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.
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.