Major Arcana · Mirror of the Arcana
VII · ArcanumThe Chariot
The Chariot in tarot is a card of willpower, movement and victory.
Key meanings
- willpower
- movement
- victory
- direction
- self-command
The Chariot upright
Willpower and movement toward your goal. You hold the reins and steer your own course.
The shadow side
Moving forward at any cost, where sheer force drowns out both you and everyone around you.
The Chariot reversed
Losing your direction, pulled in every direction at once, forces dragging you off your path.
The Chariot as the card of the day
Your contradictions today aren't in your way, they're two horses in one harness. Take the reins, choose a direction, and don't look back. Victory comes to the one who holds her course through the rocking of the ride.
The question this card asks
Where do you truly want to arrive, and what's keeping you from taking the reins?
The Chariot: yes or no?
yes
The Chariot rides forward and wins. If your will holds, you arrive.
Arcanum VII reads as yes, which tells you where the weight falls before you decide anything.
This is the tilt of a single card, and the theme holding that tilt is willpower. Pull your own card →
Every card is a mirror, not a verdict. Walk the other arcana and listen to what they say together.
✦ See all 22 Major ArcanaFAQ
Is The Chariot (VII) a good card or a bad card?
The deck holds no plainly bad card. Its themes are willpower and movement, and the tone comes from your question together with the upright or reversed position. I am not here to frighten you.
Is The Chariot a major or a minor arcanum?
Major, arcanum VII of twenty-two. Big change is the work of the major arcana and ordinary days the work of the minors, and VII reads as big change.
Which cards stand next to The Chariot in the deck?
The Lovers stays behind it and Strength waits further on. Seen that way, arcanum VII reads as a move rather than a fixed state.
How do you read The Chariot (VII) upside down?
In the upright position willpower and movement come to the front with nothing holding them back. Reversed the volume changes and the theme stays, so arcanum VII sounds like the same story running against itself.