Fortune’s Wheelhouse

Now that we've arrived at the auspicious 6 of Pentacles of Disks, Success is within reach!  Here the Moon, exalted in the sign of Taurus, shines her kindest light. The steady earthen bull plows the fertile fields; all herds thrive, all crops bear fruit.  Outer and inner mysteries reconcile, the earth and heaven smile at each other, and a generous spirit prevails. In our discussion we consider: the...

Cue the blues: it's the 5 of Pentacles or Disks - otherwise known as the Lord of Worry, or the Lord of Material Trouble. It is the very disaster we thought we could forestall by stockpiling gold in the Four of Pentacles!  Mercury (The Magician or Magus) presides over the second decan of Taurus (The Hierophant), the quicksilver psychopomp contending with the steadfast pontifex.  Who will prevail, t...

Prison or protection?  This week, we face the 4 of Pentacles or Disks, the Lord of Power (is that redundant?!) or Material Power.  Here are tropes of kingship - the Sun as ruler of the decan, Capricorn as the zodiac's CEO, even Jupiter as the force governing all 4's.  The power derives from the throne, and it is rooted, strongly fortified, solid gold, and immovable.  In the fortress of the Old New...

This week, the engines are running, the pistons are pumping, skyscrapers rise on the horizon.  The 3 of Pentacles or Disks is the Lord of work! and the Devil himself ensures there are no idle hands at play here. Combined with the driving force of Mars and the power of the calendrical New Year, all manner of resolutions are taking form. Here is the glory of the built world and the promise of indust...

This week on Fortune's Wheelhouse, we address the inevitable: the Lord of Change!  With the 2 of Pentacles or Disks, we engage with the physical world, and the reality of trying to make our bodies, our works, our things bend to our will.  Firs decan of the Saturn-ruled, Capricorn line-up, the 2 of Disks answers to Jupiter.  The Greater Malefic and the Greater Benefic duke it out in this card, and...

Silent, magical, and profound, the last Ace materializes on our earthly plane.  Is it a pentacle? a disk? a coin?  Even its name is a mystery!  In this final suit, we finally encounter the world we know best: our round globe, the four directions, our five senses, our physical bodies and all creation.  Whatever you call them - pentacles or disks, still or spinning - they stand encased and crystalli...

We end the suit of Swords with a rush of wind and a whirling blade belonging to the Page or Princess of Swords.  The earthy part of air, she freely inscribes her will on the astral plane - the "fixation of the volatile".  With the power of the Gorgon's head, she concretizes choices, turning options into hard fact.  She will tell you: what she doesn't know isn't worth knowing.  Lotus of the palace...

This week we face a steady wind: the Prince or Knight of Swords.  The airy part of air, he rushes through his encounters with an unflagging force.  He fights for his ideals, but also just for fighting's sake.  Associated with the first two decans of Aquarius (the 5 and 6 of Swords) and the last of Capricorn (the 4 of Pentacles or Disks), our Prince is a revolutionary - a master at navigating his w...

And here she is in all her INFJ glory: the Queen of Swords. Whether you call her the Ice Queen, the Wolf Queen, the Dancing Queen, she is as formidable as she is graceful.   The watery part of air, she pierces through illusion and perceives patterns invisible to most.  Associated with the final decan of Virgo and the first two decans of Libra, she borrows the Hermit's solitude and the measured sym...

I fought the Law, and the Law won! Here comes that intimidating brainiac, the King or Knight of Swords.  His is an incisive, restless mind, quick to take up pursuit and flexible to a fault - yet once he makes up his mind, no mercy will temper his decision. Representing the first two decans of Gemini (and the last one of Taurus) in court and everywhere else, he sees a world in black and white, one...

The 10 of Swords! the Lord of Ruin! (We had to get there sometime.)  Who does not shudder to see this card, even in the cheeriest of readings?  Here at the end of thought and reason, the Sun rules over the final decan of Gemini.  The sky is black, but for a line of sunlight on the horizon. The contrasts of light and shadow are stark and brutal, and the consequences of choices made in the 8 and 9 o...

Be afraid, be very afraid!  We have arrived at the Lord of Cruelty (or if you like your fear extra crunchy, the 'Lord of Cruelty and Despair'), the 9 of Swords.  In this swordsiest of swords cards, Mars governs the middle decan of Gemini.  The portentous moment we faced in the 8 has reached critical mass, and something must be cut away. One twin dies that the other may live, but oh how cruel the c...

