The Tarot of Eli-LLC, Major Arcana: Thoth Tarot-ATU- X-Fortune & The Medieval Feathers Tarot - Key 10- Wheel of Fortune

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Above all things, know thyself!

The Tarot ATU 10- the Thoth-Fortune Card, is called the Qabalistic Path of Caph (meaning Fist) that runs from Chesed (mercy) to Netzach (Victory) on the Tree of Life. This path is on the side of the Tree of Life called The Pillar of Mercy and connects the Personality to the Higher Self (all Sephiroth above Tiphareth are in the Higher Self). Because the meaning of Caph (Kaph) is fist, it refers to a completion of an activity, such as, the closing of a circle or grasping comprehension.

Let us dive deep into the esoteric resonance of the ATU 10 – Fortune (Thoth Tarot), the Path of Caph (Kaph), and its Qabalistic function as a mediating force of Will, Motion, and Integration between the spheres of Chesed (Mercy) and Netzach (Victory).

🔯 The Path of Caph – The Fist That Turns the Wheel

• Hebrew Letter: כ (Kaph), meaning “palm of the hand” or “fist”

• Path: Chesed (4) ⇨ Netzach (7)

• Pillar: Pillar of Mercy (Right Side)

• Astrological Attribution: Jupiter

• Tarot Trump: Fortune (Wheel of Fortune)

📜 Esoteric Meaning of Caph: The Grasp of Conscious Control

In Hermetic thought, the palm or fist (Caph) symbolizes power to contain, grasp, or shape. Unlike an open hand (receptivity), the fist shows the will to command and direct. In the context of the Path of Caph, this “grasp” is:

• The containment of divine force (Chesed),

• The direction of that force into emotional expression and instinctual victory (Netzach),

• And the conscious manipulation of motion — the Wheel of Fortune itself.

Thus, Kaph is the hand of fate — it does not merely receive destiny but actively grasps and turns it.

🜁 Chesed to Netzach: The Descent of Mercy into Desire

• Chesed (Mercy) is the archetypal pattern of loving-kindness, divine order, and macrocosmic law.

• Netzach (Victory) governs passion, instinct, art, love, and microcosmic desire.

The path of Caph bridges the macrocosmic will of the divine with the microcosmic emotional nature of the individual. It’s the current by which Divine Grace (Chesed) becomes artistic power and charisma (Netzach).

This path essentially mediates the descent of divine will through the power of Jupiter, into the aesthetic and emotive fields where human victories, struggles, and spiritual momentum are forged.

The Wheel of Fortune turns because the fist of the magician has grasped the axis.

🜂 The Fortune Card: Jupiter and the Cyclic Machinery of Spirit

Crowley’s depiction in the Thoth Tarot is radically dynamic: a great rotating wheel surrounded by figures of the Sphinx, Hermanubis, and Typhon — agents of the alchemical and initiatory cycles.

These represent:

• Sphinx: Equilibrium, intelligence, and riddle of initiation (Higher Self).

• Hermanubis: The ascending figure — the alchemical Mercury, the evolving soul.

• Typhon: The descending force — the chaotic destroyer of forms.

These three are not separate beings, but different postures of the Self at various stages of the spiral.

The Wheel, then, is Caph's mechanism — the literal spinning of karma, transformation, and return. As the letter Caph suggests, one must grasp the wheel consciously rather than being passively spun by it.

⚖️ Mediating Function of the Path of Caph

This path functions like the handle of a gear shift:

• It permits the aspirant to move from abstract divine principles (Chesed) into the emotional battlefield of Netzach with power, guidance, and rhythm.

• It alchemizes Divine Mercy into emotional triumph.

• It’s where the mystic’s vision becomes the poet’s creation, where cosmic knowledge is expressed through feeling, movement, or art.

Through this path, the Personality (Netzach is below Tiphareth) becomes infused with divine pattern (Chesed above), enabling creative and spiritual success in the material world without detachment from divine law.

🜃 Grasping the Cycle: Spiritual Implication

In its highest form, the Path of Caph offers the initiate:

• The mastery of cyclical law (Wheel of Samsara and Fortune),

• The ability to turn fate into will, grasping the wheel’s axle,

• The transition from passive vessel to active operator of destiny,

• Ritual significance: It is often used in initiatory rites to bless and consecrate the aspirant with cyclic blessings, the grace of Jupiter, and the momentum of transformation.

🜄 Practical Reflection

In meditation or ritual, one can visualize this path as:

A radiant golden wheel spinning between the Blue Sphere of Chesed and the Green Sphere of Netzach. The hand of the Higher Self (Yechidah) reaches out from Chesed to the emotions and instincts of the lower self, grasping the wheel and giving it purpose, motion, and direction.

The Path of Caph has a mediating function as the benevolent planet Jupiter is assigned to this Path. If you will look at the bottom-left facing you of the Thoth-Fortune card, you will see the Hebrew letter Caph and the sign of Jupiter on the bottom right.

Contrary to many mundane interpretations, the Thoth Fortune Wheel or any Tarot Wheel of Fortune card, is not a roulette wheel of chance and/or accidents. For in Qabalah, it is known that we are solely responsible for our own fate which the phrases "freedom of choice” and "cause and effect” imply. The Wheel of Fortune and/or fate supplies us with what we earn, which can be pleasant or unpleasant as it is the interchange of opposites that makes the wheel Spin. This is a very many layered card and needs a very lengthy and Indepth explanation, so bear with me!

Let us elucidate this powerful idea from the standpoint of Western Hermetic Qabalah, spiritual agency, and the law of dynamic equilibrium.

