7. The Chariot
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Welcome to Soulchology’s worksheets, your starter-kit into an intuitive self-enquiry using tarot and astrology. I write these in my usual dry humour, which reflects the tone of my sessions too, because learning is intense enough without stripping it of humanity. A little wit makes the wisdom easier to digest!
Anyway, while full sessions include numerology, Lenormand, and therapeutic layers, these worksheets are your solo starter kit designed to get you going without frying your nervous system.
Grab your deck, take a breath and don’t overthink it. No altar required. You can read these on your lap, mid-commute, or in bed with questionable lighting. If you know current transits, great, add them in. If not, the cards still work because they’re generous like that.
And, if you shuffle really fast, they love to fling out like you’re live in an episode of Ghosts and Trevor is standing next to you.
Each sheet prompts you to connect the cards with your real life, that is, not your aspirational, one-day-when-I-journal-daily life. Pay attention to the artwork, colours, symbols, and emotional tone because tarot is layered, not linear. Study only what leaps out, don’t go looking for clues.
This isn’t about mystical perfection, it’s about noticing yourself. Your thoughts, your choices, your patterns. If you’re new to tarot and feeling twitchy about it, you might want to read my piece on Substack that gently dismantles the pressure.
My advice is to pull (or fling) your card at the end of the day, not first thing. That way, you’re reflecting and not pre-loading your brain with vague forecasts. It’s a faster way to build intuitive confidence and a more honest way to learn what the cards actually mean to you.
i. The Nutshell
Upright
The Chariot trains for a marathon while listening to motivational podcasts at 1.5x speed, drinks celery juice and espresso, and texts you “discipline is self-love” at 5am. This archetype is momentum with meaning, control with clarity, and the slightly intense but necessary reminder that your willpower is a vehicle and you’re the driver. No, you can’t control everything and yes, you still need to steer.
The Chariot is linked to Cancer; emotional tenacity wrapped in armour. It sits on the path where structure meets force, and reminds you that mildness and strength are not opposites. Their message is to ascertain the direction, get moving, and avoid confusing stillness with safety, because victory comes from moving in alignment with all your working parts toward your purpose.
Keywords: Willpower, direction, momentum, victory, control, determination.
Translation: You are not at the mercy of the road. You are the chariot. Drive like it.
Reversed
When The Chariot is reversed, it’s less “unstoppable force” and more “lost GPS signal.” Maybe you’re spinning your wheels in doughnuts, charging ahead with no real destination, or maybe you’ve handed the reins to someone else and then wondered why you feel like a passenger in your own life. This reversal signals a lack of direction, scattered focus, or a quiet rebellion against the discipline you know you need.
The Chariot in reverse can show up as burnout disguised as busyness, ambition without intention, or trying to force something that was never really yours to carry. Guidance? Pull over, regroup and realign to the goal for meaningful movement.
Keywords: Lack of direction, control issues, burnout, scattered energy, misalignment.
Translation: Just because you can charge ahead doesn’t mean you should. Find your coordinates before you hit the accelerator.
ii. Illus-traits
A quick glance at The Chariot’s symbolic traits in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck - what's hidden in plain sight?
Sphinxes – Oppositional forces. You steer with aligned, respectful presence.
Star Crown – Victory led by vision over brute force.
Square on Chest – Ethics as armour. Integrity is the true engine.
City Behind – Departure from safety. Momentum starts with risk.
No Reins – Control through will and mindset.
iii. Influences
Planetary: The Chariot is ruled by the Moon. The one that governs tides, moods, and that weird impulse to overhaul your entire life during a full moon. Under the Moon’s influence, The Chariot is about emotional navigation over external motion.Think inner compass or intuitive satnav. The Moon asks you to control your emotions by honouring them with discernment. Mars sits in the sidecar, contributing a bit of thrust, ambition, and "let’s do the thing" energy. But without the Moon’s depth, Mars just crashes into things. Together, they say: lead with the heart and execute with focus.
