A Platonic Connection to The Chariot: The Tarot’s Seventh Major Arcana Card

(Based on the representations found on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.)

The Chariot is said to appear when you need encouragement. After making a choice to pursue something (as spurred by Mercury in The Lovers card), willpower and control are suggested prerequisites for achieving your desired aims.

In the ancient world, the two-wheeled chariot was akin to a tactical military vehicle that carried archers into battle. The archer’s success rested on their ability to access the four corners of the chariot, shooting in all directions, while a steady driver maneuvered the vehicle. While the archer needed to hit the mark, the chariot driver kept a laser-focus on the direction in which the vehicle was headed. This required a certain facility with the reins, steadying the course for the ultimate victory.

In traditional astrology, one of the mitigating factors for debilitated planet within the beams of the sun is the notion of “chariot.” For example, a planet within fifteen degrees of the sun is said to be burnt up by its rays: it fails to express its usual beneficial characteristics, if otherwise unafflicted, unless in some mitigating circumstance. Venus under the beams in Pisces would receive such mitigation by virtue of being in the place of her exaltation. The chariot thereby protects the occupant from the harmful solar rays — something Icarus might have appreciated had the course of mythology allowed!