The Chariot (Le Chariot): meaning of tarot arcanum VII

In brief: number, names and keywords

The Chariot is the seventh card, in the same position and under the same name in Marseille and in Rider-Waite. After The Lovers (the choice), it shows the momentum that follows the decision. It closes the first series of seven cards, often read as the building of the self.

The number seven carries rich meaning in many traditions (seven days, the seven planets visible to the naked eye in antiquity); it evokes the completion of a first stage.

Keywords: momentum, mastery, progress, direction, determination, victory.

The image in the Marseille tarot

In Marseille, a crowned figure, or one wearing a laurel crown, stands upright on a two-wheeled chariot. He wears light armour, sometimes with shoulder pieces decorated with faces or moons, and holds a sceptre. A canopy supported by four columns tops the chariot.

Two horses pull the whole. They are of different colours depending on the edition, sometimes heading in slightly opposite directions, and the figure has no visible reins: he does not hold the horses by force, but by will. On the front of the chariot, a shield bears an emblem.

The image in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck

In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the driver is a warrior in armour, crowned with laurel topped by a star, standing in a stone chariot under a canopy covered with stars. He holds a wand, with no reins. Crescent moons adorn his shoulders.

The chariot is not pulled by horses but by two sphinxes, one black, one white, lying side by side. Behind him are a city and a river; on the front of the chariot, a winged disc and symbols (a sign that suggests the union of principles). The driver barely moves: it is his will that makes the team advance.

Symbolism of the elements in the image

These are the details that come up most often in traditional readings. They are lines of interpretation, not official definitions.

• The chariot: the body and its resources: the vehicle of action, which one pilots.
• The two horses or sphinxes: two opposing forces (impulse and reason, desire and duty) that one holds together. In Waite’s deck, black and white recall the pillars of the High Priestess.
• The absence of reins: mastery through inner will, not through constraint.
• The starry canopy: a direction guided by a sky larger than oneself.
• The laurel crown: victory; in Roman antiquity, it was not a title but an honour earned.
• The city behind (Waite): the starting point one leaves, or the world one aims for.

Upright meaning

Upright, The Chariot traditionally evokes momentum, a chosen direction, determination to move forward. It speaks of the ability to hold together opposing forces (desires and obligations, ideas and emotions) in order to reach a goal. It often marks a successful start, a journey, a concrete advance, or victory over an obstacle.

The Chariot reads as a stage of action, following the choice of The Lovers. In a spread, it invites us to set ourselves a course, keep a rhythm, take control of what we can. Its mastery is that of the driver, not the tyrant: he steers; he is not carried along.

Reversed: two schools of reading

School 1: the opposite. Reversed, The Chariot speaks of haste, loss of control, the pride of success, aggression or scattering.

School 2: a block. The vehicle is there, but it will not start or goes round in circles: a lack of direction, forces pulling in opposite directions, a loss of momentum. The card then invites us to clarify the course before accelerating. Some tarot readers prefer to read only upright cards.

In common areas of reading

The tarot does not say what will happen: it offers images for reflection. Here, in symbolic terms, is what this card may bring up depending on the theme of your question.

• Personal reflection: taking back the direction of one’s life, channelling one’s energy, holding a course. Possible question: what is pulling me in two directions, and which one is mine?
• Relationships: journeys, a shared impetus, a joint project; the card may also suggest that each person is moving on separately without consultation, if the neighbouring cards point that way.
• Work: starting a project, mobility, determination, competition. Symbolically, an impetus to be channelled, not a promised success.
• Money: active management, taking initiative, discipline. It predicts no gain and does not replace the advice of a finance professional.

Combinations with neighbouring cards

A card is rarely read on its own: its neighbour nuances it. Here are a few common pairings, to be taken as starting points.

• The Lovers: from choice to momentum: the decision taken becomes a road.
• Justice: direction and balance: moving forward with discernment.
• The Emperor: momentum and structure: a project that starts on sound foundations.
• The Wheel of Fortune: effort and the rhythm of chance: holding the wheel while taking circumstances into account.
• The Tower (House of God): momentum and the unexpected: a step forward that meets an obstacle, to be looked at calmly.

To learn how to combine cards, try the three-card spread. To place this card among the 22 Major Arcana, see our guide to the Major Arcana.

Keyword of the day, question and practice

Keyword of the day: Course. For the day, name one simple direction (a goal for the week) and check, at each decision, whether it moves you that way.

Question to ask yourself: Where do you want to go, and what is pulling in the opposite direction?

Writing (10 minutes). Draw a team with two horses: name one of your strengths on the left and the other on the right (for example “caution” and “boldness”). Write what each one asks for, then a sentence that links them towards a common course.

Short meditation. Sit up straight, hands on your thighs, and imagine you are holding invisible reins. Breathe while gently lengthening your back. Feel what it means to hold a course without tension.

History and variants of the card

The Chariot descends from an ancient tradition, that of the Roman triumph, in which a victorious general paraded in a chariot, crowned with laurel. The game was first called trionfi (“triumphs”) before the name tarocchi, then “tarot”, took hold: the Chariot is the card that best embodies that original sense. Petrarch’s Triumphs, a 14th-century poem, also inspired many images of processions in the 15th century.

In the old Italian decks, the chariot is pulled by horses, sometimes white, sometimes black. In Marseille this idea is kept; Waite and Smith replaced the horses with sphinxes, borrowed from the Egyptian iconography of the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn associates the card with Cancer and the letter Cheth (“the enclosure”), although these correspondences are not universal.

The card is sometimes read as a portrait of the hero returning from a trial, sometimes as a warning about the ego that believes it has mastered everything: this ambiguity is what makes the card rich.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to The 22 Major Arcana, card by card.