The Tarot of Eli 2: The Ocean Tarot- Key 7-The Chariot & The Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot- Key 7-The Chariot

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The Tarot of Eli 2: The Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot — Key 7: The Chariot

The Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot Key 7, The Chariot, closely follows the esoteric design described by Éliphas Lévi in The Ritual of Transcendental Magic. Lévi describes a cubic chariot with four pillars, a starry azure canopy, and a victorious figure crowned with radiant pentagrams. Upon the Charioteer’s shoulders are the Urim and Thummim, the sacred emblems of divine revelation, judgment, and priestly discernment. Before the Chariot is the winged globe and lingam, symbols of solar force, creative power, and Spirit in motion.

In Western Hermetic Qabalah, the Chariot is not merely a vehicle of earthly conquest. It is the Merkabah, the mystical “Throne-Chariot” of the Divine. It represents the soul’s protected vehicle as it moves between planes, states of consciousness, and dimensions of inner experience. This is why the Charioteer appears enclosed within a cubic structure: the awakened psyche must be protected from the chaotic illusions of the subconscious and the unstable forces of the astral plane.

The Chariot is attributed to Cancer, the sign of the protective shell, the sacred vessel, and the deep waters of the subconscious. Here, the soul learns to move through the emotional and psychic tides without being ruled by them. The Charioteer is the disciplined Self who has learned to command the opposing forces of instinct, emotion, memory, and will.

The Urim and Thummim: Lights and Perfections

The Urim and Thummim were sacred instruments of divination associated with the High Priest of Israel. Their Hebrew meanings are often rendered as:

Urim — Lights or Flames
Thummim — Perfections or Integrities

Together, they signify illumined judgment and perfected discernment. In the Hebrew Bible, they were placed in the breastplate of judgment and used to receive divine answers on matters of importance.

In the Chariot card, Lévi and Waite transform these priestly tools into Hermetic symbols. They appear as lunar emblems upon the shoulders of the Charioteer, linking him to the balancing forces of the Tree of Life:

Chesed / Gedulah — mercy, expansion, grace, and divine generosity
Geburah — severity, discipline, judgment, and limitation

These two Sephiroth flank Tiphareth, the Solar center of Beauty, harmony, and the Higher Self. Therefore, the Charioteer must act from the center, balancing mercy and severity, intuition and judgment, expansion and restraint.

This is the true mystery of the Chariot: victory is not achieved by force alone, but by the balanced command of opposing powers.

The Black and White Sphinxes

The black and white sphinxes represent dual currents within the human soul. They pull in different directions, yet look toward the same destination. This shows the tension between the conscious and subconscious aspects of the psyche.

The dark sphinx may be read as the hidden, instinctual, and subconscious nature — the Nephesh, or animal soul. It contains memory, desire, fear, habit, and the shadow material stored below waking awareness.

The light sphinx may be seen as the awakened mental and self-conscious aspect — the Ruach, or reasoning soul. It gives language, decision, direction, and interpretation.

The Charioteer does not destroy either sphinx. He governs them. This is an essential Hermetic lesson: the Adept does not reject the body, emotion, shadow, or instinct. Rather, these forces are brought under the authority of the Higher Will.

Geburah, the Pentagram, and the Motive Force

The number 5 belongs to Geburah, the Sephira of strength, severity, courage, and disciplined force. The pentagram, or five-pointed star, symbolizes the four elements crowned by Spirit. Thus, the pentagram is the image of Spirit governing matter.

On the Rider-Waite-Smith Chariot, the red emblem of the lingam and yoni suggests creative and generative force. In Hermetic terms, this is the power of desire, sexuality, vitality, and will. Yet this force must be directed. Unruled desire becomes obsession. Ruled desire becomes magical momentum.

Therefore, Geburah supplies the motive power of the Chariot. It is the fiery discipline that prevents the soul from being dragged into illusion, indulgence, or astral confusion.

The Crown and the Will of Kether

The Charioteer is crowned because he is moved by a higher authority. He is not merely driven by personality, ego, or ambition. In Western Hermetic Qabalah, the Crown points toward Kether, the first Sephira, the Divine “I Will Be.”

The Charioteer answers to the Crown alone. This means that the true vehicle of the soul is guided by Higher Will, not lower appetite. The sphinxes do not require physical reins because the Chariot is not moved by ordinary animal force. It is moved by spiritual command.

This is why the Charioteer appears proud yet tranquil. True will is not frantic. It is calm, centered, and certain.

The Chariot and the Holy Guardian Angel

In Western Hermetic and Thelemic interpretation, the Charioteer may be associated with the guidance of the Holy Guardian Angel. This Angel is not simply an external messenger. In the deeper Hermetic sense, it is the radiant Solar Intelligence of the True Self.

The Holy Guardian Angel is the voice of the soul’s authentic direction. It is the higher genius that guides the personality toward the Great Work. It is “other” only because it stands beyond the ordinary ego; yet it is also the most real and eternal aspect of oneself.

The Chariot, then, becomes the perfected vehicle of the soul. The personality, emotions, instincts, and intellect are organized into a sacred structure capable of receiving and carrying the light of the Higher Self.

In this sense, the Charioteer is not yet fully the Angel, but he is becoming capable of union with that Angel. His armor protects the Ruach as it receives higher solar force. His vehicle is the disciplined psyche. His destination is Tiphareth, the Solar center of harmony, beauty, and awakened consciousness.

In Western Hermetic Qabalah, the comparison of HGA and Yekidah is useful because both refer to a level of consciousness beyond the ordinary personality. The Holy Guardian Angel is often experienced as the radiant guide, genius, or Solar Intelligence that reveals the True Will. The Yekidah is the highest and most unified aspect of the soul: the “Only One,” the indivisible spark of Divine Identity closest to Kether.

