Harmony through conflict - VII The Chariot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Jun 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Moongold	05 Jun 2004
This concept is often used when speaking about VII Chariot. I’ve drawn this card in the Aeclectic Community Tarot this year and I’d like to know how others understand the concept and have implemented it in their lives. Chariot is my Personality/Soul card and although I have heard this phrase before I didn’t really understand it.. I have read some material this morning to do with balancing opposing tendencies to bring about harmony in the soul which sounds good in principle but what does it actually mean to people in their daily lives? It seems to be about integration. Learning for me occurs through doing and seeing. If anyone would like to share about how they understand the concept and incorporate this aspect of VII Chariot in their lives I would be most grateful. I understand that the concept is also relevant to esoteric astrology in the 4th Ray but I know very little about this. I look forward to perhaps hearing from some of you, Moderators, if I have posted in the wrong forum, please feel free to relocate the thread. It could equally fit in Spirituality or Talking Tarot. Thanks. :)

mooncat2	05 Jun 2004
Moongold, How interesting. I've never looked at the Chariot in this way before but it is the exact interpretation I gave in the reading I posted for NeXoRious yesterday. He also has the Chariot as his Soul/Personality card. The conflict seemed directly related to the north & south node signs - unfortunately I didn't have enough information for the house positions. I wonder if the conflict between two opposing parts of the personality is stronger in those who walk the Life Path 7. For myself learning has been about understanding that although I'm far happier at home alone with my books and study , for my Soul's growth I need to be out with people, communicating, sharing ideas, teaching. Not an earth shattering conflict but a personal struggle to find the 'middle road'.

tmgrl2	05 Jun 2004
Good question, Moongold...I always saw The Chariot as Victory or Struggle...but the more I see it...I see the figure in the Chariot as being in charge...I/you are the charioteer who must solitarily lead the two creatures pulling it. I see them as representing perhaps the battle we have between the spiritual and physical aspects of ourselves. In order for the Chariot to run true, these two creatures must be guided to work together or the Chariot will crash. I am looking at the Gilded Tarot with the lovely charioteer in purple sitting almost "sidesaddle" on the seat withing the four pillars (earthly domain)...I love the gold and silver figures. Since they lead or pull the chariot, I like to think of the gold as the achiever and the silver as its guiding intuition.... 7 is such a perfect number, but it is leaving the harmony of the 6 (The Lovers) and moving on its course toward the World, toward completion with many trials and obstacles to face along the way. 3 for heaven and four for earth... Somehow, the VII has all of the elements needed to move forward toward victory, but needs to constantly nourish/balance the spiritual side and the physical side. For me, the Chariot would be a reminder that if I neglect either of these parts of me, my chariot will crash along with me. Since I am a loner, I find that when I have been too much with people (like long days at work) I need to do something quiet and alone to nurture my spirit. For me, it might be reading, taking a walk, working out... Harmony is a state of delicate balance whose elements we must tweek daily and awareness of which part of us might be out-of-sync is part of knowing what we need to do to get back on the track. terri

