7. The Chariot

The Chariot (VII) is the seventh trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks.

Iconography

A powerful, princely figure sits in a swift chariot, pulled usually by two sphinxes or horses. There is often a black and white motif, for example one of the steeds may be black and the other white. The figure may be crowned or helmeted, and is winged in some representations. He or she may hold a sword or wand, or other masculine symbol. The Thoth Tarot deck has the figure controlling four different animals, representing the four elements.

Interpretation

The Chariot stands for the great leap forward. It shows that we can detach ourselves from our familiar surroundings and go our own way. In doing so, the desire for freedom, ambition, the search for paradise lost, or simply our own need for recognition are driving forces. The Chariot is the only Tarot card that shows the departure to be full of confidence and joy. In all other cases, parting is shown to be characterized by feelings of heaviness and fear. Here, however, is a vigorous, undaunted push forward, initiative, and a great willingness to take risks. The card shows a vast amount of skill (steering the chariot), but also inexperience (entering an unknown world). It must therefore be additionally understood as a warning not to overestimate one's own powers and act too self-confidently and euphorically. Instead, we should, in good time, gain the insight that we still have much to learn.
Another view is that the mood of the card may be characterized as that of conquest. It represents a battle that can be won if the Querent has the willpower for it. The battle is usually an external one, with a clear goal and plan of action. Qualities needed to win the battle include self-reliance, righteousness, conviction and plain hard work. The steeds represent powerful forces, internal or external, that can be controlled to achieve the goal.
On the one hand, the Chariot indicates loyalty and faith and motivation; a conviction that will lead to victory no matter the odds. But the chariot can also signal a ruthless, diehard desire to win at any cost, represented by the black and white sphinxes that pull his chariot..

Symbolism

The Chariot has many allusions to the kabbalistic Ma’asei Merkavah. According to Waite, the figures on the charioteer's shoulders are supposed to be the Urim and Thummim, which were divinatory tools often used by the Israelites for guidance during times of war. Waite describes the charioteer as conquest on all planes — in the mind, in science, in progress, and thus able to reply to the riddles of the sphinx, even though he is not of priesthood, and thus unable to answer to the High Priestess.
The number 7 is the sacred number, also indicating spiritual attainment. The sign associated with the Chariot is Cancer, and the rune is Raidho, indicating movement and travel. The canopy of 6-pointed stars represent the celestial influences at work in this Tarot card. It also evokes the seven gates of hell that Inanna passed through, required to partially disrobe at each one before finally being presented to the Queen of the Underworld, her own sister, Ereshkigal. Another famous chariot driver was the god Krishna who in the Bhagavad Gita drove Arjuna’s chariot and gave him illumination. The Chariot is related through cross sums (the sum of the digits) to Key 16, The Tower.

Reading

In readings, the Chariot often appears when hard control is or could be in evidence. At its best, hard control is not brutal, but firm and direct. It is backed up by a strong will and great confidence. The Chariot can mean self-control or control of the environment. This card also represents victory. There are many types of wins; the Chariot's is of the win-lose type. Your success comes from beating the competition to become number one. Great success and achievements will come to you if you master your passions and believe in the power of your will.
It can also imply, on a more pragmatic level, a trip (usually by car), a vehicle – in the shop for repairs if the card comes up reversed – or a message.
If inverted, the meaning remains the same, but the Querent is in danger of losing the battle due to a lack of control. He may warn that we are in danger of being pulled to pieces by forces we do not control and/or do not understand.

The Chariot in the Tarot of Marseilles
Opposing cards

Strength – soft control
Hanged Man – accepting God's will, putting others first
Tower – defeat, humbling experience
Eight of Swords – confusion, self-doubt
Ten of Swords – powerless, in the pits, putting others first

Reinforcing cards

Magician – using your will, concentrating
Two of Wands – being in authority, dominating
Six of Wands – triumph, self-confidence
Four of Pentacles – control
Nine of Pentacles – self-control, discipline

Alternative decks

In the Vikings Tarot this card depicts Thor on his chariot ride across the sky.
In the X/1999 Tarot version made by CLAMP, The Chariot is Sorata Arisugawa.
In the Mythic Tarot deck, the Chariot is depicted by Ares.

Quote

I saw a chariot drawn dy two sphinxes, one white, the other black. Four pillars supported a blue canopy, on which were scattered five-pointed stars. The Conqueror, clad in steel armour, stood under this canopy guiding the sphinxes. He held a sceptre, on the end of which were a globe, a triangle and a square. A golden pentagram sparkled in his crown. On the front of the chariot there was represented a winged sphere and beneath that the symbol of the mystical lingam, signifying the union of two principles.
“Everything in this picture has a significance. Look and try to understand”, said the voice.
“This is Will armed with Knowledge. We see here, however, the wish to achieve, rather than achievement itself. The man in the chariot thought himself a conqueror before he had really conquered, and he believes that victory must come to the conqueror. There are true possibilities in this beautiful conception, but also many false ones. Illusory fires and numerous dangers are hidden here.
p. 36
He controls the sphinxes by the power of a magic word, but the tension of his Will may fail and then the magic word will lose its power and he may be devoured by the sphinxes.
This is indeed the Conqueror, but only for the moment; he has not yet conquered Time, and the succeeding moment is unknown to him.
This is the Conqueror, not by love, but by fire and the sword,–a conqueror against whom the conquered may arise. Do you see behind him the towers of the conquered city? Perhaps the flame of uprising burns already there.
And he is unaware that the city vanquished by means of fire and the sword is the city within his own consciousness, that the magic chariot is in himself and that the blood-thirsty sphynxes, also a state of consciousness within, watch his every movement. He has externalized all these phases of his mind and sees them only outside himself. This is his fundamental error. He entered the outer court of the Temple of knowledge, but thinks he has been in the Temple itself. He regarded the rituals of the first tests as initiation, and he mistook for the goddess, the priestess who guarded the threshold. Because of this misconception great perils await him.
Nevertheless it may be that even in his errors and perils the Great Conception lies concealed. He seeks to know and, perhaps, in order to attain, mistakes, dangers and even failures are necessary.
p. 37
Understand that this is the same man whom you saw uniting Heaven and Earth, and again walking across a hot desert to a precipice. The Symbolism of the Tarot by P D. Ouspensky (1913)