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Description
"The Wheel of Fortune“, card 10 from my MerMay Tarot (July 2023)

It has been a very long time since I finished my last drawing of the series. But I'm back with renewed energy and inspiration, so I'll be steadily continuing this Marjor Arcana in the world of mermaids.
Wish me luck!

As a theme I decided to go for the Major Arcana because I've always wanted to create my own tarot deck.
I mainly used the traditional Rider-Waite tarot deck as a reference with its visual symbolism and meaning.

10. The Wheel of Fortune
The card’s imagery can vary between tarot decks but in the center is generally a six- or eight-spoked wheel or wheel-like image, modeled after the ancient concept of Rota Fortunae, the wheel of the goddess Fortuna. For this one I also took inspiration from the Swiss 1JJ deck, where the revolving wheel is presided over by a veiled or blindfolded Fortuna, who spins it at random, thus changing the positions of those on the wheel, showing life's capriciousness.
The figures on the wheel represent the cycles in life. They emphasize that this oracle is about change and renewal and that resisting it is completely futile. It’s inevitable, it’s the nature of evolution and revolution.
I simplified this card by placing only two mermaids around the Wheel, both with their eyes concealed as if wearing a blindfold (Fortuna caeca est; - “Luck is blind"), representing Fortuna bona (good luck) with a smile and rising into the light, Fortuna mala (bad luck) falling down into shadows.
For the Wheel itself I used the snake, whose image can also be found on the Rider-Waite card, and turned it into the snake-like Ouroboros that eats its own tail because it fits the message of the cycle of life, renewal and rebirth; it’s also the symbolism of the power of creation and reinvention.
Often there is lettering on the Wheel, clockwise T-A-R-O (Tarot); counter clockwise T-O-R-A (possibly referring to Torah) or R-O-T-A (Latin for Wheel) and I incorporated them on the body of the snake.
In some decks the wheel is also inscribed with additional alchemical symbols: Mercury or Quicksilver (the mind), Sulphur (the soul) and Salt (the body) and the wavy glyph of Water, representing the Three Principles of Alchemy together with the Water of Dissolution, which I added on the eight-pointed star in the center that replaces the spokes of the Wheel. This star is inspired by a compass rose, a nod to navigation by the stars.
There are storm clouds behind the top mermaid’s head, and I placed a golden band showing the 12 signs of the Zodiac: man has no influence on the position of the stars, so neither on fate. Clouds can be a brief obstacle or obscure your path completely. They represent change and here they are a symbol of a higher power at work in the events of our lives, moving it in an unexpected direction.
Sometimes, like on the Waite card, there are four winged creatures in the corners of the image, the symbols of the four Evangelists: Winged man or angel is Matthew (Aquarius, Air); Eagle is John (Scorpio, Water); Ox is Luke (Taurus, Earth); Lion is Mark (Leo, Fire). I used their 4 fixed astrological signs of the zodiac that represent the seasons, the cycles of time and life and placed them in little round vignettes in the clouds as a nod to the Rider-Waite symbolism.

The keyword is: Prosperity.
Wishes and desires are being fulfilled or are in development and nothing seems impossible. What you have sown you will reap. Life seems like a game, as long as you play along, so don't stand on the sidelines and make sure to participate in life. Follow the path in prosperity and happiness; if fortune is shared, it will multiply in the future and the happy trend will continue, unless it is achieved at the expense of others, then it will be hard to bear the fortune.
Think carefully while you still can; it's no use crying over spilled milk. Own up to your actions and responsibilities - or suffer the consequences.
It’s important to consider our approach to loss, because how we react can be decisive. Luck and misfortune; wealth and poverty (both mental and material). It comes down to insight and self-contemplation and realizing that it is possible to turn opportunities for the better by choosing a different direction. Resistance can make it worse so try to embrace it or cooperate and you will develop further. Broaden your perspective and allow for positive change. This works also with beliefs and ideas.
Reversed:
Luck isn’t on your side just now. There is struggle or a resistance to change; an unwillingness that creates internal or external conflicts.
Even if a lot has been achieved, there is a chance to lose it all. Fate unrelentingly takes its toll. If we view loss as a bad thing then this is exactly what it will be. Acceptance is the only way forward; a revolution that leads to new insights and a fresh look. Ask questions, seek answers, try options and change perspectives.

Keywords that are associated with this card: Fate, destiny, luck, (life)cycle, surrender, turning point, change, renewal, abide, ascendance, development, evolution, education, growth, fortune, success, elevation, felicity, movement, serendipity, opportunity, new perspective
Reversed: Relinquishing control, karma, misfortune, inevitability, struggle, conflict, disappointment, bad luck, resistance to change, regret

Source:
"Orakelen" - Rob van der Wilk
Mind Body Spirit - DeAgostini
Tarotteachings.com
"The Shadowscapes Tarot" - Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

Materials:
* A5 paper (200 g/m2)
* graphite pencil 2H
* Pentel Orenz mechanical pencil 0,2 mm HB
* Winsor & Newton gold drawing ink

Description
"The Wheel of Fortune“, card 10 from my MerMay Tarot (July 2023)

It has been a very long time since I finished my last drawing of the series. But I'm back with renewed energy and inspiration, so I'll be steadily continuing this Marjor Arcana in the world of mermaids.
Wish me luck!

