Chariot
From Tarotpedia
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[edit] History and Iconography
[edit] Early representations
In the earliest known list of the Trumps (Sermones de Ludo Cum Aliis), this card is called Lo Caro Triumphale (The Triumphal Car). In the Visconti-Sforza Tarot, a crowned woman is shown seated on a large chariot drawn by two winged, snow-white horses, without reins. In her hands, she holds a thin sceptre and the imperial globe. The image can be seen as a reference to the Trionfi, the triumphal processions that were held in Italy during the renaissance and are the origin of the Tarot’s existence.
A connection to Plato is sometimes made, as he compares the soul to a charioteer and two horses – one good and one bad – in Phaedrus.
On the Rosenwald Sheet, the charioteer is male and is depicted standing in a chariot drawn by two small horses. He is crowned and in his hands holds the imperial globe and a sword. Only the bottom part of the chariot on the Cary Sheet is preserved: the image once again seems to have been the inspiration for the Tarot de Marseille and shows the chariot in frontal view with two small horses on either side.
In the Tarot de Marseille, the card is called Le Chariot (The Chariot). It depicts a crowned young man who stands in an elaborate chariot with one hand on his side and the other holding a sceptre. He is harnessed and his epaulets are shaped in the form of two faces, which are sometimes interpreted as representing the Sun and the Moon. Two small horses – sometimes one coloured differently than the other – seem to have merged with the front of the chariot with their hind legs. The shield on the front occasionally bears the letters SM, which could be interpreted as standing for 'Soufre et Mercure' (Sulphur and Mercury), thus emphasizing the duality of this card yet again.
[edit] 20th-century representations
In the Waite-Colman Smith deck, the card was titled The Chariot. Based on an illustration made by Eliphas Levi, the horses have been replaced by two motionless sphinxes, one black, the other white. There are again no reins, and the sphinxes don’t even seem to be attached to the chariot. The young charioteer wears a crown with a large, eight-pointed star and is harnessed; according to Waite, the faces of his epaulets are supposed to represent Urim and Thummim (see article on Wikipedia). The canopy of the chariot is decorated with stars and the shield on the front of the chariot with the lingam and yoni, with a winged disk above.
[edit] Suggested Divinatory Meanings
The Chariot is all about the concentration, willpower and determination it takes to control those (proverbial) horses and keep them steadily on the path that leads to your goals. The card stands for resolving conflict within yourself and finding the necessary balance to accomplish your ambitions. As Carole Sédillot writes in Ombres et Lumières du Tarot: "To get somewhere further and to get there faster, it’s best to own a vehicle..."
[edit] Correspondences/Attributions
- Number : 7
- Hebrew Letter :
- Anglicized : Cheth
- Character : ח
- Value : 8
- Astrology
- Type : Zodiac
- Name : Cancer
- Symbol : ♋
- Element : ▽ (Water)
- Alchemy
- Type : Process
- Name : Separation
- Colour : Yellow-Orange
- Yetziratic Intelligence (Golden Dawn Version): Intelligence of the House of Influence
- Musical Note (Paul Case Version): D Sharp
- Cube of Space position : East-Below
- Tree of Life position : (3,6) (Binah, Tiphereth)
- Interpretations :
- Understanding of Beauty
- Beauty of Understanding
- Interpretations :
[edit] In other languages
- Dutch: Zegewagen
- French: Le Chariot
- German: Der Wagen
- Hungarian: Diadalszekér, Szekér
- Italian: Il Carro
- Portuguese: O Carro
- Spanish: El Carro
