The Chariot
Song Pairing
“Confident” by Demi Lovato
A driving song of self-assertion and forward momentum. This song captures the spirit of The Chariot: charging ahead, owning your space, and choosing your own direction without hesitation.
Astrology
The Chariot is ruled by Cancer, a cardinal water sign governed by the Moon. While Cancer is often associated with emotion, nurturing, and the home, it also holds deep reservoirs of grit, loyalty, and quiet power. Like Cancer, The Chariot moves with purpose, instinct, and protection of what matters. This card reminds us that strength can come from emotional clarity, and that intuition is often the most powerful compass we have.
Historic Interest
In the Golden Dawn system, The Chariot is titled “The Child of the Powers of the Waters, the Lord of the Triumph of Light.” Its Hebrew letter is Cheth, meaning “fence” or “enclosure,” symbolizing the discipline required to channel will into direction. Early tarot decks sometimes depicted the charioteer as a war hero or royal figure returning in triumph, reinforcing the card’s roots in conquest and control. Curiously, even then, it was about mastery and motion with purpose, rather than brute force.
The Chariot is a powerful tarot card of empowerment, momentum, and personal will. It appears when you’re ready to take control of your path and push forward, even when the road ahead feels uncertain. This card speaks to determination, resilience, and the courage to move through resistance. You don’t need permission or perfect timing. You need focus, movement, and belief in your own direction.
Vibe
Fierce focus, unstoppable motion
Affirmation
“I am the force behind my momentum.”
Card Pairing
The Chariot + Two of Swords
This pairing reveals the tension between motion and avoidance. The Chariot wants movement, but the Two of Swords sits in silence, unsure what to choose. Together, they ask: Are you charging forward to escape a hard decision? Or are you calling it clarity when it’s really just delay?
Kindred Spirit
Queen of Swords The Queen of Swords and The Chariot share a deep respect for clarity, boundaries, and decisive action. The Chariot brings the physical force of will and forward movement, while the Queen of Swords provides mental precision and emotional honesty. She clears away distraction, doubt, and noise, making space for purposeful direction. Together, they are about moving boldly, and thinking clearly. Power is not just about motion, it’s about knowing exactly where you refuse to be steered.
Esoteric Connection
Red Jasper. A stone of endurance and determination. Red Jasper offers steady courage and physical vitality when you’re pursuing a long-term goal or fighting through resistance.
Element
Water (and Fire). Although The Chariot is ruled by a water sign, its core energy feels physical. This card blends water’s emotional depth with fire’s drive and earth’s resilience. It asks you to move not just from instinct, but from embodied purpose. Progress requires both inner flow and grounded, sustained motion.
Misconception
People sometimes assume The Chariot is about speeding ahead like a spiritual bulldozer lol. This card isn't really about brute hustle, it's about focused direction. You’re not Mario Kart drifting through life!
Full Interpretation
"You don’t need to rely on external forces to pull you forward. You are the force. You set the pace."
From Integration to Acceleration
Success isn’t handed to you, it’s fought for with strength and determination. The Chariot asks you to roll up your sleeves and work hard for what you want.
In the Fool’s Journey, The Fool has discovered love, connection, and inner alignment. Now it’s about moving through the world with willpower. Taking all that dreamy introspection and what it taught you about yourself, and putting it into motion.
It’s interesting that The Chariot arrives right after The Lovers, a card which asks us to reflect inward on our values and desires regarding love and relationships. The Chariot is a jarring shift from inner exploration to outward execution. The Lovers drifts toward the spiritual, while The Chariot becomes one of the most pragmatic cards in the tarot. It’s wheels-to-the-road energy.
You Are the Chariot
At the heart of this card is momentum, which I wanted to capture in my card. The Chariot appears when you’re ready to push forward with something, but the path ahead isn’t smooth, or you might feel pulled in competing directions. You might be wondering if your effort is even getting you anywhere, or that you’re moving on a treadmill. Let this card be the motivation to just move forward rather than waiting for the conditions to be perfect. Adapt mid-race if you need to.
In the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith version of The Chariot, we see a composed figure in armor, pulled by two sphinxes, one black, one white. It’s a card about aligning opposites, controlling dual forces, and steering them with inner resolve rather than brute force. There’s a quiet, mystical authority in that card. He doesn’t hold the reins. He just knows how to get where he’s going.
I kept a lot of that meaning in my version, but I wanted to see the chariot move! This isn’t quiet control as much as physical mastery. To me, nothing expresses this form of determined movement better than a wheelchair racer. The two sphinxes are now dogs: joyful, carefree, and running beside him, not in front. You don’t need to rely on external forces to pull you forward. You are the force. You set the pace.
This card also explores agency, especially the kind that’s earned through resistance. I wanted to include an athlete with a disability not as a symbol of overcoming adversity (although you are free to infer that) but as a testament to willpower and direction. He doesn’t need a mythical beast to carry him. He is the chariot. The Chariot is about reclaiming your momentum from systems, setbacks, or self-doubt. Victory doesn’t belong to the untouched. It belongs to those who kept going.
