The Chariot and The Tower: “Risky Business”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the second essay in what may become a series where I take a structured look at “numerological counterparts” among the trump cards as “alike but different” expressions of a common theme. Here I’m tackling The Chariot (7) and its counterpart, The Tower (16=1+6=7).
In approaching this subject, I recognized that both cards represent a form of “motion:” The Chariot suggests rapid (and usually successful) “movement toward a goal” while The Tower implies dramatic escape from a blockage in the form of a liberating release that could just as well be destructive (the “breaking down of barriers to growth”) in its quest for freedom. The Tower relates to the astrological planet Mars, which can be abrupt and violent in its operation and is a perfect fit for the traditional meaning of the card as a “break from the past.” The Chariot, on the other hand, was associated with the zodiacal sign of Cancer by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a connection that — apart from its action-oriented Cardinal nature — doesn’t make much sense in light of the paradigm I’m exploring here and in other metaphysical ways.
Instead, I’m going to apply my “rethinking” of the astrological correspondences for the Major Arcana and propose swapping Cancer with the Jupiter attribution of the Wheel of Fortune. Thus, we will have “refined Fire” (Jupiter) giving way to “passionate Fire” (Mars) as book-ends to the pair of intermediary cards in this example reading. As the “Greater Benefic” in classical astrology, Jupiter has an affinity for the nature and objectives of The Chariot, the occult “back-story” for which Waite explained in part as “the tests . . . through which he has passed in triumph are to be understood physically or rationally . . .” (as opposed to spiritually or mystically).
I’m assuming that a client comes to me with a “risky proposition” in mind; it could range from intending to start a new business in a climate of economic chaos or a compulsion to literally “climb a mountain.” One would be considered an orderly evolution that has a roadmap and established milestones for gauging progress, while the other simply exclaims “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
The question put to the tarot is “What are my chances for success in this endeavor?” Once again, I’m using only the Major Arcana and I’m ignoring reversals.
After setting The Chariot and The Tower in place, I shuffled the Major Arcana and dealt two cards, one to reflect the querent’s present status and the other to describe his ultimate state of satisfaction regarding the question; then I calculated the “quintessence” card for the two I pulled as a synopsis of their interaction
The Hermit is related to the cautious, critical Earth sign of Virgo. Here it is a clear indication that my client is in the throes of doubt as he contemplates his future. However, with the reassignment of Jupiter to The Chariot, the passive/negative Hermit is the “odd man out” here and his “still, small voice” of conscience is likely to be drowned out by fiery bravado as the querent “drives on goal.”
Strength is equally adamant that he needs to “test his mettle” in a contest of prowess and stamina. There is an interesting veiled parallel here. Esoterically, Strength is mated with the Sun’s sign of Leo, and in the Minor Arcana the 6 of Wands (titled “Victory”) relates to the Chaldean decan of Jupiter in Leo and the 7 of Wands (titled “Valour” in the Thoth deck and meaning “extraordinary courage in the face of daunting odds”) is associated with the decan for Mars in Leo, for which the RWS card shows a combatant holding the high ground against a host of adversaries. With the Sun “lording it over” both Jupiter and Mars, it seems to me that solar Strength could withstand the heat of the martial Tower if it came down to a shoot-out
Judgement as the “quint” card shows that he feels “called” to rise to the occasion and is unlikely to back down regardless of any cautionary advice to the contrary. He feels he has to “break out” in some way so our consultation may be nothing more than a formality; maybe his wife talked him into doing it.
Taken together, these cards ably describe the “tests through which he will pass,” although his “triumph” is not a foregone conclusion. The Tower is lurking in the background, ready to pounce at the least sign of weakness or hesitation, delivering a “rude awakening” to Judgement’s more dispassionate one. In my personal “midpoint numerology,” Strength and The Hanged Man occupy the numerical “bridge” between The Chariot and The Tower, so the worst thing my client could do would be to lose heart or momentum and stall.
Strength offers encouragement that he will pass the test as long as he overcomes or accommodates the “due diligence” objections of The Hermit, but The Tower and Judgement reveal that he could very well be changed forever by the experience.
In the reading I would advise that he seems to be running on testosterone alone and needs to be very sure he has the horsepower to back it up. But I seriously doubt he could be dissuaded from his chosen course regardless of the very real risks presented by The Tower. I should also mention that, with the Wheel of Fortune (which in my redesign picks up the “yin-and-yang” implications of Cancer) sitting at the midpoint between The Hermit and Strength, any such initiative would definitely be a fateful “spin of the wheel.” It would be easy to say “You’re heading for a fall,” but Strength is well-grounded here with its favorable elemental alignment and its prudent backup from The Hermit, so I wouldn’t bet against his success.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on April 7, 2023.
