By Sarah Taylor
Two weeks ago, in Your Rendezvous with The Chariot, I wrote that tarot cards “reveal themselves to us layer by layer”. The Chariot is not only no exception — it seems to hold to this more than most other cards. Its meaning is elusive, even while the figure tends to be stationary, probably waiting for us to catch up and come along for the ride, however this particular ride chooses to present itself to us.
There is a Chariot-like feel to the astrology too — just one of the correspondences I have become increasingly aware of as a long-time Planet Waves member. (Visit the link here and find out more about the various subscription options.) As of a couple of hours ago of my writing this, the Sun moved into Aries, marking the Spring Equinox and the start of the astrological year. This is typically a time for action. Yet this time, it comes with a strong message to go carefully, to adapt and remain vigilant, to look at the ground ahead and the landscape around, paying attention to both.
Personally, I feel a bit like the jockey on a horse in the starting gates: there is a phenomenal amount of force and energy available, but it needs discipline and direction to make it work. Not enough of either, and there is a loss of momentum or a wild ride that ends up veering off track. Watch how horses and riders line up at the starting gates; I think you’ll see and feel what I mean.
But what is The Chariot about? All of the interpretations I received in my inbox and in the comments of the previous article were lucid, and all relevant. I’ll restate that: all reactions to and interpretations of a tarot card are relevant. Even the opinion that a card is irrelevant is relevant. Whatever attracts you, attracts you; whatever repels you is no less attractive.
No one gets it wrong; everything is a signpost to a process that is going on inside whomever is looking at the card. Which means that when I write about The Chariot, I’m writing about what it means to me, which may or may not intersect with what you see in it. The disadvantage to an outside interpretation is that it can inhibit your trust in your own ideas or cause you to cling to something when your intuition is drawing you another way — although these, too, are relevant and useful. The advantage is that another interpretation can open your mind up to possibilities that you hadn’t considered. Your consciousness is expanded. And that is one of the experiences that The Chariot describes.