Thoth Study Group - The Chariot

[CreativeFire]

Moving on to The Chariot:

From Akron/Banzhaf's - Handbook to the Cards:

Instinct: Desire for conquest, spirit of adventure, daring.
Goal: The highest achievable good: The Holy Grail.
Guiding Principle: The hero setting off.
Light: The forces setting off, the path that leads forwards, the searching for and finding of one's own place in the world.
Quality: Victory over one's self: self-knowledge, overcoming one's self, victory.

The enormous red chariot wheels are symbolic of the pure intention to act (I want!), relating the motivation to act to one's own actions. The four columns that carry the blue canopy (correlating to the night sky) are derived from the old worldview in which they support the sky, just as the draft animals are four guardians of the heavens in the form of cherubim. This also shows that the movement within the card is extensive and goes in all directions of the heavens. It then correlates to the task of human beings to make the earth subject unto them.

The first impression I get from this card is 'movement', from the circles - almost like he is moving through a tunnel ( a time tunnel even - bit of imagination here! ). I was interested to read that the central disk that he is holding is supposed to depict The Holy Grail, that he is holding outwards so we can see into the centre (there looks to be a lot of 'power' when you look into this disk to me).

The 'posture' of the knight's legs (apparently like yoga) is interesting, firstly that he could achieve this in armour! but also that it represents inner reflection of some sort.

From the Handbook to the Cards:

The Chariot stands for a still young, but strong self-confidence, letting go of the assumed concepts, developing one's own suitable conception of the world, and for the clever step of penetrating even difficult problems. This is frequently a matter of overcoming inner contradictions, such as the gulf between feeling and thinking, will and instinct, wish and reality.

Also the words 'abracadabra' on the canopy trim of the Chariot caught my attention which apparently translates to "I will create as I speak" - and there is an older thread on this here.

Also here is a link to the older study group thread on the Chariot as well - some interesting stuff in here also.

Look forward to others insights on this card.

CreativeFire

PS. Attached is a pic of the card for ease of reference.

[TaranRavenfrost]

What is the meaning of the crab on his head? And his Golden armour and diamonds that encrust it. Almost as if he is rich because he worked, and now he can relax. Maybe a symbol of royalty, protection? (The gaurdians at his feet).

To me this card is success, like take life to the fullest. A sign to move forward in financial matters maybe? I think this is saying "You will succeed, but you must get your hands dirty, and work for it".

I am editing this because I just saw something else. Right below "him" we see the gaurdians (that what I call them ). But behind them there is a moon, points up. This means that it is gathering energy. Maybe this is like a power nap, saying, Now is not the right time, but soon!

Just my interpretations. I've only had the deck for 3 days!

[Lee]

I think the crab is the symbol for the zodiacal sign Cancer, which is attributed to this card.

-- Lee

[Moonudjat]

Originally posted by CreativeFire
Moving on to The Chariot:


I was interested to read that the central disk that he is holding is supposed to depict The Holy Grail, that he is holding outwards so we can see into the centre (there looks to be a lot of 'power' when you look into this disk to me).

From The Book of Thoth:???

Jupiter exalted in cancer and that means that the chariot is connected with Fortune. He is holding the wheel of fortune in his hands. only it is not the wheel it is the Grail filled with the great sea of Binah and spiritual life in the form of blood.

What do the "Diamonds" actually represent on his armor?

To me it seems like the chariot has just stopped/arrived, the statues are still. He just came through the tunnel of light behind him. He's at the end of his journey.

[TaranRavenfrost]

Originally posted by Moonudjat

To me it seems like the chariot has just stopped/arrived, the statues are still. He just came through the tunnel of light behind him. He's at the end of his journey.

At the end of his journey, or at the beginning of a deeper, darker, harder one? Considering the tunnel gets darker. Maybe he has the grail symbolizing he is stronger than any journey in front of him.

[CreativeFire]

Originally posted by Moonudjat
From The Book of Thoth:???

No, Moonudjat, I did not read it in the Book of Thoth, unfortunately I do not have that one yet. I read it in Akron / Banzharf's book - Handbook to the Cards. I am work at the moment but will post the paragraph when I get a chance.

I don't really get the association of the Holy Grail to this card myself and it is interesting to hear others interpretations of what this 'disk' in the centre of the image is.

CreativeFire

[CreativeFire]

The reference to the Holy Grail from Akron / Banzhaf's - Handbook to the Cards:

Spacial axis (red point)

This flow of power is portrayed here by a horizontally-directed axis (the red point in the middle is the center of the circle in the background). This effect is achieved by the magical centering of the Grail chalice, which the knight holds with its opening towards the front. What he carries in his hands like a disk is the chalice turned frontally; within its depths the central point of the backgrounds turns like a red sun.

Center (Grail vessel)

In response to his all-decisive question: "Who does the Grail serve?" Parcival received the answer: "The Grail serves God!" (the King of the Grail). it is therefore a symbol of the eternal power that flows through us, and the search for the Grail is an image of the search for the Higher Self. The imaginary axis, running from the center of the chalice through the middle of the charioteer's body to the central point of the cosmic circle, embodies the person who has found harmony with the Higher Self in his or her center.

