» Symbolism » Roman Symbols » 8-spoke wheel

8-spoke wheel

8-spoke wheel

Date of occurrence : around 2000 BC
Where was used : Egypt, Middle East, Asia.
Value : The wheel is a symbol of the sun, a symbol of cosmic energy. In almost all pagan cults, the wheel was an attribute of the sun gods, it symbolized the life cycle, constant rebirth and renewal.
In modern Hinduism, the wheel means infinite perfect completion. In Buddhism, the wheel symbolizes the eightfold path of salvation, space, the wheel of samsara, the symmetry and perfection of dharma, the dynamics of peaceful change, time and destiny.
There is also the concept of "wheel of fortune", which means a series of ups and downs, the unpredictability of fate. In Germany in the Middle Ages, an 8-spoke wheel was associated with Achtven, a magic rune spell. At the time of Dante, the Wheel of Fortune was depicted with 8 spokes of opposite sides of human life, periodically repeating: poverty-wealth, war-peace, obscurity-glory, patience-passion. The Wheel of Fortune enters the Major Arcana of the Tarot, often along with ascending and falling figures, like the wheel described by Boethius. The Wheel of Fortune Tarot card continues to depict these figures.