witcheryen reblogged
x. the wheel of fortune
id in alt / cql major arcana cards
the wheel of fortune: cycles, fate, the unexpected, fortune
- chrysanthemums: death, immortality, good luck
- cherry blossoms: the cycle of life and death
- wei wuxian dies young to his grief and rage, mo xuanyu dies young to his grief and rage, wei wuxian is disgraced from the cultivation world and labeled a lunatic, mo xuanyu is disgraced from the cultivation world and labeled a lunatic, wei wuxian invents the sacrifice ritual, mo xuanyu uses the sacrifice ritual to bring wei wuxian back, if wei wuxian had never died mo xuanyu never would have sacrificed himself and if mo xuanyu had never died wei wuxian would never have lived again. of course they are the wheel of fortune. of course they are
- wei wuxian and mo xuanyu are perfect for the wheel of fortune not only because of the role of their relationship in the story at large, no matter the adaptation, but their relationship in the actual structural plot of cql itself. cql is absolutely cyclical, we start and end with wei wuxian on a cliff, we know he dies before we even know who he is and when we learn who he is he dies, etc etc. the show opens to his death, and onto his resurrection via mo xuanyu, then into his life, and after his death, we are back into right after his resurrection via mo xuanyu. the resurrection is the point that resets the story each time
- they are wrapped in a white cloth together to represent mourning - the fact that both of them and the cyclical relationship they have relies on each of their deaths. the cloth is stained with blood in the middle to represent the actual cycle of bloodshed and violence, but also simply because blood is red, an auspicious color in chinese culture. red symbolizes good fortune and celebration and power. because for as much as the death of mo xuanyu is a tragedy, the subsequent resurrection of wei wuxian is a gift. an important aspect of the meaning of the wheel of fortune card is the Fortune part. the card is a blessing, a sign of good things to come, just like wei wuxian's resurrection
- the entire composition is supposed to be circular and cyclical, their positions, the flow of the cloth, the path of the blood, the positions of the flowers and talismans, the circular symbol on the floor. you could turn it in any direction and it would still make sense
- I know that I drew it so that technically they do not have cuts on the same wrist, but the visual symbolism of the mirrored imagery was more important to me than complete accuracy
- the talismans in this card are all ones seen during wei wuxian's resurrection scene
- the symbol on the floor beneath them is my (vague) interpretation of the sacrifice ritual
- I almost placed the mask in the middle of the page to further drive home the imagery of cycles in their relationship, but it ended up looking weird
- the wheel of fortune is one of the most powerful cards in the deck, so of course one of the most powerful rituals in the show gets to feature on it