CreativeFire

[Centaur]

Originally posted by CreativeFire
The first impression I get from this card is 'movement', from the circles - almost like he is moving through a tunnel ( a time tunnel even - bit of imagination here! ). I was interested to read that the central disk that he is holding is supposed to depict The Holy Grail, that he is holding outwards so we can see into the centre (there looks to be a lot of 'power' when you look into this disk to me).

Yeh, there is almost a sense of great movement. In his hands, the Holy Grail appears (at least to me, LOL) to be spinning around, and around. I always find the effect of looking at this card for too long to be quite dizzying!!!

Originally posted by CreativeFire
The 'posture' of the knight's legs (apparently like yoga) is interesting, firstly that he could achieve this in armour! but also that it represents inner reflection of some sort.

This is very interesting, because for quite some time Crowley was very much into the practise of yoga. I wonder if in some way, this figure is perhaps supposed to represent Crowley during that time? Again, I might be babbling...

Originally posted by TaranRavenFrost
What is the meaning of the crab on his head? And his Golden armour and diamonds that encrust it. Almost as if he is rich because he worked, and now he can relax. Maybe a symbol of royalty, protection? (The gaurdians at his feet).

As Lee said, the card is the symbol of Cancer. In his book, Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot, Duquette writes, 'The Charioteer is in full armour, much like the crab of the zodiac sign of Cancer, which this card represents'. So, I guess we could say that the Chariot in his armour is similar to the crab in that he is shielded by a tough outer coating. Ziegler, in Tarot: Mirrors of the Soul, writes, 'The armour of the Charioteer is made of gold and is encrusted with ten crystals. Although like cancer, the crab, it provides a protective shell, this protection in the present state supports transformation (gold), and necessary clarity (crystals). Times of transition and new beginnings require the protection and support of a loving and caring environment. The immenent changes go hand in hand with excitement and unrest'. In other words, the Chariot is a sign of transformation and new beginnings, a time that can be quite tough (hence the need for protection), but with the necessary clarity one can see through to the end?

I also remember reading somewhere that the Chariot was also a card representing astral travel...

Originally posted by CreativeFire
I don't really get the association of the Holy Grail to this card myself and it is interesting to hear others interpretations of what this 'disk' in the centre of the image is.

I was reading Duquette's take on this, and he writes, 'He bears the Holy Grail, in this case a magnificent carved amethyst'. From what I have been reading on Crowley, he liked to use terms which have traditionally been associated with christianity, and use these terms in order to convey and express his own spiritual beliefs. With regards to the Holy Grail, Duquette argues that Crowley was referring to 'sexual alchemy'. Crowley refers to the Chariot as the 'Two-In-One, Conveyed'. The Holy Grail is the Two-In-One. From what I understand, the Two-In-One refers to the coming together of male and female in order to create new life. It is the uniting of male and female, the uniting of opposites, in order to create new life. Again, there is this idea of opposites uniting, and balance... a huge theme in the Thoth trumps. And again, I don't really know all that much about alchemy. LOL. But apparently, most of the imagery in this card is geared towards the idea of the 'Two-In-One'. As an aside, why does that sound like something on special offer at Burger King?!

Duquette writes of the word, 'ABRAHADABRA', that it is 'the magical word that expresses the formula of marriage of the microcosm with the macrocosm (or the aspirant to his or her Holy Guardian Angel'. In other words, it is a word that expresses our intimate relationship with spirit and the universe. Interestingly, that same word is 'indicative of the uniting of male and female that we see expressed in other trumps as alchemical images such as the red/white lion and white/red eagle'. Again, we are back to alchemy and notions of balance!

Oh, and just to revert back to what I said with regards to Crowley and his liking for yoga, Duquette writes, 'The Chariot represents the zodiac sign of Cancer, whose symbol is a not-too-subtle glyph for a particular technique of tantric yoga in which male and female energies and essenses are perfectly prepared, balanced, and exchanged to create the Two-In-One elixir of life. The elixir is then conveyed in a particular manner to serve as a eucharistic talisman of unlimited creative potential'.

Great card!

[Moonudjat]

This is very interesting, because for quite some time Crowley was very much into the practise of yoga. I wonder if in some way, this figure is perhaps supposed to represent Crowley during that time? Again, I might be babbling...

Yeah his posture is interesting i found this on http://www.novareinna.com/constellat...ncertarot.html :

The Chariot is often defined as the vehicle which is used by mankind to reach God. One of the oldest Jewish mystical writings was entitled "Merkavah" or "The Chariot." It is the code for meditation by which an individual might reach God via travel which needs no movement.

Maybe his yogic posture of meditation also has something to do with trying to connect with "God"?

And maybe this goes with the Grail - God connection too?

[TaranRavenfrost]

Originally posted by Moonudjat
Yeah his posture is interesting i found this on http://www.novareinna.com/constellat...ncertarot.html :

The Chariot is often defined as the vehicle which is used by mankind to reach God. One of the oldest Jewish mystical writings was entitled "Merkavah" or "The Chariot." It is the code for meditation by which an individual might reach God via travel which needs no movement.

Maybe his yogic posture of meditation also has something to do with trying to connect with "God"?

And maybe this goes with the Grail - God connection too?

Hmmm, Maybe this is why the card is used for Astral Travel? It almost seems as a card of a Journey, phsysical, metal, or spiritual.