starsongs	05 Jun 2004
Moongold, the 4th ray is the bridging ray, connecting Humanity to the Kingdom of Souls..it is indeed called the Ray of Harmony through Conflict.. It stands directly in the center of the seven rays, acting as go between: Ray One: Will/Power Ray Two: Love/Wisdom Ray Three: Active Intelligence **Ray Four: Harmony through Conflict** Ray Five: Concrete Knowledge Ray Six: Devotion and Idealism Ray Seven: Ceremonial Order and Magick As Above, so Below The first 3 rays are rays of Aspect Rays 4-7 are called rays of Attribute and emanate from the 3rd The signs of the zodiac manifesting in the 4th ray are Taurus and Scorpio. Fourth ray planets are Mercury and the Moon. The sign Cancer, manifesting on the 3rd (Active Intelligence) and 7th (Ceremonial Order and Magick) rays is ruled by the Moon on the personality level which is a 4th ray Planet. This represents the conflict of the human condition (Cancer/Masses) and whereby said Conflict is overcome through the contact with and embodiment of Soul; and overcoming of biological and personal karma and Harmony is achieved. Also Overcoming the emotions (Moon, 4th ray) through the higher mind (3rd ray) Neptune (a sixth ray planet) is the Soul ruler of Cancer The 3rd and 7th rays are both very connected to form. Cancer, in its higher expression, is the union of Personality and Soul..a new form for our expression linking Humanity to the Kingdom of Souls..thus making heaven on earth Cancer "The Light Within The Form" is connected to the Chariot (the 7th Trump of the Major Arcana).. To me, the Chariot is more about an inner journey so profound that it can't help but show externally eventually manifesting as a deeper understanding of the meaning of life; courage and singleness of purpose, focused determination, making the mundane sacred...and like mooncat 2 suggests, finding the middle road..and terri, the delicate balance On one level it is about using will power and creative intelligence to overcome opposition and to become more than ever before, (on the road to individuation) and on another, allowing personal will to be transformed by Spiritual Will, and creating forms for the goals of the Spirit. The following is compiled from the book Esoteric Astrology by Alice Bailey Ray I. Spirit, Will, Life, Energy, Identification {Will/Power} Ray II. Soul, Consciousness, Light, Love, Initiation {Love/Wisdom} Ray III. Form, Appearance, Body, Intelligence, Individuality... {Active Intelligence} Remember, nonetheless, That these Three are One. Behind all of them stands One who remains transcendent and immanent , greater than our whole, yet also within that whole. Through Ray IV we learn to be at one with this eternal synthesis and Will {Harmony through Conflict} Through Ray V we learn to understand the Nature of that synthesis and Will {Concrete Knowledge} Through Ray VI, we move forward to complete identification with that synthesis and Will {Devotion/Idealism} Through Ray VII, we demonstrate on earth the nature of that synthesis through the medium of the appearing form and the purpose of that underlying Will {Cerremonial Order and Magick} AND SO THE MANY ARE ABSORBED INTO THE ONE Yes, Integration and Synthesis... hope this makes sense.. its most interesting to consider all of this in terms of rays and astrology...thanks for the question! I look forward to seeing your card starsongs

mooncat2	05 Jun 2004
Starsongs - thank you for that wonderful information. This is fascinating. Quote: the 4th ray is the bridging ray Dan Millman in his book The life you were born to lead says of the 7 lifepath ' they are here to bridge two worlds'. Quote: The signs of the zodiac manifesting in the 4th ray are Taurus and Scorpio. In the reading I mentioned the nodal path was exactly that Scorpio - Taurus.

starsongs	05 Jun 2004
You're welcome, mooncat2! :) Thank you too, and for the mention of the Book the Life you were Born to Lead by Dan Millman. I'm going to try to locate a copy; it sounds wonderful... Interesting and very Kewl about the nodal placements being in Taurus/Scorpio in the reading you mentioned..wow! :D **scampering off to do a Cinch local library search for the book by Dan Millman** :D Starsongs

tmgrl2	05 Jun 2004
Starsongs....thank you for your post...I printed it to save and review from time to time....terri

starsongs	05 Jun 2004
Quote: Originally posted by tmgrl2 Starsongs....thank you for your post...I printed it to save and review from time to time....terri Your welcome, Terri, I have also printed yours :D Quote: 7 is such a perfect number, but it is leaving the harmony of the 6 (The Lovers) and moving on its course toward the World, toward completion with many trials and obstacles to face along the way. 3 for heaven and four for earth... I particularly love that passage..thanks for sharing your understanding..i see many common threads and paths merging at the center :D starsongs

tmgrl2	05 Jun 2004
ty, starsongs... this post has helped my reflect on The Chariot ...and I have added more to my inner guide on this Trump and on 7.... ty, too, moongold terri

Moongold	06 Jun 2004
Thanks everyone ~ This does add another dimension to the VII Chariot (for me anyway) but more than that it shows the interconnectedness in various schools of spiritual understanding. I have come to understand the Chariot to be associated with ideas of self mastery through enlightenment. This has essentially meant reconciling polarities within oneself, bringing the Shadow into consciousness and loving it so that it loses its power and so on. This is about integration. But esoteric astrology seems to say that the cycle goes Conflict > harmony > conflict > harmony until one becomes one with the Source. Or rather that when life and the limitation chosen by the Soul balance each other harmony is reached, and a new rift develops but on a higher plane. I am not sure that I know what I'm talking about but it seems like a progressive evolution to God/Goddess. I am sure there is much more to this than my clumsy understanding.

tmgrl2	06 Jun 2004
Makes perfect sense, Moongold...I tend to think of it as birth, death, resurrection...occuring throughout one's life.....new conflict, resolution, death and rebirth....or new level of soul integration and harmony. I see the Star, Moon, Sun sequence carrying this as well....How we treat it semantically is what helps us bring forth our style of guidance....I also like conflict...harmony...conflict...harmony.... terri

NeXoRiouS	06 Jun 2004
Hi, Chariot is my Personality/Soul card. However, I don't understand what you all are talking about. The distance between the polarities is the journey? Hope someone can shed some light. thanks.

