The Chariot
Major arcanumAlso: Major Arcanum 7
Upright
Movement through effort. Hold the direction, not the speed
Movement, will, direction, winning by effort, self-command
Reversed
Plenty of movement, no direction
Pulling both ways, spinning wheels, haste, losing the reins
What the card means
Upright
They move not because the road is smooth but because somebody is holding the reins. Two sphinxes pull opposite ways, and that is normal: control here is not removing the contradiction but driving it. What matters is not the speed but that the direction does not change.
Reversed
Plenty of movement and no direction: rushing about, ten things started. Or the reverse, stuck - the chariot stands because each sphinx pulls its own way and nobody is driving.
Love and relationships
Upright
A relationship that asks for effort and is getting it. Somebody makes the first move decisively. Sometimes distance, travel, a relationship that has to be carried.
Reversed
Force instead of closeness. Or a couple who have long since stopped knowing where they are going together.
Work and business
Upright
The deadline is close and you will make it if you are not pulled away. A good time for anything needing concentration and push. Competition is likelier to favour you.
Reversed
Burnt out, or scattered. Or pushing where it needed to be negotiated.
Money
Upright
Money comes for effort and comes on time. Good for travel, for trips, for anything to do with transport.
Reversed
Effort and money spent on movement that went nowhere.
The card's advice
Hold the direction, not the speed. Drop the second and third task - one is enough to arrive with. And do not try to reconcile the contradiction: it is to be driven, not resolved.
As the card of the day
A day in which a lot depends on being collected. Good for the road, for anything needing push, and for dropping what is surplus. Poor for drifting.
What is depicted
A charioteer stands under a canopy of stars; the sphinxes, one black and one white, face different ways. There are no reins - he drives without them, by will and attention.
Zodiac sign and correspondences
Cancer - a shell outside, movement within.
Yes or no
Yes
Yes, but not by itself: the answer depends on whether you hold the direction.
With other cards
- The Chariot + Strength — force outside and force within; together, a rare steadiness.
- The Chariot + Eight of Swords — wanting to move and bound hand and foot.
- The Chariot + Seven of Wands — travelling and defending at the same time.
- Arcana
- Major arcanum
- Number
- VII
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