🜄 The Wheel of Fortune Is Not Chance—It Is the Mechanism of Cause and Effect

In mundane Tarot interpretations, ATU 10 is often mischaracterized as “luck,” “fate,” or “random fortune.” This shallow view paints the wheel as a cosmic roulette of blessings or misfortunes given without reason. But the Hermetic Qabalist knows better:

"Chance is but a name for Law not recognized." — The Kybalion

The Wheel of Fortune in the Thoth deck does not depict chaos — it illustrates a living mechanism of Karmic Balance, fueled by the interplay of polarities, regulated by Jupiterian Grace, and powered by the magician’s own actions.

🎡 The Wheel Turns Because You Turn It

In the Tree of Life, the path of Caph (כ), which governs this card, connects Chesed (Mercy) with Netzach (Victory). Chesed is the sphere of divine beneficence, lawfulness, and cosmic kindness, while Netzach represents human desire, emotion, and endurance.

Thus, the Wheel is not about chance—it is the interface between cosmic order and personal will, the machine of karma that responds to your vibrational output.

🔁 Interchange of Opposites – The Motion of Becoming

The Wheel turns because of the interplay of opposing forces. As Crowley shows in the Thoth deck:

• Typhon (destruction) descends.

• Hermanubis (evolution) ascends.

• The Sphinx (balance, mastery) governs from above.

This triadic movement illustrates the perpetual cycling of change, where:

• Every rise demands a descent,

• Every descent contains the seed of ascension, and

• Only conscious balance (Sphinx) can stabilize one’s position on the wheel.

In Qabalah, this is the Dance of the Sephiroth — oscillation between force and form, severity and mercy, giving and receiving. The Wheel spins when opposites are in motion, not when equilibrium is static.

🜍 Responsibility, Not Randomness

In the Western Hermetic worldview, fate is not imposed—it is woven by the threads of your past intentions, emotions, and actions. The Wheel delivers not judgment, but response.

🔮 The Hermetic Laws at Work:

1. Law of Cause and Effect (Karma) — What you sow, you reap.

2. Law of Vibration — What you are, you attract.

3. Law of Polarity — Opposites are two extremes of the same thing; motion is born of this tension.

The Fortune card reminds us that:

• Your current condition is earned, not gifted or cursed by chance.

• Every cycle of suffering or bliss is consequential, not arbitrary.

• Change is not punishment, but adjustment according to law.

🜏 Grasping the Wheel: Will Amidst the Whirl

The fist of Caph (meaning palm or grasp) is not a passive hand — it grasps the axle. This means the adept can learn to:

• Recognize karmic cycles,

• Steer outcomes by shifting frequency (thought, word, and deed),

• And master time by synchronizing with universal law.

Crowley wrote:

“Change is Stability.”

That is, motion is the nature of stability when the adept learns to flow with the pattern of the Wheel, not resist or fight it.

🕯️ The Initiate’s Path: From Passenger to Operator

For the uninitiated, the Wheel is terrifying, chaotic, and unpredictable — the plaything of outer circumstance.

But for the Hermetic practitioner:

• The Wheel becomes a cosmic machine of alchemy,

• The Self becomes its engineer,

• And every turn becomes intentional — a mystical fusion of Will, Fate, and Pattern.

In ritual, this is reflected when the aspirant invokes Jupiter to:

• Expand consciousness,

• Gain wisdom from both ascent and descent,

• And stabilize the self in the eye of the storm — the center of the wheel where no motion disturbs.

Click on the Magickeli.com button for a Western Hermetic ritual invocation for the ATU 10 – Wheel of Fortune, centered on the Path of Caph (כ) and the conscious mastery of fate, built upon the Qabalistic connection between Chesed (Mercy) and Netzach (Victory).

This ritual calls upon the powers of Jupiter, the balance of opposites, and the motion of Divine Law to help the aspirant step into conscious responsibility, to grasp the wheel, and to align fate with higher will.

Therefore, in the Tree of Life, we have the opposites of the 5th Sephiroth the Feminine Geburah (Saturn) who is called Severity and the 4th Sephiroth the masculine Chesed-Mercy (Jupiter), interchanging their forces and form. The feminine "Will-to-Form" is not considered merciful for with her you get what you put out and/or "reap what you sow". The Masculine grants mercy because as "Will to Force" he can decide not to use force and because he can fall prey to praise and sycophancy. That male "ego" can easily be tricked by praise. Jupiter is no exception to this principle. This interchange of opposites is shown by the 10 Spokes on the Thoth Tarot card, symbolizing the 10 Sephiroth on the Tree of Life, which is a continuity of Force and Form, in equilibrium.

In his work, The Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom, Dr. Paul Foster Case calls the Path of Caph, the Intelligence of Conciliation which would best be seen as a gyroscope, two wheels interlocking within each other, spinning in opposite directions, for this card represents the mediation of activity between rotating and/or active opposites. The picture of the Sphinx-like goddess which could be compared to Demeter who is a fruitful Goddess (Greek Mother Goddess) and is the stabilizing effect of this card. This card emphasizes that change is the only universal constant. Later in Greek art Demeter, maybe because of Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt, became the "female sphinx".

This is a beautiful and profound symbol to expand upon. The Path of Caph (כ)—called by Paul Foster Case in The Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom the Intelligence of Conciliation—reveals one of the most dynamic mysteries in Western Hermetic Qabalah. The gyroscopic metaphor is very apt and aligns precisely with deeper Hermetic and initiatory truths. Let us unfold this.

