Key 10-The Wheel of Fortune (The Twentyfirst Path)

Key 10 - Wheel of Fortune - Kaph - Cup - Palm
Gematria Value: 20
21st Path Saffron | Lapis Lazuli, Amethyst
From Netzach to Chesed | WEST 10

WHEEL OF FORTUNE / JUPITER

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 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.

Kaph, soul vessel, and Throne are related, in that koss, which also means "cup," and Throne are both Gematria 86, the same as Elohim, a Divine Name.


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.

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.

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.

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