Natal House(s): The Chariot resonates most with the Fourth House which is your emotional foundation, your roots, your inner security system. This house is your psychic anchor, the part of you that asks: “Where do I come from, and how does that shape where I’m going?” It’s the home you carry inside, even when you're halfway across the world chasing a dream. There's also a strong pull toward the Tenth House because of the public-facing self, reputation, goals, ambition and legacy. The Chariot lives in the tension between these two: personal grounding vs. professional drive. When they’re aligned, you move forward with power. When they’re not? You get stuck, spinning those wheels and second-guessing every move.
Astrological Sign(s): The Chariot is ruled by Cancer, which surprises people until they realise that being easy-going and strategy are not opposites. Cancer fiercely protects what it loves. It moves sideways, watches carefully, and only charges when the direction matters. This is the sign of emotional intelligence, loyalty, and stamina. There’s a subtle genius to Cancer’s quiet control; it knows that direction without meaning is just movement. Capricorn joins the conversation from opposite the chart, offering structure, accountability, and the "build your empire" energy The Chariot needs to go the distance. Together, they ask: are you moving toward something real, or are you afraid to stand still?
Numerologically: Seven is the number of The Chariot, and it doesn’t mess around. It’s the seeker’s number being a bridge between the material and spiritual, the known and the hidden. Seven asks you to trust the process, even if the outcome isn’t crystal clear yet. It’s the internal reckoning before the external success. Seven is discipline and motion. It’s the archetype of the focused pilgrim; the one who knows the path reveals itself as you walk it. While Six (The Lovers) is about choice, Seven is about commitment to the path after the choice is made. And Five still echoes faintly in the background, muttering about tension and change, but Seven keeps going. Eyes forward. No turning back.
Element: Water symbolises being, remembering and feeling. The Chariot shows how Water flows with life while staying on track. It’s the unseen force, calm but unstoppable. Water reminds us that we follow our feelings, not push against them. What feeling or instinct is gently guiding your next step, if you're open to hearing it?
iv. A Day in the Life of The Chariot
Well That Escalated Quickly
You burn out by mid morning because you made a to-do list that could intimidate a military strategist, insist on “pushing through” despite the obvious signs from your body to slow down, and then get mad at your reflection for looking tired. All while claiming it’s just part of the grind.
Adjusting the Knobs
You spend three hours researching productivity hacks instead of doing the one thing that actually matters, or you set a bold intention in the morning and immediately second-guess it by lunch. You’re moving, technically, but where to? As clear as mud.
Unsubscribed from Self-Sabotage
You resist the urge to micromanage your entire life for five whole minutes and feel something suspiciously like peace. Or you get behind the wheel, put on a playlist that makes you feel unstoppable, and start to believe in where you’re going.
Writing the TED Talk
After you’ve burned all your adrenaline, you remember that discipline and self-trust are the real fuel. You move in the direction of something that matters because it aligns with who you are. You know the goal is values-led, has purpose, meaning, and you’re steering this land-ship from the inside out.
v. Working with these Energies
Moving with Intention and Leading from Within
The Chariot brings us back to balance, introspection and self reflection. This archetype asks whether your forward motion is grounded in clarity or just momentum for momentum’s sake. When The Chariot appears, especially reversed, it’s a cue to check whether you’re pursuing your own goals or peddling someone else’s expectations? Are you driving with focus, or trying not to fall behind? Movement is only meaningful if it’s going in the right direction.
Check your coordinates
– What goal are you chasing and does it still feel true?
– Are you moving forward or avoiding standing still?
– What would happen if you stopped long enough to reassess your direction?Align effort with purpose
– Where are you expending energy just to prove something?
– What part of your life feels disciplined but disconnected?
– Are your daily actions actually taking you where you want to go?Get clear on control
– What are you gripping too tightly out of fear it will fall apart?
– Where are you outsourcing your power to people, systems, or old stories?
– How would it feel to lead with yourself instead of reacting?Let Cancer and the Moon guide your course
– Are you listening to your instincts or overriding them with logic?