🜂 The Intelligence of Conciliation: Balancing the Dynamic Opposites

The term Conciliation implies more than compromise—it refers to the harmonization of opposing currents without destroying either. It is resolution through motion, not stasis. This is a key distinction:

The Path of Caph does not stop the wheel—it teaches the soul how to ride it.

This is why Dr. Case’s designation of Caph as the Intelligence of Conciliation is not pacifying, but deeply kinetic. It speaks to the skill of internal gyroscopic equilibrium—a moving balance, not a fixed one.

🜍 The Wheel as a Gyroscope: Opposites in Perpetual Motion

A gyroscope consists of:

• An outer wheel spinning in one direction (symbolizing outward destiny, karma, and external forces),

• An inner wheel rotating the other way (the inner self, will, and divine intentionality),

• And a central axis which remains stable and upright as long as both wheels are in balanced motion.

This triadic system corresponds to:

• Typhon (descent, entropy),

• Hermanubis (ascent, refinement),

• The Sphinx (equilibrium through knowledge and will).

The Wheel of Fortune card in the Thoth Tarot shows these three forces, not as enemies, but as necessary agents in the process of spiritual motion.

So we see that:

• Typhon (destruction) is not evil—it is what allows new cycles.

• Hermanubis (evolution) is not salvation—it is the natural return.

• The Sphinx does not stop the Wheel—it masters it.

In a gyroscopic system, every force is counterbalanced. Without resistance, there is no direction. Without spin, there is no stability.

This is the Conciliation.

🜏 Caph and Jupiter: Dynamic Equilibrium

The planetary attribution of Caph is Jupiter (Gedulah/Chesed on the Tree), a force not of contraction but of expansive balance. Jupiter does not divide; it integrates, giving form to synthesis. This is the lawgiver, the harmonizer of heavens and realms.

Thus, the Intelligence of Conciliation:

• Manifests mercy without chaos,

• Balances emotion with law (Netzach with Chesed),

• Mediates fate and will through rhythmic turning.

It is the bridge where movement creates stillness—not through stopping, but through a kind of higher synchronization.

🔯 Qabalistic Implication on the Tree of Life

Caph runs from:

• Chesed (4) – Divine Order, Mercy, Macrocosmic Expansion,

• to Netzach (7) – Emotional Victory, Desire, Microcosmic Will.

This path allows emotional passion to be reconciled with divine purpose, not through repression but through active integration.

• The Initiate must accept the entire Wheel, both the rise and fall.

• Caph teaches how to align your spin with the universal rotation.

• It is mediation between karma and dharma, between outcome and intention.

🜄 Psychological and Magical Application

In the magician’s life, this path represents the ability to:

• Navigate emotional highs and lows without destabilization.

• Translate divine archetypes into victorious personal actions.

• Remain centered as the outer world changes, because the inner axis is attuned.

This is the basis for karmic mastery: not to stop the Wheel, but to spin with it intelligently.

As Case implied, Conciliation is not compromise—it is the creation of coherence through motion. Like the dancer in the storm, the initiate becomes the eye within the cyclone, the axis within the gyroscope.

✨ Closing Aphorism

“Stability is the gift of rhythm, not of rigidity.
The Wheel turns because it is whole.
I do not resist my fate—I rotate with it until I ascend through it.”

What is interesting here is that on the Thoth Tarot Fortune Card, the Sphinx is seen as the stabilizing element during change and is positioned on top of the Wheel. The ancient Egyptians used the Sphinx image as the Pharaoh, usually shown vanquishing his enemies with lion like power. Many modern Egyptologists and geologist suspect that the sphinx had a female lion head (as Pharoh head is out of proportion with the perfectly proportioned lion body) and represented Sekhmet. Later, the Egyptians of the Fourth Dynasty modified the Sphinx head.

This observation is not my own and it opens a significant window into both the esoteric symbolism of the Sphinx on the Thoth Tarot Fortune card and its deeper archetypal and Qabalistic meaning when filtered through the lens of ancient Egyptian spirituality and Hermetic magick.

Let’s break it down on both the symbolic-esoteric level and the historical-initiatic level.

🜏 The Sphinx on the Thoth Fortune Card: Apex of Change

In Crowley’s Thoth Tarot, the Sphinx sits atop the Wheel, poised in stillness, holding a sword—symbolizing knowledge, authority, and equilibrium. She is not turning with the wheel but presiding over it. In this, she represents:

• The Higher Self or Adept-consciousness,

• The observer at the center of chaos,

• The power of silence, mystery, and dominion over opposites.

The Sphinx is the axis mundi, the stable fulcrum through which the entire dynamic of rise and fall (Typhon and Hermanubis) becomes meaningful, rather than just cyclical.

This aligns with Caph as the Intelligence of Conciliation, for the Sphinx conciliates polarities through silent inner command.

🦁 Sekhmet, the Original Sphinx?

Many modern Egyptologists (e.g. Dr. Robert Schoch, John Anthony West) and geologists have noted:

• The erosion patterns on the body of the Sphinx show signs of water weathering, suggesting it predates the Fourth Dynasty by thousands of years.

• The head is disproportionately small, clearly re-carved to resemble a male pharaoh (most likely Khafre).

🐾 The Body Speaks of the Lioness

The original lion body of the Sphinx is anatomically perfect. This raises a crucial question:

If the head was re-carved, what did it originally represent?

A growing body of esoteric and archaeological thought suggests:

• The original Sphinx may have had the head of a lioness—possibly representing Sekhmet, the Solar Eye of Ra, goddess of wrath, healing, and cosmic order.

