords On we sweep with threshing oar Our only goal will be the western shore So now you'd better stop and rebuild your ruins For peace and trust can win the day Despite of all your losing Led Zeppelin 1970

 

Jupiter's thunderbolt strikes the Tower, Key 16.

There is an additional discussion of Jupiter on the Glyphs page in the left frame.

Jupiter is Exalted in Cancer, and Rules Sagittarius. Jupiter's detriment is Gemini/Virgo and its fall is Capricorn.

The Sepher associated with Jupiter is Chesed.