Tarot · The Major Arcana
The Chariot
- Direction
- willpower
- progress
The picture
A crowned charioteer in armour stands in a stone chariot beneath a canopy of stars; a black and a white sphinx lie before him, and there are no reins.
The meaning
The charioteer holds no reins, and yet the two sphinxes pull in one direction. The tradition reads the card as victory through will and self-command. It stands for progress, for a clear aim and for the art of holding opposites together. You move forward because you know where you are going.
Reversed
Reversed, it is read as a lack of direction, or forces pulling different ways.
In love
In love it is read as movement and resolve, sometimes as the task of bringing two wishes together.
At work
At work it stands for drive, progress and a goal within reach.
As your card of the day
You will make headway today if you commit to one aim. Leave the rest at the side of the road for a day.
The Chariot stands for steered strength. What pulls you two ways can be brought onto one road today.
The Major Arcana are the 22 trump cards, from the Fool at zero to the World at twenty-one. The tradition reads them as stations on a life's journey: large themes that touch everyone at some point.
Picture: Pamela Colman Smith, Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, 1909, public domain (Wikimedia Commons).