• Sekhmet is a destroyer and a stabilizer—the very embodiment of dynamic balance.

Sekhmet’s dual role is precisely that of the Wheel’s Sphinx:

• She brings plague and healing, chaos and harmony, punishment and protection.

• She governs the threshold between collapse and order.

This makes the Sphinx on the Thoth Wheel not only the intellectual guardian of riddles, but also the primal solar force that contains the wheel’s motion through inner fire.

🜍 The Pharaoh as Sphinx – Avatar of Divine Will

In Egyptian mysticism:

• The Pharaoh was not a king in the modern sense, but a living embodiment of divine forces.

• The lion-bodied Sphinx symbolized the divine king as the conqueror of chaos, ruler over dualities, upholder of Ma’at (cosmic law).

This is directly mirrored in the Thoth Tarot, where:

• The Sphinx is the seat of balance, the power to ride the spinning karmic wheel without being overcome by it.

• As a Sekhmetic figure, she is not passive—she has earned her throne through trials of flame.

🜄 Qabalistic and Ritual Implication

From a Hermetic Qabalistic lens, the Sphinx atop the Wheel:

• Corresponds to Tiphareth in action: the Solar Christed Self harmonizing the lower and higher wills.

• Embodies Sekhmet’s function as solar purification and karmic flame—burning away the dross of unconscious reaction.

• Is a glyph of internal mastery, where knowledge (sword), mystery (silence), and stability (stillness) mediate the spinning cycles of cause and effect.

🔑 Esoteric Conclusion

The original lioness—Sekhmet—did not disappear; she was recast as Pharaoh, and her riddles encoded into the Sphinx.
In the Tarot, she reemerges as the One who governs the Wheel, neither rising nor falling, but remaining centered while others spin.

Thus, the Sphinx of the Thoth Wheel is not a passive figure of knowledge but a Sekhmetian force of stabilizing solar will, commanding karma through stillness, and watching the opposites spin in her dominion.

Later the Greeks, modified the Sphinx by illustrating it as a woman on a lion's body (which could mean they copied the original lioness sphinx image). Thus, the Sphinx came to represent the union of mankind, with the raw power of the animal kingdom, and a balance of male (electric) and female (magnetic) in the same form, a Divine Hermaphrodite, that we know as our whole Soul. Again, the union of opposites is seen as the birthplace of all Power and Fate and once again the knowledge of the Divine Hermaphrodite is depicted in form.

The Qabalistic concept of the Sphinx is that it is the Synthesis of all Elemental Forces, much like the Pentagram symbol of Humankind, where the Spirit is the Fifth element above and added to the four elements of the animal kingdom. This also illustrates our absolute power over the 4 universal elements.

In fact, among the documents of the Enochian Mysteries of the Golden Dawn, the Sphinx has four forms, that of a Bull, Eagle, Man and Lion. This combination also later became a Dragon or Chimera. These four faces are also described by Ezekiel in the Bible interpretation of his vision of wheels spinning within wheels.

The Wheel of Fortune is the glyph of perpetual motion where the flying Eagle balances the human; the roaring Lion counterpoises the laborious Bull. Also, the Sphinx symbolizes the directing aspect of the Higher Self in Tiphareth the sixth Sephiroth (beauty) and being a Gate Keeper, it is protective and keeps the Personality/Body from absorbing more force than its system can handle.

As stated, the Sphinx represents the stabilizing element during change. It is both the balancing phase of cyclic energy and the guardian to the gateway of the Mysteries, holding the secret of life and death which is also attributed to the ancient Greek Triple goddess, the Three Fates and/or Moirai (Past, Present and Future). Thus, the Sphinx is a gate guardian of the Path of Caph (fist) as it is both that through which one passes in birth or death, and that which controls the passage, as does the Triple goddess. The Traditional Tarot depiction of the WHEEL OF FORTUNE often used the 3 Fates or Moirai (Greek), as the pushing force of the Great Cosmic Round. The Morae where, Clotho the Spinner, Lachesis the Measurer and Atropos the Cutter of life's thread.

The pushing force of the Great Wheel is shown in its spinning atomic motion.

Our evolutionary motion starts with the Fire element, which perceives truth through instinct, then to the water element, which imbues it with feelings, and emotion, the resulting "vapor" (data) spreading through the air element reaching the intellect of the earth elemental body. Without a smooth transition, this process will easily cause a blockage, much like a "vapor lock" of a car fuel system then nothing reaches the body manifested but "whisps of intellect".

To add more information to aid in understanding this Tarot Key, one will find the transposition of the letters TARO, which appears on the Rider-Waite-Smith Wheel of Fortune, which may make the following five words: ROTA-TARO-ORAT-TORA-ATOR. "Ator" is the old Latin form of the Egyptian Goddess Hathor (Mother God). Therefore, this grammatically improper Latin sentence is often translated as, " The Wheel of Tarot speaks the Laws of Hathor (Laws of Nature)"; Hathor (the Egyptian Mother Goddess), being represented here as the sphinx.

Physiologically, the Wheel represents the law of periodicity in mental activity, whereby, mental states tend to reoccur in definite rhythms, as well as the law of the involution of the undifferentiated conscious energy, and its evolution through a series of personalized forms of itself. It is the Law of Cause and Effect, making sure that we "reap what we sow'".

