Thoth Chariot Tarot Card Tutorial

This article consists of a detailed YouTube and written presentation of the Thoth Chariot Tarot Card of the Major Arcana of the Thoth Tarot, as part of a complete series on this deck. Clicking on the image below will access the YouTube Presentation:

 

(ii) Thoth Chariot Tarot Card

A  charioteer in armor sits in a meditation posture in his chariot drawn by the four kerubic beasts: The Bull, the Lion, the Eagle, and the Man. The starry night sky is cast in the canopy of the chariot and includes the inscription ABRACADABRA. He holds the Holy Grail in front of him. 

 

The Chariot represents the Wheel of Life just as the soul is bound by the wheel of karma.

The Charioteer is the Spiritual Warrior just as soul identifies with stillness of spirit in meditation.

The Disk represents Holy Grail containing elixir of life which Christ used in last supper. This is symbolic for discovering mans infinite nature which is beyond both birth and death.

 

(iii) B.O.T.A Chariot Tarot Card

The Charioteer stands up in his Chariot wearing armour with crescent moons. The 2 sphinxes guide the Chariot although there appear to be no reins to the Charioteer.

(iv) Thoth Chariot Tarot Card & the Tree of Life

 

Path 18: The House of Influence

Binah is the great sea in which the beginnings of the world of ‘form and structure’ take birth. It is the highest sephiroth on the Right Pillar of the Tree of Life Tree of Life and is therefore the most exalted in this column.

Geburah is ruled by Mars and is both the source of movement of the Charioteer, and therefore the spiritual impulse, but also the destructive properties of this Sephiroth make it the ideal energy for the spiritual seeker (Charioteer) to break down his limits of perception and his attachments. He has therefore, a clearer perspective on his life, as his consciousness expands with ever greater awareness.

The Chariot is associated with the 18th Path of the Tree of Life and this is termed ‘The Intelligence of the House of Influence’. The illustrations below show the interconnectedness between the planets, sephira and the Chariot with the Priestess: 

 

The connection between the Chariot and the (High) Priestess is iillustrated below:

 

 

The house represents the enclosed space or ‘human form’ of the spiritual seeker. It is the container of the soul.

The intelligence is that which comes down from higher levels of the Tree of Life (The Supernal Triangle, The Heavenly Jerusalem), filling consciousness of the Charioteer with the revelations from these higher realms. This is illustrated in the B.O.T.A. Card below:

 

 

(v) Thoth Chariot Hebrew & Astrological Attribution

Cancer = Cancer is a cardinal water sign,the first onrush of the element. People born under this sign can be very sensitive to their surroundings and so benefit from having a ‘suit of armour’ to protect them from the harshness of life. The Soul Lesson for Cancer is ‘Peace in Action’ (Joan Hodgson, Astrology the Sacred Science) and this refers to the peace attained in worldy actions (the Chariot being about movement) and actions in our spiritual endevours, rising above the strong waves of feelings that the Cancerian has as a personality trait.

 

Hebrew Cheth = ‘means’ fence or field. It links in with the qualities associated with the Cancer zodiac sign described below. On the evolutionary path, Cheth represents the enclosure which is the container for the spiritual essence or the soul within the body, just as the Charioteer has a suit of armour sheathing his body.

Applying this definition we can say that Cheth pertains to destroying any fences (barriers) that lie in the way of your progress in life spiritually or materially. We become liberated into a new perspective of who we are as we shed false precepts of ourselves.

A fence is also an enclosure, just as our personality is an outer garment for the soul. When these fences ‘identities’ are dissolved and our consciousness expands we find that with have an inceased field of view on life.

This is what is meant Biblically when Noah’s Ark rests on top of Mount Ararat. The spiritual vision is vast when we raise out of the seas of our emotions and personal attachments (Cancer), to raise above them, and yet also we still have a physical vehicle with its polarities and dualities (animals went in pairs, one male, one female) after this process of detachment. There is an image of Mount Ararat below and the perspective looking down from the top would be much greater than standing in a level field.

 

Thoth Chariot Symbolism

Charioteer = has no reins and so does not drive the chariot, his main function is to carry the Holy Grail.