With this episode we arrive at the three cards of Gemini: the 8, 9, and 10 of Swords: dreaded by many and relished by few!  Yet the cards of the twins are full of uniquely human dilemmas and insights.  The questions they ask, and the challenges they pose, offer answers to the riddle of the human condition. The 8 of Swords, the Lord of Interference or Shortened Force, poses perhaps the biggest one...

NEW THIS WEEK - Be sure to check out Susie's new website at www.tsusanchang.com  ! In this week's episode we look at the 7 of Swords, the Lord of Futility or Unstable Effort - and oh, so much more! Here a divided mind brings both skill and sabotage; here dwell actors, diplomats, tricksters, politicians, and the spirit of wily Odysseus, beloved and scorned by the gods.  The moon's rulership of this...

This week we arrive at a welcome point of harmony in the suit of the mind with the 6 of Swords, the Lord of Science or Earned Success.  Here are journeys of the spirit and the body, problems solved and refuges reached.  Mercury, world traveler and expert decoder, rules over this middle decan of starry Aquarius, interpreting its distant guidance and plotting a course toward its light. Along the way...

This week we confront the 5 of Swords, the Lord of Defeat - an uncomfortable place at best and a dangerous no man's land at worst.  Here Venus rules over the first decan of Aquarius, but the combined peaceful natures of that planet and that sign are no match for the harsh power of a 5.  The truce of the 4 of Swords has fallen; winners gloat and losers suffer. In our conversation we discuss the con...

This week we explore the Lord of Truce or Peace Restored; the 4 of Swords represents a moment of sweet relief between the sorrows of the 3 and the Pyrrhic battles of the 5. Benevolent Jupiter rules over this decan of measured Libra, allowing cooler heads to win the day.  For a moment, all the forces of the Wheel are in alignment. All parties agree, though their détente may not be destined to last....

This week, as one must do eventually, we visit the Lord of Sorrow in his rainy palace.  The 3 of Swords is a card few rejoice to see, and yet in its depths lie jewels worth mining despite their cost. Here Saturn rules over the middle decan of Libra, in the sign if not the degree of its exaltation.  As he grinds the harvest of late September, the burden of his inevitability sits heavy on our hearts...

In this episode we welcome the 2 of Swords, the Lord of Peace or Peace Restored.  What is Peace doing in the suit of warfare, we ask?  What mental or intellectual capacities contribute to Peace? the 2 of Swords is the first of the three Libra cards in the minor arcana.  The Moon rules this decan of the Scales, lending her changefulness and resilience to the avatar of Justice. We consider the confl...

With a crack of thunder and a whoosh of air, the Ace of Swords cuts through the clouds! In this episode we introduce the most turbulent suit in tarot, where geniuses and madmen reside and brilliance and doom go hand in hand.  Swords represent our own human minds: they solve puzzles, plan and organize, attack and defend; they govern thoughts, conflicts, and words. Of the four suits, Swords are the...

As our finale to the watery suit, we bring you the Page or Princess of Cups.  The earthy part of water, she is the world's dreamer, and her air of distant rapture belies her power.  She is a scryer, an oracle, a romantic, and a helpmate.  The talking, wish-granting fish speaks to her even when none else can hear! Flower of the Ace of Cups' promise, the Crystal Princess brings back secret wisdom fr...

This week we bring you the Knight of Cups (RWS) or Prince of Cups (Thoth) - a subtle, secretive and magnetic creature;  fall for his charisma if you dare!  The airy part of water, he acts as a bridge from emotion to intellect, and his feelings speak still louder than his words.  He is a consummate storyteller; his words weave spells and snares for the heart.  His fictions are full of truth - and h...

Mystic, empath, archetypal anima - the Queen of Cups is veiled in feminine mystique.  Most sensitive of queens, she is associated with the watery part of water.  The Moon governs her tides, so while she is by nature nurturing and compassionate, storms can rack her moods as well.  In her watery domain are the last decan of Gemini and the first two decans of Cancer - love among the ruins.  In this e...

Here is the Lord of the Waves and Waters!  It's the King of Cups, as he's called in Rider Waite Smith - or the Knight of Cups, as he's called in Thoth.  (For a broad overview of the courts be sure to check out Episode 32, the King/Knight of Wands episode.)  Associated with the 'fiery' part of water, his is an ephemeral and brilliant nature, a reflected charisma.  Of all the heroic leaders of the c...

Be Careful What You Wish For! for here is the 10 of Cups - and it's even more special than you think. Also known as the Lord of "Satiety" or "Perfected Success" it's associated with the final decan of Pisces - the end of the zodiacal year.  Fiery Mars rules over this watery final decan, and fiery Mars will rule over the first Aries decan as well. Where fire and water meet, we find rainbows - like...