WHEEL OF FORTUNE / JUPITER
Transmutation of Soul within Changing Fortune / Gunas
b'yado afkeed ruchee
into His hand I entrust my spirit
Adon Olam
The eight spokes are the same eight points in Key 17, The Star.
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.
TARO
"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. These wheels must always turn clockwise.
Judaism has the concept of "Gilgul Nefesh" - the Wheel of Souls - that is, Reincarnation. This idea is not common among more westernized Jews, but in the Chasidic world it is common. One familiar idea is that Noah was a later incarnation of Adam ha Rishon (the original Adam.) One thread of this trend of ideas is that parts of souls can blend with parts of other souls, sometimes during a single lifetime.
The following opening lines from the Carmina Burana, a 13th century German manuscript (in Latin and suppressed for centuries because it didn't conform with Catholic doctrine) that was lost for 500 years, presents a darker, medieval take on fate:
Here's the audio for the following lyrics:
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. SORS SALUTIS Fate is against me ET VIRTUSIS in health michi nunc contraria, and virtue, est affectus driven on et defectus and weighted down, semper in angaria. always enslaved. Hac in hora So at this hour sine mora without delay corde pulsum tangite; pluck the vibrating strings; quod per sortem since Fate sternit fortem, strikes down the strong man, mecum omnes plangite! everyone weep with me!
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 willRobert Hunter
David Dodd's commentary on "The Wheel" is illuminating.
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. Jupiter is the principle of blessing and well wishing. Thanksgiving, the holiday of gratitude, is on the first Thursday [Thor's Day] after the sun goes into Sagittarius [Jupiter's sign].
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
Hammer of Thor [Now a Poster!]Mjölnir
Jupiter is Thor - Thor is the Thunderer, who wields Mjölnir, the divine Hammer. His chariot racing across the sky generates the rumbling, crackling racket that accompanies a storm. Thursday (Thor's Day) was named after him.
Immigrant Song
Ahhhiyaaahhhhhhhh!
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 shoreAhhhiyaaahhhhhhhh!
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 shoreSo now you'd better stop
and rebuild your ruins
For peace and trust can win the day
Despite of all your losingLed 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.