Transparent Tarot - 7 - Chariot

The Chariot depicts a white and a black horse facing in opposite directions.

Horses:

• embodies power and vitality
• represents speed
• suggests victory
• unbridled or uncontrollable passion
• intellect, wisdom, reason, swiftness of thought and instinctual animal nature
• white horse represents pure intellect, innocence, light and life, while the black horse is funerary, heralds death and symbolizes chaos
• Metaphors concerning horses:
  • “to horse around” is to not take things seriously
  • “to put the cart before the horse" is to not keep things in their proper order or perspective
  • “a horse of a different color” is to receive additional information that causes a situation to be looked at differently
  • “to be on a high horse” is to be egotistical or overbearing
  • “to look a gift horse in the mouth” is to be unappreciative
  • “don’t put the cart before the horse” means that things need to done in the proper order
  • “don’t swap horses in midstream” means that it’s better not to swap tactics or methods along the way, once a course of action or an undertaking has begun
  • “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” means that one can be given the opportunity to do something, but can’t be forced to do it

Neck:

• can correspond to getting one’s head on straight or to being a pain in the neck
• can be associated with sticking one’s neck out
• Metaphors related to the neck are:
  • “to risk one’s neck” is to do something dangerous
  • “to neck with someone” is to kiss or make out
  • “to wring one’s neck” is to reprimand or punish

The imagery belies the old saying that “two heads are better than one” (meaning that a problem is more quickly solved if two people put their minds to it) since in this case the heads are looking in opposite directions, indicating a difference of opinion.

Rodney