An erect and princely figure carrying a drawn sword and corresponding, broadly speaking, to the traditional description which I have given in the first part. On the shoulders of the victorious hero are supposed to be the Urim and Thummim. He has led captivity captive; he is conquest on all planes--in the mind, in science, in progress, in certain trials of initiation. He has thus replied to the sphinx, and it is on this account that I have accepted the variation of Eliphas Levi; two sphinxes thus draw his chariot. He is above all things triumph in the mind.

It is to be understood for this reason (a) that the question of the sphinx is concerned with a Mystery of nature and not of the world of Grace, to which the charioteer could offer no answer; (b) that the planes of his conquest are manifest or external and not within himself; (c) that the liberation which he effects may leave himself in the bondage of the logical understanding; (d) that the tests of initiation through which he has passed in triumph are to be understood physically or rationally; and (e) that if he came to the pillars of that Temple between which the High Priestess is seated, he could not open the scroll called Tora, nor if she questioned him could he answer. He is not hereditary royalty and he is not priesthood.--A.E. Waite

Card 7 represents the victories that are possible through will-power and self-mastery. A military image is appropriate for the Chariot because it stands for the strengths we associate with combat - discipline, grit, determination and assertiveness.

In readings, the Chariot often appears when "hard" control is in effect or advised. 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 cards 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 1. Such moments are glorious in the right circumstances.--Joan Bunning

Key 7 we may ask what "victory" (the card's alternate title) is won before descent is completed. These moons, worn as epaulets by the charioteer, indicate rank, stature, or level of attainment. Since they are emblems of the phenomenal world of growth and decay, the card signifies that the charioteer has conquered these.

The Chariot . . . is symbolic of the journey itself; for the highly ritualized apparel of the charioteer and its esoteric markings--not the apron--present the initiated soul about to undergo a trial that will test it sorely. . . . the encounter with the Antagonist. . . . Through his ordeal he must not give in to his fears, but face woe or weal with equanimity, this idea symbolized by the faces in the crescent moons on his shoulders, one frowning, the other laughing. . . . it is the journey through the planetary spheres which the charioteer undertakes.--Richard Roberts

The Chariot is a card of triumph, victory, and control of one's destiny. On the Cabalist Tree of Life, the Chariot victoriously crossed the abyss, which is not unlike a black hole in space for the soul. Palladini's charioteer resembles an Egyptian king, bold and upright. The courageous Charioteer wears the moon of his zodiac sign Cancer on his sleeve and he holds his sword upright and ready for defense. His Chariot's wheel burns with flames of gold, unstoppable and in motion. A bird sits on his shoulder with wings draped protectively around him. The bird embodies the spirit or ka of Horus, son of Isis and Osiris, who escaped triumphantly from all his perilous trials. The Charioteer will soon confront trouble, opposition, and tremendous obstacles. He is prepared, however, and has already proved himself capable.--Susan Hansson

Change in nature is often a result of competition. The animal or plant that wins access to nutrition, habitat, and sexual partners will reproduce in the greatest numbers. Mutations that gain an edge in the survival game will end up as the norm, to be displaced by more change. . . . Like natural evolution, the Chariot's path is both constructive and destructive.--Jean Huets

Go Ahead	IMHO	The Vision

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