The symbolism of this card depicts the triumphal chariot at the head of a victory parade. One may easily imagine the figure within the chariot to be a Roman Emperor, the master of all he surveys, basking in the glory of his victory.

The armour of the charioteer suggests that he is the leader of a victorious army. Interpreting this in a reading one may suggest that the appearance of the Chariot indicates battles to be fought and the necessity of strength to overcome obstacles and strife. Such struggles are likely to have been going on for some time, and the presence of the Chariot can indicate that you have everything you need to win through. The Chariot indicates that you are the master of your own fortunes, and may be seen as a call to 'take up the reins' and take control of events that are occurring around you

As the imagery of the Chariot suggests the card is representative of vehicles of all kinds, and consequently of travel. If a journey is indicated it is likely to be related to business or to self-discovery rather than relaxation and pleasure. A common interpretation of the Chariot holds that it represents the vehicle of one's self expression. This may be an artistic talent or one of the roles which you play in the theatre of life, be it a material / practical role such as a job, or a social role (mother, joker, wise person or a thousand others).

The astrological correspondence of the Chariot card is Cancer the crab, the sign into which the sun moves when it reaches its zenith at the summer solstice. The longest day of the year, sometimes known as the 'Triumph of the Lord of Light' has an obvious parallel in the esoteric title of the Chariot, in which the card is described as the 'Lord of the Triumph of Light', thus reinforcing the relevance of this celestial event.

The solar connection is further reinforced when it is remembered that pagan sun gods, such as Ra, Helios and Apollo, are in most cultures depicted as riding a chariot across the sky.

There is a myth about the sun god and his chariot which is relevant here: The story tells of how Phaeton, the son of Helios the sun god, begged his father to allow him to drive the chariot of the sun. One day, after a lot of persuasion, Helios allowed his son to take the reins and drive the sun across the sky. Phaeton, however, found that he could not control the chariot properly and huge areas of the earth were burned by the sun as he swooped too low, while others were plunged into a freezing darkness as he pulled upwards. To save the world Zeus was forced to cast a thunderbolt at Phaeton, knocking him from the chariot and killing him.

This obviously serves as a morality tale, warning against arrogance, and this same warning is carried by the chariot card when it appears in a reading. One is reminded to be humble, and not to be smug or excessively proud.

A similar warning was historically whispered into the ear of the Roman Emperors as they stood in their chariot in victory parades, by a slave who would stand behind them saying: "look not so proud, for the gods are jealous". In the moments of their greatest personal glory the Emperors of Rome were at pains to remember that the victory they were celebrating was a victory of Rome, and of their office as Emperor, as much as a personal one.

And this leads us to another warning, similar but distinct, which is an important part of the Chariots meaning. I said earlier that the Chariot card is often taken to refer to the vehicle of a person’s self-expression, and hence the roles that we all play in life; and now I would add that it is also a warning not to identify ourselves too closely with these roles, nor to become overly attached to them. We are all far more, and yet also far less than any of the archetypes, and if you fly too close to the sun you are likely to get burned, as another solar myth has taught us. Going back to the connection with the summer solstice it should be remembered that this is not only the suns highest point, but also the point at which it goes from waxing to waning, a transition which many pagan cultures represented through myth as the death of the sun god, and in many cases reinacted through the sacrifice of a ceremonial king - the king is dead, long live the king. One should be wary of believing that one has all the talents or powers associated with the roles or offices we take up, because the individual is always less perfect and more expendable than the role itself (no mother, for example, can live up to the perfect archetype of the mother).

It is also worth mentioning that some schools of esoteric thought teach that the sole task of the charioteer is to carry the holy grail, and that his card reveals the occult power of the spiritual understanding (Binah) manifested in the material world (the path on the tree of life associated with this card crosses the abyss to connect Binah to Geburah, the sphere of strength). I would add that the card warns any practitioner of religious / magickal ritual against identifying themselves with the spiritual power invoked.