Seven Stars, Seven Lessons
The halo of seven stars above his head echoes an earned divine presence. It’s sort of that feeling you get when everything is clicking and you feel blessed. They remind me of hard-won medals, not inherited fate. The stars also foreshadow the Fool’s Journey ahead. If The Chariot is where the Fool first seizes momentum, seven stars represent the qualities he’ll need to develop to keep going; qualities embodied by upcoming Major Arcana cards. Willpower (Strength), Courage (The Hermit), Temperance (Temperance), Justice (Justice), Wisdom & surrender (The Hanged Man), Faith (The Star), and Compassion (The Moon). The Chariot is saying that you are moving towards these lessons.
Motion Over Perfection
So when this card shows up in your reading, ask yourself: Where in your life are you ready to charge forward? What dogs are running by your side? What inner or outer forces need to be tamed, harnessed, or redirected?
This card doesn’t promise an easy path. But it does promise power. You don’t need ideal conditions. You just need to decide where you’re going and go. This is a very empowering card.
It might relate to career right now, pushing toward a goal, especially when you're not sure you belong. Maybe you’re up for a promotion but imposter syndrome is screaming. Or you started a business but every day feels so uncertain. (I get this feeling all the time!) This card is simply a gentle reminder to keep moving. You’ll earn your confidence through action.
It might be about health. Maybe you're in physical therapy after surgery, or finally reclaiming a body that hasn’t felt like yours in years. Maybe you’re in the process of transitioning, physically, emotionally, or socially, and facing the complicated, courageous work of becoming who you really are. The Chariot reminds you that healing doesn’t always look linear. Sometimes it looks like grit, sweat, and doing the hard thing one more time. Sometimes it looks like choosing yourself, again and again, even when it’s hard.
In relationships, The Chariot could be a sign to stop drifting and start choosing. Not necessarily choosing them, but it could be a signal to choose yourself. Maybe you're tired of mixed signals, and this is your green light to say what you need. Maybe you’re the one holding back, waiting for the right moment. This is the right moment.
Creatively, this card shows up when you’re mid-project, mid-process, and feeling stuck. (I feel like that with this tarot project right now! 😅) You’ve lost the rush of the beginning, and the end feels far away. You’re wondering if it’s even worth it. The Chariot says: keep going anyway. You’re building momentum that only makes sense in hindsight.
And in terms of personal growth, The Chariot can signal a shift from victimhood to authorship. It says: your story is still being written, but you’ve got the pen now. It might not be easy, but it’s yours.
This card loves a challenge. It assumes the obstacles are there, but it dares you to move anyway. Not because you’ll win easily, but because motion itself is a victory. Because you’re not being pulled along for the ride. You’re steering this thing. And you look unstoppable.
This card doesn’t promise an easy path. But it does promise power.
Reversed Interpretation
When The Chariot shows up reversed, momentum starts to slip. You may feel like you're spinning your wheels, wasting energy on things that aren’t moving you forward. Maybe you're trying to force something that isn't aligned, or you’ve lost sight of where you’re going altogether.
This reversal often appears when you're burnt out, overwhelmed, or stuck in a cycle of effort without direction. Are you pushing ahead just because you think you’re supposed to? Are you chasing someone else’s idea of success instead of your own?
It can also point to a fear of taking control. Maybe it feels easier to let someone else lead, or you're afraid of what might happen if you actually commit to the path you want. The Chariot reversed asks: what are you avoiding by staying stuck?
Sometimes the issue isn’t a lack of effort, but a conflict of efforts. You might be pulled in different directions, trying to hold onto too many priorities at once, or move forward without making a clear decision. The result is paralysis, not progress.
If The Chariot upright is about discipline and determination, the reversed version invites you to pause. This is not a signal to quit, but a chance to realign. Check your direction. Reassess your motivation. You may need to rest, reclaim your energy, or let go of something that no longer supports your forward motion.
This card doesn’t mean you are off track forever. It simply suggests that your wheels need traction, and your motivation needs to come from within.
Pause and Reflect
What quiet truth in you is asking to be moved forward, not faster, just more faithfully? This isn’t about speed. It’s about honoring the part of you that’s ready, even if you’re scared.
Take Action
Push or pull something across the floor that takes a bit of effort. It could be a box, a bag of soil, a wheelbarrow, a stone, or even a laundry basket packed to the brim. You can do this indoors, outside, or even at the gym using something like a weighted sandbag, a sled, or a kettlebell. If you're outdoors, feel the drag of gravel, dirt, or grass as they interact with your object. If you're indoors, listen to the sound it makes scraping along the floor. Let this be an intentional sensory experience.
Feel the resistance with your whole body. Pay attention to the strain in your muscles, the shift in your balance, and the determination it takes to keep going. This isn’t meant to be a workout. It’s about engagement, not exertion, so obviously don’t strain yourself or risk injury! That’s not the point. The point is to make physical contact with the effort it takes to move something forward.
When you reach the end, stop. Stand in the space you moved it to. Ask yourself: what does this weight represent in your life? What resistance are you pushing through right now? What’s waiting for you on the other side of motion?