Moongold	06 Jun 2004
Hi NeXoRius ~ Welcome to the Chariot club! In this instance we are speaking about an almost mystical idea of integration. One way of looking at this is to see the soul comprise of creative and destructive (Shadow) forces. As we pass through life we gradually get to know ourselves well enough to understand the Shadow and bring it into the light. The Shadow is simply the darker aspects of our character that have remained under developed because they have not been given expression. If, for instance, one’s shadow included fear of sexuality, then one would hopefully face this and work with it. Otherwise the fear would come out in some other way and possibly cause disturbance. There could be many other examples. As adults we learn to understand ourselves better and reconcile with those parts of our character that for some reason we struggle to deal with. This a life long unfolding process which you wil undertake in your own way. It means really being aware of oneself as fully human: accepting and an feeling comfortable with who we are and living full and good lives The process of doing this may be understood as achieving harmony in this life. There is a theory that once the Soul has achieved harmony it is ready to pass to the next level of spiritual advancement where another conflict would be developed and resolved and the soul would continue to evolve in this way. We are just beginning to understand this ourselves as well so I hope I’ve explained in an understandable way. Going back to fundamentals, I love the way the Osho Zen deck describes the Chariot as Awareness and says The veil of illusion or maya that has been stopping you from perceiving reality as it is, is starting to burn away…… Have you got the Osho Zen deck? Have a look at VII Awareness. That is essentially what we are talking about. All the best: Moongold

tmgrl2	06 Jun 2004
Thanks, NeX, for asking Moongold that question...I love her way of explaing ...another print and keep! terri

MeeWah	06 Jun 2004
In 7, one completes a first phase/stage of a three-phase process or a pyramidal evolution & begins another stage. That is, looking at it as a triangular formation may assist the view. The three phases also pertains to the three dimensions of the earthly journey--the body, the mind & the spirit. Inherent within that pattern is the concept of as above, so below; the story of creation; man's descent into matter, his journey or life path & eventual ascent to spirit. 0-The Fool is the apex of the pyramid or triangle. Beginning at the apex, one side (left) is comprised of 1 to 7 & represents The Body of Man. It may be seen as The Soul which descends into matter & individuality; also as the fall or separation from Grace through Knowledge & Will or their "misapplications". From 1-The Will to 7-Initiation/Mastery. Man has experienced a broad sense of relationships literal & figural; their causal effects on the life. By 6-Service, a measure of harmony achieved within the conflicts contained by 1 through 6 yet following 6, 7 ends the first cycle. 7 indicative of spiritual unfoldment or completion in the material realm & the beginning of yet another cycle. The next side (bottom) is from 8-Strength of Character through 13-Regeneration. This cycle expresses The Mind of Man. Man's development of character through challenge & the maintenance of balance in the mental realm. 8 marks the entrance of a new state of the soul & 13 the closing of this phase from which a new order or cycle may be built. The last side (right) is from 14 through 21. Expressive of The Spirit of Man ascending to freedom. From 14-Integration or the assimilation of the experiences, Man continues through trial & error to realize the boundaries yet perceives what lies beyond same. Strives to live harmoniously within those boundaries & to achieve wholeness in 21-Attainment. All numbers contain conflict & harmony; reiterate a theme of balance though conflict more evident in the odd numbers. 7 is of the initiatory; the higher & lower selves united that seek to move from an integrated position of both knowledge & understanding, which is also expressed in 14, twice 7. Knowledge alone will not realize the goals as it does not include practical application. Understanding is from wisdom which confers self-discipline & self-control to move or act effectively. Edited for typos.

tmgrl2	06 Jun 2004
Thank you MeeWah...another print and save...I have read about this triad before, but your eloquent summary is lovely...and worth saving to internalize... terri

MeeWah	06 Jun 2004
Thanks & thanks to Moongold. The Chariot of particular interest as this a Chariot Year. Easily see its application after a Lovers Year. As it seldom appears in personal throws, I get to experience it in moreorless its essence!

The Harmony through conflict - VII The Chariot thread was originally posted on 05 Jun 2004 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.