The Thoth card image of a Sphinx also conveys a message. By correctly answering the question of the Sphinx, which is an extension of the Greek Axiom, "Man know thyself", implies that one is ready to pass through the gate of inner consciousness. As in the Oedipus legend, once correctly answered, the Sphinx throws itself back into the Sea which to a Qabalist means that the Gate keeper is no longer needed and is reabsorbed into the vast Ocean of the Universal Collective Unconsciousness that created it. If the initiate can't answer the Sphinx's question, they are "slain", which is the protection part of the Sphinx, as it sends back to Malkuth the tenth Sephiroth of materialization, those personalities that are unready to pass consciously beyond the restrictions of time/space.

The Sphinx questioning the presence of the ego is one of the most profound Hermetic truths hidden in plain sight: the Sphinx as both Threshold Guardian and Gatekeeper of Initiation, especially when viewed through the Thoth Tarot's ATU 10 — Fortune and the deeper Qabalistic structure of spiritual ascent.

🜏 The Sphinx as Initiatory Gatekeeper

The image of the Sphinx atop the Wheel of Fortune in the Thoth Tarot is not just symbolic of balance—it is also the guardian of transcendence. It holds the riddle of self-knowledge, and whether or not the aspirant may continue up the Tree depends upon their answer.

This riddle is none other than:
“Who are you?” or more classically, “Man, know thyself.”

Like the myth of Oedipus, where failure to answer results in death, the Sphinx functions as a mystical filtration system—a trial of consciousness. But unlike in mere mythology, the death is not literal—it is symbolic:

• The egoic self (Nephesh-based identity) must either face annihilation, or be refined into a self-aware soul aligned with higher intelligence (Ruach and Neshamah).

🜍 Qabalistic Role of the Sphinx: The Filter Between Netzach and Tiphareth

In the climb up the Tree of Life:

• The Wheel of Fortune (Path of Caph, כ) moves from Chesed (4) to Netzach (7),

• But the trial occurs at the level just below Tiphareth (6), the Solar Self—the true seat of the Inner Voice and Higher Consciousness.

Before reaching Tiphareth, the initiate must pass the test of the Sphinx—a riddle encoded into the very nature of their being.

If the answer is correct:

• The personality is harmonized with the Higher Self,

• The Sphinx is no longer needed, and

• It dissolves into the Universal Sea—a poetic symbol for the Collective Unconscious (Yesod/Moon to Binah/Sea of Understanding).

This is the "Sphinx throwing itself into the Sea"—it is not destroyed, but reabsorbed into the deep archetypal waters from which it emerged.

This reabsorption is symbolic of the dissolution of the egoic guardian who once seemed terrifying but was actually a projection of the soul’s readiness for realization.

🜄 If the Riddle is Unanswered: The Sphinx Slays

Those who cannot answer the Sphinx’s question—that is, those who do not yet know their True Will or Self—are “slain” by the Sphinx. In Hermetic terms, this means:

• The aspirant is cast back to Malkuth, the 10th Sephirah—physical incarnation,

• The conscious ascent is halted,

• One must repeat karmic cycles (the Wheel spins again) until integration is possible.

This “slaying” is not punishment, but protection.

The Tree guards its higher realms with gates of initiation. To ascend unready would cause disintegration of the ego and psychosis rather than illumination.

So the Sphinx is a psychospiritual firewall, allowing only the harmonized soul to pass.

🜂 The Sea and the Sphinx: Return to the Source

In symbolic language:

• The Sea = Binah, the Supernal Mother, the Ocean of Understanding and the Collective Unconscious.

• The Sphinx is a localized archetype—created by collective mind to test and protect the border of realms.

Once the riddle is solved, the Sphinx’s purpose is fulfilled. The conscious self, now aware of its own divine nature, no longer needs an external tester. The external becomes internal. The Guardian becomes Guide.

✨ Summary: The Riddle as Gate of Initiation

🜏 Closing Thought: Inner Sphinx, Inner Gate

The Sphinx is not an enemy—it is the echo of your deeper Self, asking if you are ready to remember.

When you answer truthfully—not intellectually, but existentially—the Sphinx bows, the Wheel no longer spins blindly, and you step through into solar consciousness.

The Thoth Card also illustrates a dog faced monkey, on the left side of the wheel which is in reference to the Plutonian- Cynocephalus. Cynocephalus is not only the companion of Ibis headed Thoth but also the symbol of time and eternity. Thoth, being called the Lord of Holy Words by the Ancient Greeks (as Hemes) and Egyptians, was said to be the inventor of writing and scribe for the Gods who records the results of the weighing of the Souls on the Path of Lamed (See the past blog on the Adjustment Card). Thoth is also said to divide time into months, seasons, and years. Thus, his companion is Cynocephalus who often represents the symbol for time and eternity and to us moderns would represent the "False Ego" who is bound by time and is infected by a "mind virus" from the shadow of indoctrinated Self. Also, this monkey, suggest mischievousness', which is a description of words themselves as their interpretation more often than not, relies on personal experience.

Thoth, the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom, writing, and magic, is often depicted with an ibis head. He is also frequently accompanied by a baboon, a sacred animal associated with him. The baboon does not have a specific personal name in most Egyptian texts, but it represents significant symbolic meanings.

In Egyptian mythology, the baboon companion of Thoth symbolizes several key aspects:

1. Wisdom and Knowledge: Baboons were believed to possess great wisdom, similar to Thoth, who was revered as the god of wisdom and knowledge.

2. Dawn and Sun Worship: Baboons were observed to greet the sunrise with a kind of ritualistic chattering, which ancient Egyptians interpreted as worship. This behavior linked them to Thoth, who was also connected with the moon and the measurement of time.

3. Justice and Judgment: In the context of the afterlife, baboons were associated with the weighing of the heart ceremony, a critical aspect of the judgment process where Thoth played a vital role. The baboon was seen as a mediator in the scales of justice.

