Editing Wheel (section)

==Symbolism==
[[File:Jain Cosmic Time Cycle.jpg|thumb|The [[wheel of time]] in [[Jainism]].|300x300px]]

The wheel has also become a strong cultural and spiritual metaphor for a cycle or regular repetition (see [[chakra]], [[reincarnation]], [[Yin and yang|Yin and Yang]] among others). As such and because of the difficult terrain, wheeled vehicles were forbidden in [[history of Tibet|old Tibet]]. The wheel in ancient [[China]] is seen as a symbol of health and strength and used by some villages as a tool to predict future health and success. The [[diameter]] of the wheel is indicator of one's future health. The [[Kalachakra]] or wheel of time is also a subject in some forms of [[Buddhism]], along with the [[dharmachakra]].<ref>{{cite book |author=John Newman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iGDCQNn0C9oC |title=The Wheel of Time: Kalachakra in Context |publisher=[[Shambhala Publications|Shambhala]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-1-55939-779-7 |editor=Geshe Lhundub Sopa |entry=Blurb/description |access-date=2021-12-09 |archive-date=22 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322054604/https://books.google.com/books?id=iGDCQNn0C9oC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1">John C. Huntington, Dina Bangdel, ''The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art,'' p. 524.
<br /></ref>

The [[winged wheel]] is a symbol of progress, seen in many contexts including the [[coat of arms of Panama]], the logo of the [[Ohio State Highway Patrol]] and the [[State Railway of Thailand]]. The wheel is also the prominent figure on the [[flag of India]]. The wheel in this case represents law ([[dharma]]). It also appears in the [[flag of the Romani people]], hinting to their nomadic history and their Indian origins.

The introduction of spoked ([[chariot]]) wheels in the Middle Bronze Age appears to have carried somewhat of a prestige. The [[sun cross]] appears to have a significance in [[Bronze Age religion (disambiguation)|Bronze Age religion]], replacing the earlier concept of a [[solar barge]] with the more 'modern' and technologically advanced [[solar chariot]]. The wheel was also a solar symbol for the [[Ancient Egypt]]ians.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Adelaide S. |title=A Glossary of Important Symbols in Their Hebrew: Pagan and Christian Forms |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-59605-593-3 |page=56 |publisher=Cosimo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OxcOmjiAWXAC |access-date=17 October 2015 |archive-date=8 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508012358/https://books.google.com/books?id=OxcOmjiAWXAC&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live}}</ref>{{clear}}

In modern usage, the 'invention of the wheel' can be considered as a symbol of one of the first technologies of early civilization, alongside farming and metalwork, and thus be used as a benchmark to grade the level of societal progress.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Some [[Modern Paganism|Neopagans]] such as [[Wicca]]ns have adopted the [[Wheel of the Year]] into their religious practices.<ref>{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Liz |title=Paganism, part 3: the Wheel of the Year |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=2013-07-29 |url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/29/paganism-part-3-wheel-year-dates |access-date=2021-12-09 |archive-date=26 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026082614/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/29/paganism-part-3-wheel-year-dates |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Image:Ezekiel's vision.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Ezekiel's "chariot vision" of [[Ezekiel 1]], by [[Matthaeus Merian]] (1593-1650).]]