As a theme I decided to go for the Major Arcana because I've always wanted to create my own tarot deck.
I mainly used the traditional Rider-Waite tarot deck as a reference with its visual symbolism and meaning.

10. The Wheel of Fortune
The card’s imagery can vary between tarot decks but in the center is generally a six- or eight-spoked wheel or wheel-like image, modeled after the ancient concept of Rota Fortunae, the wheel of the goddess Fortuna. For this one I also took inspiration from the Swiss 1JJ deck, where the revolving wheel is presided over by a veiled or blindfolded Fortuna, who spins it at random, thus changing the positions of those on the wheel, showing life's capriciousness.
The figures on the wheel represent the cycles in life. They emphasize that this oracle is about change and renewal and that resisting it is completely futile. It’s inevitable, it’s the nature of evolution and revolution.
I simplified this card by placing only two mermaids around the Wheel, both with their eyes concealed as if wearing a blindfold (Fortuna caeca est; - “Luck is blind"), representing Fortuna bona (good luck) with a smile and rising into the light, Fortuna mala (bad luck) falling down into shadows.
For the Wheel itself I used the snake, whose image can also be found on the Rider-Waite card, and turned it into the snake-like Ouroboros that eats its own tail because it fits the message of the cycle of life, renewal and rebirth; it’s also the symbolism of the power of creation and reinvention.
Often there is lettering on the Wheel, clockwise T-A-R-O (Tarot); counter clockwise T-O-R-A (possibly referring to Torah) or R-O-T-A (Latin for Wheel) and I incorporated them on the body of the snake.
In some decks the wheel is also inscribed with additional alchemical symbols: Mercury or Quicksilver (the mind), Sulphur (the soul) and Salt (the body) and the wavy glyph of Water, representing the Three Principles of Alchemy together with the Water of Dissolution, which I added on the eight-pointed star in the center that replaces the spokes of the Wheel. This star is inspired by a compass rose, a nod to navigation by the stars.
There are storm clouds behind the top mermaid’s head, and I placed a golden band showing the 12 signs of the Zodiac: man has no influence on the position of the stars, so neither on fate. Clouds can be a brief obstacle or obscure your path completely. They represent change and here they are a symbol of a higher power at work in the events of our lives, moving it in an unexpected direction.
Sometimes, like on the Waite card, there are four winged creatures in the corners of the image, the symbols of the four Evangelists: Winged man or angel is Matthew (Aquarius, Air); Eagle is John (Scorpio, Water); Ox is Luke (Taurus, Earth); Lion is Mark (Leo, Fire). I used their 4 fixed astrological signs of the zodiac that represent the seasons, the cycles of time and life and placed them in little round vignettes in the clouds as a nod to the Rider-Waite symbolism.

The keyword is: Prosperity.
Wishes and desires are being fulfilled or are in development and nothing seems impossible. What you have sown you will reap. Life seems like a game, as long as you play along, so don't stand on the sidelines and make sure to participate in life. Follow the path in prosperity and happiness; if fortune is shared, it will multiply in the future and the happy trend will continue, unless it is achieved at the expense of others, then it will be hard to bear the fortune.
Think carefully while you still can; it's no use crying over spilled milk. Own up to your actions and responsibilities - or suffer the consequences.
It’s important to consider our approach to loss, because how we react can be decisive. Luck and misfortune; wealth and poverty (both mental and material). It comes down to insight and self-contemplation and realizing that it is possible to turn opportunities for the better by choosing a different direction. Resistance can make it worse so try to embrace it or cooperate and you will develop further. Broaden your perspective and allow for positive change. This works also with beliefs and ideas.
Reversed:
Luck isn’t on your side just now. There is struggle or a resistance to change; an unwillingness that creates internal or external conflicts.
Even if a lot has been achieved, there is a chance to lose it all. Fate unrelentingly takes its toll. If we view loss as a bad thing then this is exactly what it will be. Acceptance is the only way forward; a revolution that leads to new insights and a fresh look. Ask questions, seek answers, try options and change perspectives.

Keywords that are associated with this card: Fate, destiny, luck, (life)cycle, surrender, turning point, change, renewal, abide, ascendance, development, evolution, education, growth, fortune, success, elevation, felicity, movement, serendipity, opportunity, new perspective
Reversed: Relinquishing control, karma, misfortune, inevitability, struggle, conflict, disappointment, bad luck, resistance to change, regret

Source:
"Orakelen" - Rob van der Wilk
Mind Body Spirit - DeAgostini
Tarotteachings.com
"The Shadowscapes Tarot" - Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

Materials:
* A5 paper (200 g/m2)
* graphite pencil 2H
* Pentel Orenz mechanical pencil 0,2 mm HB
* Winsor & Newton gold drawing ink