– Where do your emotions offer guidance not distraction?
– Are you safeguarding your peace or trying to control things?Move forward with conscious will
– What are you ready to commit to with clarity in tandem with ambition?
– Where do you need to slow down in order to move with real purpose?
– What would it mean to define victory on your own terms and then drive toward it?
vi. Building Skills
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Pain and values are a package deal. You can’t care deeply without sometimes hurting deeply. If you never felt disappointment, grief, fear, or anger, you’d also never feel love, hope, or meaning. The only way to never feel pain is to stop caring entirely. But is that a life you'd want?
Consider this: Ask yourself who or what would you need to walk away from to never be hurt again? Now ask: would that version of you still feel like you? Would the safety be worth the emptiness?
The Chariot is about integrating opposing forces. Your fear and your purpose. Your doubts and your drive. It reminds you that staying aligned to what matters can’t be outrun and requires riding with discomfort.
vii. Embodiment
Tarot isn’t just something you pull, it’s something that pulls you. Embodiment is what transforms The Chariot from a card into a course correction. Before defining success, feel it. Before charging ahead, locate where the engine actually lives: in your body, your instincts, your unspoken choices. The Chariot lives in every moment you choose, so consider these to embody The Chariot today:
Smell: If The Chariot had a scent, what would it be? The sharpness of leather and road dust? Cold morning air before a climb? The metallic trace of adrenaline just before taking the first step?
Body: Where do you hold momentum or resistance? Your solar plexus? The back of your neck? Your thighs, ready to launch but tense from waiting?
Soundtrack: What song feels like you gearing up, getting clear, or pushing past the point where you usually stop? What rhythm builds pressure and release in perfect tandem?
Action: What can you do today that channels your energy into something aligned, and what does it look like to choose discipline as a devotion to your path?
Nature cue: Step outside. What mirrors The Chariot in motion? The river cutting a path through stone? A hawk mid-flight, locked onto its course? The wind that changes direction but never loses force?
Notice what steadies you: The goal is sovereignty. Let The Chariot remind you that you don’t have to chase a direction. True momentum begins with the heart, and is the most powerful direction if it’s chosen.
viii. Your Impressions
Look at The Chariot card in your own deck if possible. Take a moment to observe without overthinking.
What catches your eye first - the armour, the vehicle, the expression, the reins (or lack of them)?
How does this card land in your body or mood: focused, restless, determined, tense?
If this card could whisper a question, what would it ask you to claim, or leave behind, in order to move forward?
ix. Intuitive Meaning
Use this space to explore what The Chariot means to you as a lived force. Let it reflect the parts of you that are stepping into self-direction, where movement becomes a mirror for intention:
When have you taken action that felt powered from within when it’s responsive, rooted and right?
Where are you pushing forward on the outside while feeling stuck or scattered internally?
What would it look like to pursue something with full commitment, without needing to prove, justify, or be perfect?
Applied insight with a three-card reading using The Chariot as your anchor:
What internal compass is trying to guide my next move?
Where am I leaking energy by forcing progress instead of aligning with purpose?
What strength or structure will help me move forward with clarity and conviction?
Pull or shuffle-fling cards. Watch for flickers of resistance or fire. Feel into the friction because that’s where the insight lives.
Write your own Keywords
Write three you words that echo your lived experience of The Chariot:
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x. Closing Reflection: Track Your Evolving Lens
Your relationship with each card will grow over time because it’s meant to shaped by your life. Consider the prompts below to revisit and reflect.
What I thought this card meant when I first pulled it: —————————————————
A recent experience that changed how I see it: —————————————————
How I feel about it now, in my body or life: —————————————————
What surprised me as this card kept showing up: —————————————————
One way this card is living in my life right now: —————————————————
If this card visited me today as a guide, what would it want me to remember? —————————————————
Revisit these after a week, a moon phase, or a meaningful moment. Let the card evolve as you do.
If you feel a quiet sense of recognition, curiosity and want to explore it, browse the sessions page for what feels right.