Crab on Helmet = Cancer sign of the zodiac.

Armor = similar to protective shell of the crab described above.

10 Sapphires on Armor = 10 sephira of the Tree of Life and attributed to the world of Assiah, the most material of realms. His journey is to move through the worlds to eventually reach the divine realm of Kether in Atziluth.

Sapphires on armour = linked to Binah which gives birth to form. There is therefore a link here between Binah (birth of form) and its manifestation in Malkuth. This implies the meaning of the card relates to practical planning of things for its manifestation in our life.

Visor covers face = Crowley says that “no man may look upon his face and live”. Spiritually this means that once we see his true identity we will die to our current perspective of the world, which will subsequently be changed forever.

Meditative posture = concentrates his will internally not externally.

Sits on Moon (not visible in card) = Rides above the tides of the emotions.

Red Chariot Wheels = Geburah ruled by Mars. The driving force to proceed on his spiritual journey.

Red Cloak =  Symbolic of his passion to find his true self, and also the destructive force of this Sephiroth to break down limitations and increase his awareness of self.

White cloak = purity of purpose on his path.

4 pillars = four parts of the Tetragrammaton. Representing macrocosm and microcosm. Linking the spiritual to the physical. The charioteer connects the two by crossing the abyss.He has to lose his ego when making his way from Geburah (5th Sephiroth) to Binah (3rd Sephiroth).

4 sphinxes = They represent the Fixed signs of each element:

Lion = Leo = Fixed Fire

Eagle = Scorpio = Fixed Water

Man = Aquarius =  Fixed Air

Bull = Taurus  = Fixed Earth.

They are discussed in the Bible in Ezekiels Vision:

 

Cardinal Signs being the first of each element to manifest implies that the charioteer has control over the direction of his world and therefore the direction in which he moves is a useful one.

Holy Grail = held in the hands of the charioteer and made of Amethyst, the stone attributed to Jupiter. The violet rim and blue outer area are also associated with Jupiter in the colour scales of the Golden Dawn. The Holy Grail was used by Christ at the last supper and contains the elixir of life. Crowley identifies it with sexual alchemy and containing both male and female fluids.

 

The Grail has 4 spirals for handles and this represents the fourth sephira Chesed ruled by Jupiter. This is the last sephira that one passes through before crossing the abyss going up the tree from earth to spirit on the spiritual journey:

21 yellow bricks of path (seven are hidden) = 21 is Eheieh, a Godname for Kether the ultimate goal for the spiritual aspirant and so the chariot travel the path from Tiphareth to Kether.

 

Abrahadabra

Written on top of the blue canopy of the Chariot:

 

The Old Aeon was associated with Christ and the dying figurehead and is called The Aeon of Osiris with the  letters INRI (“Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum,” meaning “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”). The idea is that the human psyche evolves through a cycle of birth, death and resurrection:

ABRACADABRA = is written on top of the canopy which disguises the real name which is ABRAHADABRA.

ABRAHADABRA = is the word of the new Aeon of Horus (see Three Aeons Article).

 The Hebrew association with the Chariot, as we have seen above is Cheth  and its numerical value is 418, the same as Abrahadabra.

So Cheth = Abrahadabra = 418 in Hebrew numerology.

In looking further into the significance of Abdrahadabra, it can be broken down into 5 vowels (the a’s) and 6 consonants ([2 x b], [2 x r] ,h and d ) and so represents the union of man (hexagram the six, God, pentagram the five, man). The interrelationship represents the interplay between man and God as the spiritual seeker progresses on the Spiritual Path in the Chariot. 

These letters relate to certain cards of the Major Arcana:

5° = 6°:  (5 vowels, 6 consonants) represent attainment of Minor Adepthood in the Golden Dawn. The ranks are listed below:

 

The Hexagram and Pentagram combine to form the 11-ponited star. Eleven is the number of magic and also the number of letters in both

ABRACADABRA and ABRAHADABRA:

Man is seen as the pentagram and God the Hexagram:

If we break the word ABRAHADABRA down it is related to other tarot cards and starts with nothingness in the fool which repeats throughout the word.