4. Writing and Scribes: Since Thoth was the patron of scribes, baboons were often depicted holding writing tools, underscoring their association with record-keeping and scholarly activities.

While the baboon itself is not given a specific personal name in the same way Thoth is, its representation carries deep symbolic meanings that reinforce and complement the attributes of Thoth within Egyptian mythology.

Briefly, the Words of Thoth are the vibratory patterns that turn the Wheel of Fortune. Esoterically, Fortune represents the influence of the Higher Self, which controls the Elements and grants the Personality, which knows itself, "words," script, or vibratory patterns. These patterns free the Personality from the general Wheel of Fortune, or Karma, that governs the "sleeping souls" of the indoctrinated. These individuals lack self-knowledge and whose identities are bound by the media-controlled hypnotic words of man.

The Thoth Tarot- Key 10-Fortune card, depicts the interaction between the triple forces of the Sphinx, Hermanubis and Typhon. Hermanubis is a dual god, combining Horus and Anubis and is written as Heru-em-Anpu, meaning Horus as Anubis. Sword in hand, Heru-em-Anpu is often depicted in mythology as the slayer of Typhon, who is illustrated as a snake or crocodile.

Typhon originally was of Greek origin and was involved in the mythological wars of supremacy by the Gods. But as time developed the complexity of myths, Typhon became the dark aspect of Osiris known as Set. Hence, the combination of these symbols plays out the counter-changing influence of Light and Dark energy. In Quantum physics, Dark Energy is the Pushing Force, the "vibrations" that spins the universe and pushes it outward, this may cause one to wonder if "death" is the pushing force for Life. As life dies, to be alive and/or life eats itself to stay alive.

More than most, the determination of this Fortune or the Great Wheel's interpretation, good or bad, depends on the cards surrounding it.

The Medieval Feathers Tarot- key 10-Wheel of Fortune illustrates a wheel of life whose solar axel is the Blindfolded Goddess Fortuna that is spinning the outer rim human symbols that are in a constant state of change. Her blindfold shows her unbiased behavior, for she is of "cause and effect". Shown are the varied experiences of our fortunes, good or bad as the king, a merchant who can become the king and the pauper on the downward spin of the wheel.

The Medieval Feather Tarot’s Key 10, where Fortuna is blindfolded and spins the Wheel with the figures of king, merchant, and pauper caught in its cycle, captures the medieval initiatory worldview of fate, power, and egoic impermanence. This image is saturated with esoteric meaning—especially when read Qabalistically and compared with the Thoth Tarot’s more evolved understanding of dynamic fate and responsibility.

Let’s break it down:

🜏 Fortuna Blindfolded: The Impersonal Force of Cyclic Fate

The blindfolded goddess Fortuna symbolizes the impartial, automatic nature of fate. She does not play favorites—her wheel turns by cosmic law, not personal bias.

Esoteric Meaning:

• Blindness symbolizes the unconsciousness of the masses who are ruled by the Wheel, not the One who operates it.

• Fortuna spins the Wheel without moral judgment—her function is mechanical, not spiritual.

• The blindfold also emphasizes the law of karma, which delivers consequences without regard to status or identity.

This reflects the lower understanding of the Wheel in the Nephesh-dominated world (Malkuth through Yesod), where people interpret life events as luck, misfortune, or divine reward/punishment—but never recognize the inner causal self behind them.

🜁 The Figures on the Wheel: King, Merchant, Pauper

These three figures are archetypal roles of egoic identity in the material world. They are not separate individuals—they are three phases of the same soul moving through the Wheel of Incarnation.

🔺 The King:

• At the top of the wheel.

• Represents power, rulership, and worldly success.

• But this is temporary—he is next to fall.

• In Qabalah, he may correspond to an ego inflamed by Tiphareth's solar light, but not yet integrated with the True Will.

🔻 The Merchant:

• Midway up or down—aspiring toward the top.

• Symbolizes ambition, desire, acquisition.

• This is the typical position of the unawakened soul, caught in Netzach-Hod mechanics of wanting, doing, trading.

⚫ The Pauper:

• At the bottom—fallen, broken, or exiled.

• Symbol of loss, humility, material emptiness.

• But also the starting point of true spiritual hunger—the beginning of initiation if recognized.

The Wheel ensures that each of these roles transforms into the next, showing that identity is not fixed, and all social/egoic status is illusory within cyclic time.

🜍 Initiatory Implication: The False Ascent and True Initiation

The image in the Medieval Feather Tarot warns of spiritual slumber:

• The king thinks he is safe, but he is next to fall.

• The merchant thinks he is rising, but he is bound to the same cycle.

• The pauper may seem lowest, but in Qabalah, it is the fallen who awaken (Malkuth is the gate to Kether through the back door of Da’ath).

Thus, this card represents the illusion of progress based on external status, and the necessity of detachment from identity for true initiation.

🜂 The Qabalistic View: Moving from Spin to Axis

In the Thoth Tarot, this same Wheel is transcended by conscious participation. Crowley’s Sphinx (and our insights on Sekhmet) reveals that the goal is not to rise to the top of the Wheel, but to become the still point at its center.

The king, merchant, and pauper are roles played on the rim—the aspirant must grasp the axle (Caph—the Fist) and find equilibrium in the center.

Only then can the Path of Caph truly become the Intelligence of Conciliation—the motion that brings stillness, the change that creates inner stability.

