poopsie
Description in Booklet: "I'm coming to you. A young man is driving a war chariot to a distant place for his own reasons."
Our etruscan Charioteer is young, facing east. You only see the butt , the tail and one leg of his horse. emphasis is given to the man and the chariot. Where is he headed? He doesn't appear to plunge into war since he apparently bears no weapons with him. His gait is steady and upright and he holds the reins. He has no shield with him which is probably why the card describes him as "going to a distant place for his own reasons".
Would it be possible that our Chariot is simply a chariot driver and not a warrior? When we compare the Etruscan Chariot to the Chariot cards in other decks, this card truly resembles young people, about to take on life ... armed only with a sense of direction which only he/she may know. The charioteer brings no weapon with him. Who knows? He may be the son of an aristocrat driving to another village to court a girl, to buy food supplies for the household, join his friends for a friendly chariot race ... there could be all sorts of reasons, but only the charioteer knows.
His horse is hardly visible -- typically, horses symbolizes
Power
Grace
Beauty
Nobility
Strength
Freedom
Lifted from www/whats-your-sign.com, "The Horse symbol meanings of power are widespread through most cultures, and it is linked as an emblem of life-force. Many cultures assign the attributes of the four elements to the Horse: Earth, Fire, Air, and Water."
History has also showed the horse as being a friend to mankind ...
"Serving man in war, mobility, productivity, agriculture, development of all kinds, the Horse is by far one of the largest contributor to the enhancement of civilization. As a Celtic symbol,the Horse was associated with war. With war, comes attributes of victory, conquer, longevity as well as procurement of territory and other spoils that come with triumph in battle." (www.whats-your-sign.com)
From my point of view, the mere fact that the artist still injected the backside of the horse and its majestic tail within sight means that we should not ignore the implications of the interpretations attached to the animal.
My own insight about the Chariot has a slight difference from the way I would have typically interpreted RWS Chariot, or even the Thoth. For the Etruscan chariot, the youthfulness of it all, whatever it is we wish to undertake may be seen from a more fresh, clean-slate, clear-start perspective. The clean slate may be attributed to the fact that we enter into a new something alone, or not really alone, but with a trusty friend (horse) who will be with us all the way. We have no need for weapons, or to arm ourselves because putting on an armor, a shield and weapons may suggest we do not trust ourselves brave enough to face the world out there without protection.
Going deeper, our best protection appears to lie in how clear our purpose or direction is, how boldly we face this. We boldly move forward with our character, our inner strength, relying on our own power that we can manage challenges along the way. The chariot is our throne, the one space we own and occupy -- the one freedom we have, driven by a horse that bows to our will and allows use to steer or navigate it to wherever we see fit.
In etruscan history, I lifted this quote from www.mysteriousetruscans.com - "Whatever man set himself to do on earth must be in consonance with the cosmos. Thus all the efforts of the priests were directed upon the heavens when it was necessary to discover the will of the gods in accordance with the sacred doctrine".
If I drew this card in a reading, I may view the Etruscan Chariot card with these reflections:
Am I clear on where I am headed?
Do I know what I want and where I would like to be?
What is it I need to do to navigate my life in the direction I have set?
Since I and my horse face east -- it must be clear that I have planned this with deliberation, have thought of my steps and their sequences, and will tread slowly but surely, not in full-battle gear protected by armors and masks, but just by being my true self, comfortable, confident, renewed and invigorated ... looking forward to facing a new "something" or perhaps regain something I may have once lost, but now believe I could once again retrieve.
-- Amidst all of these and most importantly, what motivates me or guides me to set this direction? Am I being guided by what lies truly within me or am I being just maneuvered by an external force which I still need to seek out and understand?
Our etruscan Charioteer is young, facing east. You only see the butt , the tail and one leg of his horse. emphasis is given to the man and the chariot. Where is he headed? He doesn't appear to plunge into war since he apparently bears no weapons with him. His gait is steady and upright and he holds the reins. He has no shield with him which is probably why the card describes him as "going to a distant place for his own reasons".
Would it be possible that our Chariot is simply a chariot driver and not a warrior? When we compare the Etruscan Chariot to the Chariot cards in other decks, this card truly resembles young people, about to take on life ... armed only with a sense of direction which only he/she may know. The charioteer brings no weapon with him. Who knows? He may be the son of an aristocrat driving to another village to court a girl, to buy food supplies for the household, join his friends for a friendly chariot race ... there could be all sorts of reasons, but only the charioteer knows.
His horse is hardly visible -- typically, horses symbolizes
Power
Grace
Beauty
Nobility
Strength
Freedom
Lifted from www/whats-your-sign.com, "The Horse symbol meanings of power are widespread through most cultures, and it is linked as an emblem of life-force. Many cultures assign the attributes of the four elements to the Horse: Earth, Fire, Air, and Water."
History has also showed the horse as being a friend to mankind ...
"Serving man in war, mobility, productivity, agriculture, development of all kinds, the Horse is by far one of the largest contributor to the enhancement of civilization. As a Celtic symbol,the Horse was associated with war. With war, comes attributes of victory, conquer, longevity as well as procurement of territory and other spoils that come with triumph in battle." (www.whats-your-sign.com)
From my point of view, the mere fact that the artist still injected the backside of the horse and its majestic tail within sight means that we should not ignore the implications of the interpretations attached to the animal.
My own insight about the Chariot has a slight difference from the way I would have typically interpreted RWS Chariot, or even the Thoth. For the Etruscan chariot, the youthfulness of it all, whatever it is we wish to undertake may be seen from a more fresh, clean-slate, clear-start perspective. The clean slate may be attributed to the fact that we enter into a new something alone, or not really alone, but with a trusty friend (horse) who will be with us all the way. We have no need for weapons, or to arm ourselves because putting on an armor, a shield and weapons may suggest we do not trust ourselves brave enough to face the world out there without protection.
Going deeper, our best protection appears to lie in how clear our purpose or direction is, how boldly we face this. We boldly move forward with our character, our inner strength, relying on our own power that we can manage challenges along the way. The chariot is our throne, the one space we own and occupy -- the one freedom we have, driven by a horse that bows to our will and allows use to steer or navigate it to wherever we see fit.
In etruscan history, I lifted this quote from www.mysteriousetruscans.com - "Whatever man set himself to do on earth must be in consonance with the cosmos. Thus all the efforts of the priests were directed upon the heavens when it was necessary to discover the will of the gods in accordance with the sacred doctrine".
If I drew this card in a reading, I may view the Etruscan Chariot card with these reflections:
Am I clear on where I am headed?
Do I know what I want and where I would like to be?
What is it I need to do to navigate my life in the direction I have set?
Since I and my horse face east -- it must be clear that I have planned this with deliberation, have thought of my steps and their sequences, and will tread slowly but surely, not in full-battle gear protected by armors and masks, but just by being my true self, comfortable, confident, renewed and invigorated ... looking forward to facing a new "something" or perhaps regain something I may have once lost, but now believe I could once again retrieve.
-- Amidst all of these and most importantly, what motivates me or guides me to set this direction? Am I being guided by what lies truly within me or am I being just maneuvered by an external force which I still need to seek out and understand?
