In Conjurer or Adept? The Humble Origins of the Tarot Magician, I outlined a plan to look at the 22 Trump cards from an historical perspective. I don’t plan on getting too involved in the history side of things because my main goal is to find new and interesting ways to think of the Major Arcana ( or at least new to me ).
The Visconti
I’m basing these interpretations on some of the research that historians have done on 15th century European culture and the Visconti-Sforza Tarot.
Central to this is the Visconti family and the culture in which they lived.
The historians that I enjoy reading view the Tarot as deeply influenced by both the religious and cultural preoccupations of the time, as well as the political preoccupations of the Visconti family.
I think it’s important to view the Tarot through two different lenses. The first, through the Visconti family, the second, through the wider cultural realm of 15th Century Italy.
Today’s Trump – The Chariot
The most common association people make with the Chariot is that of a triumphal procession. Rachel Pollack in Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom starts her discussion on the Chariot by stating:
The Chariot…derives from a number of historical and mythological sources. Primarily it comes out of the processions given in Rome and other places for a conquering hero, when his chariot carried him through the streets that were filled with cheering citizens. The custom apparently answers some deep psychic need for group participation.
Rachel Pollack – Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom
Personally, I think this is an awesome way to look at the card and to be honest it used to be the primary association I made whenever I thought of the Chariot. However, I’ve read an alternative view that I wanted to share.
The Church
The figure in the Chariot was a personification of the Church!
Immediately I was fascinated by this idea. I always wondered about the Thoth’s Chariot Card – he holds a Grail.
When I read about a possible connection to the church, my whole view on this card began to change.
In the Visconti-Sforza Tarot, the white horses that guide the Chariot have wings. This would suggest something more allegorical rather than historical.
Symbolically, the Chariot, cart or boat was often used to symbolise the Church, acting as a vehicle to convey the faithful to Heaven. The image of the Chariot is evoked in the prophecy of Ezekiel (Ezek 1:15) and the Chariot of Fire which carried Elijah off to heaven.
Gertrude Moakley hypothesised that the Chariot represented a carnival float. A float ( or boat? ) can symbolise the Church; the boat receives those whom Christ saves.
Finally, I read a really interesting snippet from Wika answers on bible symbolism. It said that “in Bible symbolism, a horse is a priest/pastor/teacher, a chariot is a doctrine or dogma in which many ride. The horses empower and drive the chariot as teachers empower and drive the dogma.”
Why was it called the Chariot and not the Church?
The titles of the Trumps were not allocated to the cards till some 50 years after the invention of the game! Could it be that it was forgotten?
In terms of the numbering sequence of the Trumps, the Chariot ( or the Church ) is higher than the Pope. This could indicate the Visconti’s contempt of the Pope but, … it also implies their personal respect for religion and what that represents.
How does this help our Tarot readings?
When Lon Milo Duquette’s Tarot of Ceremonial Magick: A Pictorial Synthesis of Three Great Pillars of Magick was first released, I bought it the instant I could. I was always intrigued by some of the definitions he supplied for the Chariot.
In spiritual matters: Light in the Darkness. The burden you carry may be the Holy Grail.
In matters of the heart: Faithfulness. Hope. Obedience. A protective relationship.
In intellectual matters: Firm, even violent adherence to dogma or tradition.
In material matters: Victory. Triumph. Chain of command.
Lon Milo Duquette
I have to admit, a lot of these definitions ( they’re all part of my Tarot repertoire ) have all been really accurate when I’ve used them, but I could never really understand why.
Thinking about the Chariot as the personification of the Church makes a lot of sense to me on a practical divinatory level. I don’t know how valid the history of it is, and I don’t really mind if it turns out to be nonsense; but for me, the Chariot as the Church makes sense.
It makes sense because the Chariot in readings often indicates control, yet protection; violence, yet faithfulness. It’s this weird contradiction that makes it such a fascinating card. It shows up when people have faith but lack belief; when they have prayers but no answers. It rejects those in charge ( the Pope ) but respects authority ( the Church ).
It’s religion without the Pope.
Conclusion
The Chariot used to be a card that I took for granted. I thought the symbolism was self-evident. Nowadays I find it to be a really enigmatic card.
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