Hi and welcome to Wednesday’s Tarot class. This week we will be looking at the Chariot. If you take a look at this card in the Rider-Waite deck you will see a man who looks like a king, standing in a carriage. If you notice, the city is behind him, so he is in uncharted territory The Chariot stands for the human personality. . The Charioteer is the symbol of the King who is victorious because he has received his initiation from the first 7 of the Tarot cards He holds in his right hand – the dominant and willful side of the body - a wand, just like the one that we saw on the Magician’s table, which represents bringing the magic rituals into practical experiences. He uses the wand and his mind to control the sphinxes, which seem to be pulling the chariot, but without reins. They are black and white - contrasting again, just like the pillars in the High Priestess card and the Hierophant card. So if the Charioteer doesn’t observe his mind and allows the sphinxes to have free rein, his chariot could start spinning in circles, due to the pulling in either direction from the Sphinxes. Also because of their polarity, know that the journey will be a combination of positive and negative experiences, just like our lives. Because the Sphinxes have human faces, they represent the evolution of the human spirit. The canopy above the Chariot is filled with stars representing the celestial influences he can use to gain his victory. This also tells us that we have guidance and protection in our journeys through the unknown. If we feel scared during our journeys and adventures, we only have to look up to our Higher Powers again. The charioteer can be either sex. Some see him as the son or daughter of the Empress and the Emperor. The Charioteer represents ourselves as we evolve through our human consciousness. In Genesis it says God rested on the 7th day. In olden times this card was named Victory. We are victorious when we realize that we are the vehicle that creates change in our lives. The Chariot’s astrological sign is Cancer, which is represented by the moon, intuition, sensitivity and receptivity


How can you become the Charioteer in your life? Do you dare take the message of the fool child to make changes in your life? Or are you stuck in the same old rut, unhappy, knowing something has to give, but living in fear? Remember in our study of the Tarot that we were given tools for our journey. We are the Magician in our lives. From the High Priestess we have learned to go within for answers and to wait patiently until these answers come. Our Empress taught us to know we have to nurture the seeds that we planted and that we need to use our creativity, imagination and realize our world of possibilities. We need to get in touch with our intuition and listen to its messages for our highest good. Our Emperor taught us that we can build our wonderful Empire by knowing and using our innate power to create and manifest and nurture our ideas. We learned to stop running around getting opinions from others and trust our intuition from our Hierophant. The Lovers taught us to love ourselves so we can love others and to communicate from our higher selves. As the charioteer we are ready to move out into the world and begin to create what we want our life to be about.

This week pretend you are the Charioteer, move out into the world, knowing you have all the tools at your disposal, and do something different. Remember, you can turn within for guidance, you can look upward to your Higher Self, and you can begin to trust the messages that come to you from your creative mind. You can listen to your intuition and begin trusting what you hear. Start keeping a journal if you haven’t already started and write about your experiences becoming each of these cards. No you won’t be successful every time – none of us are because we are on a journey, learning what each one of us needs to become happy, at peace with ourselves and successful. Each one of us has a different meaning of success and happiness. Use this study of the Tarot to learn what works for you and who you are deep within. Try not to let anyone discourage you. In fact, as you are learning it would be best not to discuss this with others unless you know they will understand. When we hear discouraging and negative messages it drags us down and that is not where we want to go. We want to stay in our power!

The Chariot’s advice is:

Have a goal; plan the routes you will use to achieve your purposes
Be centered and aware at all times despite changes
Be at home within yourself as you travel your spiritual path
Be adventurous, explore
Keep your options open so you can act quickly and efficiently
Create your future; allow new ideas to come through your dreams and meditations

Next week we will move to a new level of the Tarot and learn about our Strengths. Until then happy traveling.

Tarot graphic comes from http://www.usgamesinc.com/

^i^ Angel Hugs