The Chariot

I am confident that with discipline I will succeed

The Chariot is the war vehicle that carries this dread-locked Bowie-esque king forward to victory against his enemies. His battle dress, demeanor and maturity, suggests he has been navigating the battlefield for many years.

In life, like Homer’s great champion and Trojan War hero, Odysseus, who (in the Odyssey) faces tremendous travails on his long return home after the war, the ingenious early won victories turn to absurdly challenging battles requiring enormous tenacity. Weathered by time, experience and adversity, he knows that he will not be successful without rigorous preparation, planning, creativity and above all, self control. He understands he must reign in his emotions and control his natural aggression and ferocity while focusing his mind on what he wants to achieve. He must not get carried away by his ambition and imagination.

Balancing head with heart, masculine with feminine., he knows he must travel with complete concentration and awareness on the difficult path, all the while keeping his wheels in motion. Without control, the Komodo dragons pulling his great chariot will run wild and make a bid for freedom.

The Chariot itself is part organic tree and part mechanism expressing the means by which humanity has sought to engineer and collaborate with nature. The venomous Komodo dragons which we had the privilege of seeing first hand on the island of Gilli Meno in Indonesia, are powerful predators, capable of taking down large prey with their serrated teeth. They appear slow and cumbersome but these lizards are all muscle and can move at explosive speed, a powerful reminder to trust our own survival instincts.

The card therefore implies the game of life can only be won if we can master our emotions, control our worries and fears, regrets, resignation and hopelessness. The king driving his chariot symbolizes that self belief and confidence comes from consistently refocusing one’s thoughts and ideas to the objective and goal at hand. We must move past the limbic system, the stress response of fight or flight, to engage with greater emotional intelligence. When we know ourselves, our motivations and needs – the why we do things – we can become more aware of when we are off track.

The Chariot ultimately signifies hard won success and whatever this card is connected to, demands completion. Finish what you start and if you are working with people maintain balance and harmony by acknowledging people’s needs and feelings, while maintaining control. We can consciously and creatively release frustrations and engage is the power of positive self-talk, the mantra that will keep our wheels turning in the right direction. Although you must take people’s needs and feelings into consideration ultimately you must take full responsibility for your words and deeds.