Intuitive Tarot~The Chariot VII

minrice

To be honest I most like the chariot archetype from an aesthetic point of view, beautiful, regal, rich, theatrical...and so it's easy to forget that the primary function of a chariot is warfare. It is a war machine and a dangerous one at that, for both the driver if it crashes or the prisoner who gets tied to it and dragged behind.

The Chariot in the intuitive tarot is a stripped down Chariot, (no costumes, no elaborate chariot or setting) and so you really feel the power and war energy with this card. With the mace the figure bears Conway links this card to Ares, god of war. There is a rawness to the strength, control, and focus in this card that isn't always evident in many interpretations of the Chariot. Specifically I'm thinking of the RWS chariot.

Another element with this chariot I find interesting is the mask the figure wears. Conway states that the mask is the persona of the individual venturing out into the world, now that they are free of the Empress and the Emperor. Yet, with this mask "We hide our true selves. This is the victory of the ego, controling--but not resolving--the underlying issues of our mature lives." This is the true self that we address when we come to the Hermit later on! I also think of the mask as symbolic of the many masks we wear on a daily basis, a different mask for each role we play. And yet, each mask is a strategic and neccessary for us to fulfill our roles and function in the physical world.
 

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desertrat

minrice said:
The Chariot in the intuitive tarot is a stripped down Chariot, (no costumes, no elaborate chariot or setting) and so you really feel the power and war energy with this card. With the mace the figure bears Conway links this card to Ares, god of war. There is a rawness to the strength, control, and focus in this card that isn't always evident in many interpretations of the Chariot. Specifically I'm thinking of the RWS chariot.
I gotta say, love this card. When I first saw it I thought Helios, Sun God, rather than Ares, War God, and that makes it a rather positive card for me. For me, the sun connotes energy, success, power, confidence, joy. But, having said that, I realize that the Ares aspect is there also. If arrogance, aggression and blind ambition rule this Chariot then he might feel justified in running people down in order to achieve victory.

I agree with your thoughts about the RWS chariot. He seems to be just hanging around enjoying the scenery. Not much action. Conversely, the Intuitive Chariot is all movement and progress. You can see his determination in his face. The book mentions slack reins and the possibility of loss of control. Yet his expression is one of total control. Perhaps in the reversed position i might be inclined to see this lack of control.

The subject of the mask is interesting. If he were wearing spandex tights, he would look like a superhero. It seems to me that wearing masks is part of being human. It's something we have to do in order to function in a society. We can't be an open book everywhere we go, we hold back in order to protect ourselves and to protect others. Even in a marriage we don't totally share our real selves. We don't tell our coworkers about our tarot hobby, or our spouse about that hot Fedex guy that we like to flirt with, or our children about our financial worries. We don't tell our boss that we feel unequal to the task assigned. Instead we take a deep breath, put on our mask, crack our whip and get that chariot moving towards success.