As our Fool emerges from an encounter with the beloved, they are empow- ered, ready to meet the world and blaze forward. The Chariot energy is full of active energy and moving ahead, whether we are ready for it or not. Like a fire running behind him, the Fool is propelled to the next phase of life, leaving behind what is no longer needed and headed into activity, growth, creativity and expansion of the Chariot. In the spiritual evolutionary aspect of the Lovers, the Fool makes a clear choice to go one way. This may be a commitment to a relationship or the choice to leave one. It may be accepting a promotion or quitting altogether. Once a choice or decision is reached, the Chariot is the rush of energy that follows the choice. It is like the arrow, gathering speed as it moves through the air in search of its target. There is no stopping the arrow once it is in motion.
The Chariot is the number seven, which integrates many aspects of the human experience: the seven chakras, seven planets of classical astrology, the seven day week, the seven souls of God and the seven creative powers. There are seven colors in the rainbow, seven intervals in an octave, and seven vertebral bones in our neck. Sevens indicate magic, growth, research, and expansion.
The Chariot marks the end of the first cycle of the major arcana journey. In the first stage, the Fool is developing awareness of the world and learning the will to be. They discover the feminine and masculine qualities, the gifts that we bring in our soul’s journey, and they begin the process of integration. The Chariot bridges the Fool on the journey into the next set of seven cards, where psychological development and the deeper work of spiritual evolution is found in the ways the individual relates to the world.
The Chariot illuminates full-fledged emergence from the previous cards into action and will. We learn to navigate and balance the art of surrender and control; when to follow and when to lead. The Chariot symbolizes victory, maturity, and wisdom that has been gained by facing the challenges and conflicts of life. What are you moving on from, letting go of ? What intentional seeds were planted during the Magician that are now beginning to take root? Look back at the last month and year of your life and notice what you have consciously or unconsciously set into motion. Before setting intentions for the next phase of your life, it is helpful to reflect on what has already manifested.
In the Waite-Smith deck, we see a chariot guided by an armored figure with a tapestry of stars above him. The armor symbolizes protection and the container for vital life force to be guided into a powerful, intentional direction. Unlike the wild openness of the Fool or the Magician, this energy is now purposeful and focused. The Chariot is on a clear and distinct path, guided by unseen forces. The Chariot is led by two sphinxes, black and white, indicating the merging of duality, finding the flow, and expression between and beyond male/female, the seen/unseen, the unconscious/conscious minds.
The sphinx symbolism found in the Chariot card shows a deeper connection to the High Priestess card, the archetypal force that sits between the worlds. While the High Priestess guards and provides access to the unseen realms of the subconscious, dreamtime, spirits, and magical reality, the Chariot moves through the external world guided and assisted by these unseen helpers. We see symbolic interpretations of this throughout the tarot such as angels, helpers, and guardians and are reminded that we are not alone. Whether you tune into this energy as your higher self or as specific spirit helpers, acknowledging the unseen forces, both mundane and spiritual, are a way to connect more deeply with the energy of the Chariot card.
In the Crowley deck, we see a figure clad in gold holding a red and blue disk. There is a palpable energy in the card symbolizing movement, clarity, focus, and brilliance. The disk represents the raw forces of manifestation and creation held into a focused intention that moves along with the energy of the Chariot. It is the seeded destination or arrow of intention gathering momentum and speed. The gold armor indicates a connection to divine will and purpose on the path.
When the Chariot appears in a reading, it is signifying that everything is moving forward and we have no choice but to follow the momentum as it pulls us along. In this moment, it is up to us whether we want to be dragged along or take the reins. We have within us the potential to guide the energy of the Chariot towards our intended destination. You may ask yourself, what is my destination? Am I working on a project that needs to be finished? Is there some discipline you wish to put into place?
Essential Qualities: will, illumination, grace, movement, action, guidance, direction, bold, energetic, activity, forward, golden, clarity, purpose
Suggestions: Build a fire. Do an interpretive dance. Go on a trip, short or long, to visit a beautiful place. Seek out and make connections to develop your art/business/dream plan! Stay focused on completing a project. Set a twenty-one-day discipline in motion.
Ceremony: Full Moon Activation Fire
This ceremony is the final one in the major arcana section and marks the transition of the first cycle of seven into the next. These ceremonies set a solid foundation for practicing the elemental ceremonies of the minor arcana. The energy of the Chariot is a bright, strong powerful push to bring things from the dreaming or subconscious reality into conscious manifestation. Activating intentions and dreams set during the Magician will help your projects, relationships, and health have a chance to come into form. The moon is fully illuminated by the sun during the full moon, which energizes rituals and ceremony. Using the previous foundational ceremonies, you can create an activated full moon fire ritual to honor and celebrate your spiritual journey.