✨ Final Elucidation:

🜏 The Message:

To remain attached to any position on the Wheel is to be slain by Fortuna.
To know thyself, to answer the Sphinx, is to become the axis around which Fortuna spins,
not her blind subject, but her silent operator.

The Robins feather implies that these men are well aware of her presence and things are about to change for them. Therefore, you are advised to become more in-tune with people's feelings, emotions and understanding of where they are coming from by trying to relate to them. Each of us are spinning on the wheel of Fated energy-in-motion, which is our own way of "thinking". Time to realize you are the mind that spins the wheel of your body's "motion".

All of which imply the change of fortunes in life. Hence it shows the cyclic nature of our lives. It implies that we should appreciate the good times while they last. If things aren't going well, we should understand that the wheel spins and changes are on the horizon. Hang in there, it will get better! On the whole this card means good fortune.

Life is what you are not something granted by outside authority nor by the Military Industrial Complex of the Patriarchy. For you are the energy of combined quantum light forms that surround the body and the electric sparks that power it. You are a Solar Being and/or immortal Soul who creates self-image by using coagulation of light and/or "bodies" (Solve et Coagula) as your personal avatar on the earth plane...since you don't come from here and because photons have no mass, you need a body of mass to operate on a planet. You are Photonic evolution/Light intelligence from the Celestial stars. Hence, the fiery wheel of fortune. This image declares that good luck is here, so BE HERE!

Destiny is already done. You are destined to be for what happens to Earth, happens to you. However, your Fate is freely chosen by you as you identify yourself, so shall you be. Here, let me clarify:

This is a deeply Hermetic distinction and central to the initiatory understanding of the Western Qabalistic path. In the Western Hermetic Tradition—especially when aligned with astrology, Tarot, and the Tree of Life—Destiny and Fate are not interchangeable terms. Rather, they represent two interwoven layers of spiritual motion:

• Destiny = the macrocosmic trajectory (orbit), the soul’s divine blueprint

• Fate = the microcosmic response to that trajectory, shaped by conscious identity and choice

Let us break this down Qabalistically and Hermetically.

🜏 DESTINY: The Predetermined Orbit of the Soul

In Hermetic cosmology, destiny is akin to a planetary orbit—it is the soul's pre-established path, encoded before birth in the Zodiacal imprint (Natal Chart), and woven into the Sephirothic structure of the individual's spiritual Tree.

Destiny in this context means:

• The greater spiritual trajectory of the soul through many lifetimes (Gilgul haNeshamot),

• The lessons, initiations, and Sephirothic currents the soul is drawn to master,

• That which is “written” into your astrological DNA, your Qabalistic path of return, and your essential archetypal pattern.

Think of Destiny as Kether downward through Chokmah and Binah—the Supernal Will, too vast to alter but directing the current.

Examples of Destiny:

• Being born into a particular lineage, time, or body.

• Being drawn to a spiritual path.

• Having a "karmic orbit" that returns to specific teachings or people.

Like Saturn’s rings or Earth’s orbit around the Sun, Destiny sets the context—but it does not dictate the traveler’s response.

🜍 FATE: The Will-to-Form Within the Circle

Where destiny sets the orbit, fate is your motion within it. This is the realm of Netzach, Hod, and Tiphareth—the personality and soul identity making choices within the parameters of incarnation.

Fate = Free Will in Action:

• It is the expression of the Ruach (self-conscious soul),

• The outcome of your beliefs, perceptions, and self-identity,

• A mirror of how you identify with or against your higher purpose.

Hence, Fate is proportional to Identity:

• If you identify as a victim, fate will reinforce powerlessness.

• If you awaken as the magician of your sphere, fate will respond with symbols and synchronicities of empowerment.

The Magus (ATU I) reshapes fate by aligning with the inner formula of Will (Thelemic principle).
But he does not alter destiny—he rides it masterfully like a charioteer in orbit.

✡ Qabalistic Synthesis: Destiny vs. Fate on the Tree of Life

🜂 Hermetic Implication: You Cannot Escape Destiny—But You Can Shape Fate

The Hermetic path is about awakening to one's Destiny (which is always aligned with True Will) and exercising sovereign choice to unfold that Destiny in the most luminous, integrated way.

This is echoed in the Emerald Tablet:

“As above, so below.”
Destiny is above—Fate is how you reflect it below.

You cannot change the constellation you were born under (Destiny), but you can:

• Decide how you interpret its symbolism,

• Transmute its karma into wisdom,

• Align your microcosmic fate (actions, thoughts, emotions) with your divine signature.

🜃 Final Insight:

Destiny is the orbit. Fate is the dance within it.
Your True Will is the harmony between them.
You cannot change the stars—but you can become the one who reads them rightly and answers their call through awakened fate.

Since you are Spirit, which comes from the Greek word "spiro" which means breath or to breathe, your action is the breath that enlivens the body. You are therefore connected to the Breath of the Universal I AM! In Western Hermetic Qabalah, that Universal Breath began with Kether whose god name is Eheieh, which sounds like the exhalation of breath; an exhalation that becomes the Fool.

Within the Western Hermetic Mysteries, there is a concept analogous to the "Universal Breath." This idea is deeply intertwined with Hermetic philosophy, which draws upon ancient Egyptian, Greek, and mystical traditions to explore the nature of reality, the divine, and the human soul. Here's an in-depth exploration of this concept:

1. Understanding Hermeticism

Hermeticism is a spiritual, philosophical, and esoteric tradition based primarily on writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. Central to Hermeticism are the principles that govern the cosmos, the relationship between the macrocosm (the universe) and the microcosm (the individual), and the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment.

