Sophie-David
In a chariot pulled by a pair of magnificent muscular horses, Arthur leads his troops into the Battle of Mount Badon. In this engagement Arthur defeated the Saxon invaders and established his credibility as the British High King. Arthur's forward charge, with the fiery energy of Swords symbolized in his flying red cape, is tempered by the intuitive feeling expressed in the gold lunar crescents which secure the fabric.
The charging chariot represents a dynamic vehicle of the libido drawing the protagonist into action, but this is a prepared and planned engagement, and the horses are suitably armoured for defense. As described in A Keeper of Words, the horses display the dualities at play in the battle, between the headstrong passion of the dynamic black horse and the more conservative reluctance of logic and reason in the white horse. Arthur's task is to balance the conflicting forces at work in his ego.
I have great difficulty with Anna-Marie's traditional association of The Chariot with the watery feminine Moon in nurturing Cancer - the fiery masculine Mars in assertive Aries seems a lot closer to the spirit of the card.
Just as Arthur is constrained in the battle by being a leader, the chariot is constrained to the narrow road. His knights and foot soldiers have more freedom in their roles, and can cross the fields or rocky ground at will. But the whole group is bound together by their allegiance to the authority of Arthur and to the sovereignty of their land, symbolized by the beautiful blue penant with its triple crowns flying ahead of the king's chariot. As in the card's expressed meaning, the card illustrates both the internal and external conflicts involved in asserting the will and successfully overcoming a difficult challenge.
The charging chariot represents a dynamic vehicle of the libido drawing the protagonist into action, but this is a prepared and planned engagement, and the horses are suitably armoured for defense. As described in A Keeper of Words, the horses display the dualities at play in the battle, between the headstrong passion of the dynamic black horse and the more conservative reluctance of logic and reason in the white horse. Arthur's task is to balance the conflicting forces at work in his ego.
I have great difficulty with Anna-Marie's traditional association of The Chariot with the watery feminine Moon in nurturing Cancer - the fiery masculine Mars in assertive Aries seems a lot closer to the spirit of the card.
Just as Arthur is constrained in the battle by being a leader, the chariot is constrained to the narrow road. His knights and foot soldiers have more freedom in their roles, and can cross the fields or rocky ground at will. But the whole group is bound together by their allegiance to the authority of Arthur and to the sovereignty of their land, symbolized by the beautiful blue penant with its triple crowns flying ahead of the king's chariot. As in the card's expressed meaning, the card illustrates both the internal and external conflicts involved in asserting the will and successfully overcoming a difficult challenge.