In the work with the Hierophant card, you had the opportunity to release your parents and ancestral burdens to clear the way for healing conditional love, trauma, and negative imprinting. In the Chariot ceremony, we now invite the guardians of earth and sky to step in as support for the unfolding path. Some traditions view the sky as father and earth as mother; others view the sky as a celestial goddess and the earth as god. Perhaps you relate to these views, or you can drop the gendered view entirely and simply call in the qualities or essences of sky and earth along with the directional elements. Using elements from the previous ceremonies combined together can help you to create a very rich environment for soul work.
For this ceremony, you will want to set aside time when the moon is full and find a space where you can make a fire or, at least, a space to light seven candles. Gather one stone to create a simple talisman or charged ceremonial object along with seven candles, one for each of the four directions, one for above, one for below, and a personal candle for the center. Set up a small table as an altar and decorate it with a few items to make the space personal such as flowers, a mirror, incense, a bowl of water, tarot cards—in particular the Chariot card—as well as other images that mean something to you and enable you to connect in with the earth and sky. The full moon is also an excellent time to charge items with the moonlight’s energy and brilliance such as crystals, stones, healing wands, and your tarot decks.
Light the fire and call to each direction, welcoming it in with an elemental offering such as incense for the east, ash for the south, water for the west, and salt for the north. Then light one candle for each direction and invite any spirit helpers or guides you already work with. Take time to honor the elements and spirits of the land and waters, feeling gratitude for plants, trees, animals, stones, and so on. Then, visualize a clear gold or silver sphere surrounding you, your space, your altar, the candles, and your fire. You may wish to do the grounding cord exercise established in the Emperor card. Next, imagine connecting yourself to the full moon and asking for the illuminated power to guide you in the coming days and weeks.
To amplify the energy of the space, you can visualize the moonlight streaming into your sacred circle and filling it up. Chant or sing, use instruments, or move your body to fill the power of the space. Make that space potent and charged with energy. Imagine the moonlight coming down into your body, through the top of your head and spreading out through the rest of you, filling you with light, love, and power. Imagine the moon reflecting the sun shining down and filling you up with healing light that can be used to focus your intentions of healing, abundance, and joy as made manifest by the energy of the Chariot. Visualize your magical items also filling up with moonlight, becoming fully charged by the energy in the sacred space under the moon.
Once your space is illumined, charged, and amplified, light your fifth candle to honor the sacred self at the center of your four directions. You may wish to say a vow from your self-marriage work in the Lovers card ceremony to help activate the inner union. This is also a good time to use the practice of the High Priestess card and scry or reflect in a bowl of water. If you wish, you may want to draw cards from a deck for guidance or simply allow yourself to receive intuitive heart wisdom on how to manifest or bring more activated energy into a particular goal, intention, or dream.
When you are ready, call upon the sky for guidance and support and as a reminder of the long view of the life journey. Light your sky candle and invite the essence of the stars, celestial bodies, the infinite grace of night, and illumined darkness as offered by the vast space above us. Then, call upon the earth for guidance, support, and a ground for your journey in this body or human vessel while on earth. Light your earth candle and invite the essence of earth; all who dwell here; and your relations of humans, plants, trees, elements, stones, and so on.
When all seven candles are lit, feel into the energized power of the space and the movement the Chariot characterizes. Take a moment to call out loud what you wish to activate and bring more fully into your life. This may be just one word such as grace, joy, or surrender, or it may be something specific and concrete such as a partnership, new job, guidance on a conflict, more community, et cetera. Blow the activated breath of the moon, sun, firelight, sky, and earth into your stone creating a simple talisman you can carry with you for the next seven days or beyond. You may simply carry it or find a way to wear it.
To close the ceremony, imagine the sphere of light surrounding you dissolving into a drop of nectar and entering the space between your solar plexus and the heart center. As the illumined energy of the moon and the sun enters you, it aligns your higher will with your personal will as carried by the Chariot card’s energy. Then, release each direction and element and blow out the candles. Sit in quiet moonlit contemplation, feeling full of renewed energy and power. If possible, allow the fire to burn down on its own, or extinguish it safely with dirt or sand. Thank the energies and contemplate your journey thus far as you prepare to move into the next cycle of seven on the major arcana path.