connecting to: The Chariot

In this series, “Connecting to:”, I am examining each of the major arcana in depth. The major arcana are the most powerful and impactful cards of the tarot deck. Through a rich symbology, these twenty-two cards share with us the mysteries and secrets that are universal to the human experience and to spiritual evolution.

Each of these posts is a combination of a couple things: Intuitive notes I took while meditating with the card, comparisons of my notes to the traditional meanings of the card, and any other research or tidbit of information I find interesting/relevant! Think of these posts as little bulletin boards, with post-its from different sources and thought bubbles stuck all over. I may add to them from time to time, as well.

The Chariot — VII — Major Arcana:

Keywords:

Meditation Notes:

Right off the bat, I find this card a little intimidating. If I met this person in real life, I would immediately be attracted to them because they seem spunky, tough, brave and…too cool for me, if I’m being honest. It’s interesting that a tarot card can make me feel insecure, but there it is. 😂

I think the two sphinxes at her feet add to the intimidation factor. I don’t know much about sphinxes, but I know they are wise and mystical creatures. I also know that according to mythology, sphinxes are guardians who give high stakes riddles to humans. What if I’m not smart enough to solve the riddle being presented?

The sphinxes also have gold necklaces stacked on their throats, which tells me there may be a relation to the crown chakra — as in the importance of speaking your truth. Knowing who you really are enough in order to speak your truth, rather. The blues in this card also point to the throat chakra and a spiritual wisdom.

Overall, The Chariot gives off the vibe of understanding a basic-but-wise truth about life that not all of us get. In the same vein of the answers to riddles always seeming so obvious and in your face when you finally realize the answer.

The figure in The Chariot sits between the two sphinxes, and in this way, I see that she is allowing her wisdom to guide her. She doesn’t get ahead of them, nor does she get ahead of herself while out on the road. She takes care of herself and knows her limits — when to push harder, yes. But (perhaps, more important), she also knows when to yield and take a much needed rest in order to come back even stronger.

Maybe what is plain and obvious to the rider of The Chariot is that to get ahead in life — you have to actually move. You can’t get stuck in one place, either mental or physical, for too long. There looks like a literal dust storm behind her, with the skyscrapers of society even further in the distance. This indicates she’s not afraid to go out on a limb and find her own path. She’s obviously a city slicker, but it seems like she learned her lessons and then moved on when it was time.

Perhaps the black and white sphinxes represent the rider’s knowledge of duality. This duality is reinforced by her androgynous look, with the short hair and biker look…Topped off by a crown and star earrings, of all things. The rider is adorned by the stars and the moons. She’s some sort of astrological punk princess, in her spiked leather jacket and golden crown. She’s a girlie who takes directions from the stars, as well as from her own intuition.

There is also a look of determination on her face as she grips a wand in her hand — you can tell she is so ready to fight (if she needs to) in order to bring her ideas and passions into reality. She is someone who manifests, but unlike The Magician, she is beyond gathering the tools and the knowledge. She is manifestation in action. She has her work boots on.

The majority yellow sky indicates it’s the middle of the day. Therefore, she is in the middle of the journey. She has a road ahead of her, but there’s not a sense of rushing toward the destination. Everything is being figured out in it’s own time, in the way it was meant to be done — which she is very aware of, again, thanks to her ability to listen to her own intuition.

Her shirt has a white square on it over her heart center, representing a purity of intentions. While there is an intent to get ahead in life, it’s for the purpose of meeting your highest self rather than climbing a ladder in order to lord your status over others. To me, this is the mark of a good leader — and we can assume she is either a leader or is on her way to being leader because of the crown she dons.

Reflecting on traditional tarot meanings:

I feel like The Chariot is most often associated with willpower — being able to exert our will unto the material realm in order to get what we want out of life. Before doing this deep dive, I think I would have associated this card with being hardworking and ambitious as well. I don’t think that’s necessarily wrong, but there is also a deeply spiritual and intuitive piece to this card that I don’t think is as obvious as other cards may be.

Of course success and willpower are major takeaways of The Chariot, but more than that, this card is about having the confidence to even know who you are and what you want to begin with. It’s about listening to what your intuition tells you about the path you should be on, rather than doing what is expected of you.

From: “Tarot for Change” by Jessica Dore

“The moment you decide you want to do something different with your life is the moment you realize you’re going to need a new set of skills, ones for navigation and way finding.”

p. 64

This makes sense in terms of the figure in the card forging her own path, literally in the desert away from the city. I can see the city as representing established norms and patterns to success. The rider of The Chariot understands that success can mean something different to each individual, and we need to respect that in ourselves. Something I love about Jessica Dore’s interpretation of The Chariot is that she emphasizes the need to define success for ourselves, rather than existing complacently within the systems we were born into. Otherwise, we are stuck and cemented to paths we don’t even know are necessarily for us.

“And sometimes…We do get what we thought we wanted, only to realize it’s a trap and now we feel hopelessly stuck. Then what?”

p. 64

This is why I feel that bravery is a keyword for The Chariot. It takes a certain kind of nerve and bravery to be able to leave the path you’re on once you figure out it’s not for you. On the path to success, we’ll all need to take an L at some point and forge our own personal definition of succeeding in life.

What is the advice The Chariot offers?

The advice of The Chariot is to not get stuck! The rider of The Chariot may be paused, but she is aware that she’s in the middle of her journey. She knows that by following her heart, success will always be hers. Notice that I said heart — not head. Sometimes we might have a vague idea of what we think we want out of life, but when we actually get it, we wonder why we even wanted it in the first place. If we get too stuck on the idea of what we wanted, we then bget too stuck on forcing things out of life that were never meant for us. We will never gather the courage to do the required soul-searching to get on the track that will lead to true fulfillment. There is a balance here in receiving an intuitive guidance about your path, and then putting in the work to realize those dreams.