It then proceeds onto Br the masculine principle, HA and D  the feminine principle and then returns to the masculine with BR and ends with A and the Fool.

The Fool permeates throughout and implies that ‘Nothingness or ‘Limitlessness’ of spirit is lies behind all of creation which is, in itself an illusion.

 

This principle of duality is related to the Tetragrammation:

 

 

 

As discussed in the section above, the tetragrammaton and its 4 stages were linked to the 4 pillars of the chariot and the 4 sphinxes indicating that the vehicle of the charioteer is life itself, with the cycles birth, death and reincarnation, until the spiritual seeker evolves spiritually enough to go beyond this cycle of limitation.

The Lovers to Chariot Transition

Going back to Crowley’s quote regarding looking at the charioteers face and dying, this card implies the seeker will have to overcome difficult challenges internally and externally on his journey and that these need to be resolved not suppressed. Once these are worked through life will never be the same again for them and they will be able to die to their old self as their gain higher awareness of their true spiritual nature. Resolving the conflicts and opposites inherent in the Lovers Card.

Thoth Chariot Divinatory Meanings

May represent retracting yourself into a shell, to come out for no one until conflict is resolved internally. Sometimes you need to crawl into a hole and cry and not come back out into the public until the tears have been wiped away.
A common description of this card is an armored vehicle moving with haste in one particular direction. Blind to the left and right, it moves forward stopping for nothing. 

When this card appears I interpret it as a symbol for victory, likely achieved by progressing at an unwavering speed. Dominion over wild forces (represented by the sphinxes or horses) propels the chariot forward allowing this progress to happen. If the beasts are rebellious or do not fall in line there will be conflict and disorientation.

 

Thoth Chariot Upright

 

 

This card  represents a faith in going with the flow of the universe as the Charioteer does not control sphinxes which move the Chariot. The card is related to the watery sign of Cancer and so just as a river flows and is diverted around obstacles, you must not expect your path ahead to be without its challenges. Even the crab itself moves from side to side and yet succeeds in its desired direction.

However, this is not just a passive process and we need to show up with a inner strength and determination (meditative posture of Charioteer) to make the most of our opportunities. 

It not just about acting for the sake of it but in accordance to a chosen goal. In the process we might feel out of our comfort zone and familiar surroundings (in the Rider-Waite Card the Charioteer moves away from the stability of the city behind him), however we are protected by the armour of our inner strength and confidence.

 

 

 

 

Thoth Chariot Reversed

 

When the Chariot is reversed it could mean that you may need to slow down and make sure that your actions are based on solid foundations and that you are not getting too far out of your confort zone too fast. 

There may be a tendency to exert too much control over situations (trying to force the direction of the sphinxes) which may be hampering the natural flow of an opportunity and so you may need to ease back and loosen the reins so to speak. Perhaps we are applying too much control or pressure on someone rather than letting them express themselves naturally.

You really need to connect with what you think and feel about a situation before acting and have some alignment with the forces that pull you in certain directions (sphinxes, emotional and mental impulses).

 

 

 

Thoth Chariot in the Celtic Cross Spread

 

1: Heart of the Situation = a certain amount of willpower and inner drive is necessary for you to move your life where you want it to be. This has now come to the surface that you must act and courageously.

2: Possible obstacle = Inability to act and focus on your goal through fear or lack of confidence

3: Unconscious Influences = that sometimes we lack the resolve and decisiveness to overcome our fears/obstacles. Lack of self-confidence.

4: Recent Past = overcoming adversities/obstacles and you are now in a better place.

5: Hopes and goals = to overcome negative patterns and conflicts to move ourselves into a better place. Have a better relationship with ourselves.

6: Short Term Future =need to become focused on your inner drive and resolve

7: Our Self Image = unresolved conflicts , can be controlled/dominated too easily.

8: Environment = controlling feeling trapped or dominated

9: Guidance & Warning = need to change our environment and become more protective of ourselves in the process of moving our life forward. Do not always let our vulnerabilities show.

10: Overall Outcome = overcoming our fears and moving on to living the life we really want to.

 

Links.

Paul Hughes Barlow

Marveena Meek

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