WHEEL AND--WOA!
The Great Wheel of Samsara.
The Wheel of the Law [Dhamma].
The Wheel of the Taro.
The Wheel of the Heavens.
The Wheel of Life.
All these Wheels be one; yet of all these the Wheel of the TARO alone avails thee consciously. Meditate long and broad and deep, O man, upon this Wheel, revolving it in thy mind Be this thy task, to see how each card springs necessarily from each other card, even in due order from The Fool unto The Ten of Coins. Then, when thou know'st the Wheel of Destiny complete, mayst thou perceive THAT Will which moved it first. [There is no first or last.} And lo! thou art past through the Abyss.(from Crowley’s Book of Lies)
This poem from Crowley indicates the importance of the tarot in his system/religion and exhorts the reader to careful study of the cards and connects the wheel of the tarot to the Wheel of Fortune. In this card the image has remained very traditional, but perhaps more detailed than with previous authors.
This card is both a spiritual practice card and an alchemical card through the inclusion of the figures on the wheel The Sphinx, Apophis, and Typhon. According to Crowley, these first symbolize the Hindu system of Gunas, which is similar but distinct from the western alchemy of sulphur, mercury, and salt. All things are composed of these elements which are in motion, and nothing in the lower world can maintain dominance of a single element over time. This is why the figures of the wheel revolve through their fortunes, now rich, now poor, due to the ever-changing nature of reality.
The spiritual idea of the card is not just to familiarize oneself with the other Atu of the wheel, but to center oneself in it to avoid the vagaries of fortune. To escape the movement of Karma which radiates in waves from the moving wheel. The card itself, does not point to a specific practice to achieve this end, because there are many, but one of which could be seated meditation. This over time can instill the required peace and detachment required to sit at the center of the wheel and observe the movement of Karma undisturbed.
The somewhat hidden triangle behind the wheel, gives a symbolic representation of the Prime Mover and shows its identity with the highest three sephiroth above the abyss. This is the Godhead of this reality and is visible once one moves beyond the wheel. This archetype being the guardian of the path is revealing what may be attained when you solve his riddle. Despite this hint ahead, the path indicated on the Tree of Life goes from Netzach to Chesed showing at least one more path needed to reach the highest world.
This card has an attribution of Jupiter and therefore Jove, through which we get the term jovial. There is a sense that, the movement of fortune is humorous to the father God, and its slings and arrows should be dismissed as light entertainment. Easier said than done for the sufferer but becomes possible through the Buddha-like practice of detachment. In this card Crowley comes his closest to the inclusion of Buddhist ideals within his system. The exploration of the higher worlds is reserved to saints, mystics, and madmen, and completely blocked to the mundane human, but cultivating a Buddhist detachment to the events of Karma will help the practitioner traverse the rest of the wheel.