Ryan Joens-Poulton

Wheel of Fortune

According to the zodiac calendar, every birthday has an associated Tarot card. Ryan's was the Wheel of Fortune. I think Ryan would be midly insulted to try and read too deeply into this 'chance' card and its personal meaning to his journey. It would be antithetical to many of the things he found value in, including the Tarot. If you're so inclined, you can read about this card more here on Wikipedia to start. 

This card is a part of the Major Arcana. While the entire deck is steeped in symbolism and interpretation, the Major Arcana cards especially speak to me when considering ones personality and life path.  This card makes me think about perspective and free will, and if you choose to be an optimist or a pessimist given the seemingly unfair and random circumstances of life.

One of the interesting things Ryan pointed out to me about the Tarot is that the deck and illustrations are wildly subjective and different from one another. There are so many different versions of things, that in a way, trying to look for a universal meaning in the cards is useless; everything is an exercise in perspective and eye-of-the-beholder.

He could turn over any card and tell you the symbols, ancient references, visual cues, the related geometry and math woven into the layouts. He operated on a different wavelength and was able to retain and tie together so many different threads. Things he learned from experience but also through reading and research. I think many folks underestimated the ability for him to retain, digest, asses and create. I felt lucky to be a part of those conversations and be inspired by something that felt new and meaningful to learn from creatively.

The deck I enjoy looking through now the most (I am not a devout Tarot believer) is Salvador Dali's edition. It has a dose of humor and slightly more modern in its comedy and blending of symbolism. It has more muted colors, a smirk tucked into most cards and actually reminds me a lot of Ryan's humor and wealth of artistic and cinematic knowledge.