Francis Bacon Research Trust

Wheel of Fortune

(Title-page to the 1642 Latin edition of Francis Bacon’s History of the Reign of Henry VII)

The wheel of fortune which is being turned by the goddess Fortune is an ancient symbol for time and its cyclic revolutions. It has profound meaning and provides a key to life. Traditionally the wheel of fortune is divided into four quarters, with eight spokes—four spokes identifying the four quarters and the other four marking the mid-points of the quarters. It expresses the law which produces, for instance, the seasons of the year, the process of life and the evolutionary progress of each human soul. The four alchemical symbols of earth, water, air and fire, which relate to the four seasons or quarters of the wheel, are used to help explain the many levels of meaning of the wheel, and thus of life itself. Their symbolism was used in the Mystery schools to identify and describe symbolically the successive degrees of initiation.

The wheel of fortune in this picture varies from the usual form. It has nine spokes rather than the traditional eight. Moreover, around the rim are nine symbolic objects, apparently associated with the nine spokes, but four of them seem displaced. Notably, the spear divides the displaced objects from those that are still in place, like a bar. The division (where the spear crosses the rim of the wheel) is at the nadir of the wheel, directly beneath the imperial crown which is at the zenith. The four displaced symbols can be found described in the Shakespeare plays, such as in the following passages:-

‘to hold as ‘twere the mirror up to nature’ (Hamlet, iii, 2)

‘mildly kiss the rod, and fawn on rage with base humility’ (Richard II, v, 1)

‘Peace, you mumbling fool, utter your gravity o’er a gossip’s bowl’ (Romeo and Juliet, iii, 5)

‘An idiot holds his bauble for a god’ (Titus Andronicus, v, 1)

These four relate to the four alchemical elements of earth, water, air and fire, and the degrees of initiation in the Lesser Mysteries of Purification—preparation (basis/earth), learning to love (1st degree/water), learning to understand (2nd degree/air), and learning to serve (3rd degree/fire).

The objects on the other side of the spear that are still in place are:-

a spade, symbol of a workman

a feathered hat, symbol of a gentleman

a coronet, symbol of a peer

a royal crown, symbol of a king

an imperial crown, symbol of an emperor

These five relate to the higher degrees of initiation in the Greater Mysteries of Enlightenment. The spade refers to the burial or entombment in the earth and the discovery leading to resurrection which is enacted in the 4th degree (in Freemasonry, the Royal Arch Degree). The hat and crowns signify the increasing degrees of illumination that follow the initial resurrection and enlightenment—the feathered hat marking the 5th degree, the coronet the 6th, the royal crown the 7th. The imperial crown symbolises the transcendent illumination or light of the 8th degree, the one that embraces and governs everything else.

Not only are the four misplaced emblems on the wheel associated with the Shakespeare plays, but so also are the other five emblems, which signify the various classes of society to be found in the plays, from workman to emperor, the last being King Henry VII, who is described in Bacon’s history as an emperor. The nine emblems are also related to the degrees of initiation as described above, that lead, like a ladder, up the cabalistic Tree of Life. But more than this, they and the nine spokes of the wheel would also seem to refer to the Nine Breaths or Gates of Inspiration that occur in a time cycle (i.e. every 40 days in a yearly cycle). These are personified by the nine maidens that attend the cauldron of the great Celtic goddess Ceridwen, who alternately apply their breath in order to keep the fire of inspiration burning so that the greal (grail) can be made. Ceridwen is analogous to Fortune, and the cauldron to the wheel of life.

The fact that nine spokes are shown, rather than the usual eight, would seem to indicate that this is a point that the author and illustrator wanted to make. Certainly, without the ninth spoke the 8th degree of initiation (that of the Imperator or Emperor) could not be shown; and Bacon’s History of Henry VII deliberately mentions the king as an emperor. (In the late medieval ages there was a saying that the hoops or arches on a crown were the prerogative of the emperor. Since Henry VII did not want to seem inferior to the Holy Roman emperor, he had two hoops made on his crown. This made the kings of France and Scotland do the same in order to show their equality, and thus the hooped crown became the typical king’s crown.)