2. The Concept of Universal Breath in Hermeticism

The "Universal Breath" in Hermetic Mysteries can be understood through several interconnected concepts:

**a. Pneuma and Spirit

• Pneuma: Borrowed from ancient Greek philosophy, particularly Stoicism and later adopted by Hermetic thinkers, pneuma refers to the vital spirit or life force that permeates all existence. It is considered the animating principle of the universe and all living beings.

• Spirit (Spiritus): In Latin, spiritus also means "breath" and "spirit." Hermetic texts often use these terms interchangeably to denote the divine essence that sustains life and connects all things.

**b. The Divine Breath as Creation

Hermetic cosmology posits that the universe was brought into existence through the divine breath of the One or the All (often referred to as The All in Hermetic texts). This breath is not merely a metaphor but is seen as the active, creative force that shapes reality.

• Creation Ex Nihilo: While not identical to the Abrahamic concept of creation ex nihilo (creation out of nothing), the Hermetic Divine Breath implies a similar creative emanation from the source.

**c. Breath as a Medium of Connection

The Universal Breath serves as a medium that connects the divine with the material world. It acts as the bridge between the spiritual and physical realms, enabling the flow of divine energy into creation and facilitating the ascent of the soul back to the divine.

3. Symbolism and Practices Related to Universal Breath

**a. Breath in Meditation and Ritual

Breathing techniques are integral to many Hermetic practices. Controlled breathing (pranayama in Eastern traditions, though adopted differently in Hermeticism) is used to align the practitioner’s spirit with the Universal Breath, fostering spiritual clarity and connection.

**b. Alchemy and Transformation

In Hermetic alchemy, the transformation of base materials into noble ones (like lead into gold) is symbolic of the soul’s purification and elevation. The Universal Breath symbolizes the divine force that facilitates this transformation, both materially and spiritually.

**c. Hermetic Texts and the Breath

Key Hermetic texts, such as the "Corpus Hermeticum," often reference breath as a symbol of divine life and consciousness. For instance:

• Corpus Hermeticum, Poimandres (Book I): Discusses the creation of the cosmos through the breath of the divine mind.
• The Emerald Tablet: While more cryptic, it alludes to fundamental principles that can be interpreted as the breath of creation and existence.

4. Comparative Perspectives

**a. **Similar Concepts in Other Traditions

The idea of a universal life force or breath is not unique to Hermeticism and appears in various spiritual and philosophical traditions:

• Prana (Hinduism and Yoga): The vital life force that permeates the universe.
• Qi or Chi (Chinese Philosophy and Taoism): The fundamental energy present in all things.
• Ruach (Hebrew): Often translated as "spirit" or "breath," representing the divine presence.

Hermeticism integrates these concepts into its own framework, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all existence through a universal life force.

**b. Gnostic Influences

Hermeticism shares similarities with Gnostic traditions, particularly in the emphasis on inner knowledge (gnosis) and the breath as a means of connecting with the divine. Both traditions view the material world as a manifestation of deeper spiritual truths.

5. Theological Implications of the Universal Breath

The Universal Breath in Hermetic Mysteries has profound theological implications:

• Immanence of the Divine: The divine is present within all things through the Universal Breath, emphasizing a pantheistic or panentheistic view of the cosmos.
• Human Potential: Humans, possessing a spark of the Universal Breath, have the potential to achieve gnosis and reunite with the divine source.
• Interconnectedness: All life is interconnected through the Universal Breath, fostering a sense of unity and harmony within the universe.

6. Practical Applications in Hermetic Practice

**a. **Meditative Breathing

Practitioners engage in specific breathing exercises to attune themselves to the Universal Breath, facilitating deeper meditation and spiritual experiences.

**b. **Visualization Techniques

Visualizing the flow of the Universal Breath through the body and the cosmos helps in aligning personal energy with universal forces, promoting healing and spiritual growth.

**c. **Rituals and Invocations

Rituals often invoke the Universal Breath as a means of connecting with divine energies, seeking blessings, or performing spiritual transformations.

Conclusion

The Universal Breath in Western Hermetic Mysteries is a central metaphor and practical concept representing the divine life force that sustains and connects all aspects of the universe. It encapsulates the Hermetic understanding of creation, the interdependence of the spiritual and material worlds, and the potential for human beings to engage with and harness this universal energy for spiritual enlightenment and transformation.

If you're interested in exploring this concept further, here are some recommended readings:

• "The Corpus Hermeticum" translated by G.R.S. Mead
• "Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius" translated by Brian P. Copenhaver
• "The Kybalion" by Three Initiates (for a modern Hermetic perspective)

Like the Tao says, " If it is here, it is there, and if it is there it is here. If it is not here, it is not there and if it is not there it's not here." Hence, if you are not authentic, you aren't here and therefore, you are not seen there. Be as the Spiritual Power that you are, and your presence will be both here and there, as will your "breath" and your fate will be your personal design.

When The Medieval Feathers Tarot- Key-10- Wheel of Fortune or the Thoth ATU 10- Fortune Card is thrown during a reading, it implies:

• Life is moving and busy here, so breakthroughs in prosperity and abundance are approaching fast.  
• This is a good luck card depicting rewards and recognition for things completed. 
• Going with the natural flow of life, being flexible and open to new opportunities.  
• A change in karma, from bad luck to good luck. 
• Chance of circumstances.
• Grabbing hold of Fate.
• Time to take what life has given you.
• Destiny, ending of a problem.

If ill defined by surrounding cards, it implies:

• Difficulty adjusting to changes.
• Resistance to change.
• Fatalism. 
• Turns for the Worst.

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