A clean way to understand it is this:

The Yekidah is the highest divine essence of the soul.
The Holy Guardian Angel is the conscious relationship, voice, or radiant mediator through which that essence is known.

In the language of the Tree of Life, the HGA is often associated with Tiphareth, the Solar center, because that is where the human self first becomes consciously aware of its higher divine nature. The Yekidah, however, belongs more properly to Kether, the Crown, the pure “I” before division. So the HGA may be seen as the Solar reflection of the Yekidah into Tiphareth.

This gives a powerful Chariot interpretation:

The Charioteer is the disciplined Ruach, the conscious mind and moral will.
The Chariot is the protected Merkabah, the vehicle of the soul.
The Holy Guardian Angel is the guiding Solar Intelligence.
The Yekidah is the ultimate Crown-source from which that guidance descends.

So, in a blog-friendly Hermetic sentence:

The Holy Guardian Angel may be understood as the Solar voice of the Yekidah—the Crown-born Divine Self reflected into Tiphareth, guiding the Ruach toward the fulfillment of True Will.

The distinction matters. If we say the HGA simply “is” the Yekidah, we may flatten the levels of the soul. But if we say the HGA is the experienced presence or Tipharethic revelation of the Yekidah, the comparison becomes very precise and deeply Qabalistic.

The Winged Globe and the Solar Monad

The winged globe on the Chariot is an ancient symbol of Spirit in motion. In Egyptian symbolism, the winged solar disk represents divine intelligence moving through time and space. In Hermetic Qabalah, it may be understood as the Solar Logos, or the light of Kether descending toward manifestation through Tiphareth.

This symbol also resonates with the Vedic idea of Hiranyagarbha, the “Golden Womb” or “Golden Embryo” of creation. Hiranyagarbha is the cosmic seed from which the universe emerges. It is the golden germ of consciousness floating in the causal waters before full manifestation.

Thus, the winged globe on the Chariot suggests that the Charioteer is not simply traveling across the earth. He is carrying the seed of the cosmic Self. The journey of the Chariot is the journey from divine potential into conscious embodiment.

The Chariot does not merely move from one place to another. It moves from unconscious possibility into awakened direction.

Parapsychological and Metaphysical Meaning

Parapsychologically, the Chariot represents controlled movement through the subtle fields of consciousness. It is the disciplined psychic vehicle required for safe passage through dream, trance, astral perception, and the Universal Collective Unconscious.

Without the Chariot’s protective structure, the psyche can be overwhelmed by symbols, memories, projections, ancestral patterns, and emotional residues. With the Chariot, the magician or seeker has a stable inner vehicle: a consecrated field of will, protection, and focus.

Metaphysically, the card teaches that consciousness must become sovereign. The soul must learn to distinguish between true guidance and personal fantasy, between divine revelation and emotional reaction, between Higher Will and egoic compulsion.

Cosmologically, the Chariot is the movement of the Monad through manifestation. It is the Solar Self entering the worlds of form while remaining connected to its divine origin. The winged globe, the starry canopy, the cubic vehicle, and the crowned rider all proclaim one mystery: Spirit moves through matter without being imprisoned by it.

Hermetic Conclusion

The Rider-Waite-Smith Chariot is a card of victorious self-mastery. It shows the soul protected by the Merkabah, guided by the Crown, balanced between Chesed and Geburah, and moved by the radiant intelligence of the Higher Self.

Its message is not merely “control your life.” Its deeper message is: become the sacred vehicle of your own Divine Will.

The Charioteer teaches that true victory comes when the subconscious and conscious mind, the shadow and the light, the body and the soul, are brought into one disciplined direction. Then the individual no longer wanders through illusion, but travels as a sovereign soul under the guidance of the Inner Sun.

The Tarot of Eli 2: The Ocean Tarot — Key 7: The Chariot

The Ocean Tarot Key 7—The Chariot preserves the traditional meaning of victory through willpower, yet translates it into the imagery of the sea and the Atlantean deep. Here, a strong and noble merman stands within a golden coral chariot, gripping the reins as two powerful sea horses surge forward through the ocean current. The entire image radiates motion, purpose, and disciplined force. This is not passive drifting through the waters of emotion, but a conscious and determined mastery of them.

In Western Hermetic Qabalah, The Chariot is the sacred vehicle of the soul, often understood as the Merkabah, the throne-chariot of spiritual movement and protection. It is attributed to Cancer, the sign of the vessel, shell, and protective enclosure. In the Ocean Tarot version, the sea itself becomes the symbol of the subconscious, psychic depth, and astral memory, while the merman stands as the awakened will moving through those waters without being consumed by them.

Metaphysically, this card represents the power of the Higher Self to direct the emotional body. The ocean symbolizes the great field of feeling, instinct, dream, and psychic impression. To move successfully through it requires not force alone, but focused will, inner alignment, and a stable center of identity. Thus, the Chariot teaches that triumph comes when the soul governs emotion, rather than emotion governing the soul.

Parapsychologically, the Chariot suggests the disciplined movement of consciousness through subtle realms. The deep ocean current may be seen as the collective unconscious, full of memory, archetype, desire, and unseen influence. The Charioteer’s task is to remain clear, self-directed, and unwavering while moving through these psychic tides. In this sense, the card speaks of emotional control, psychic protection, and the ability to navigate inner conflict with composure and resolve.

Cosmologically, the image shows consciousness in motion through the waters of creation. Water is the primal field of manifestation, the great matrix through which forms emerge. The charging sea horses symbolize directed energy moving through that matrix. The Chariot therefore becomes the image of the soul pressing forward through the cosmic waters, carrying intention into manifestation.

Upright, this card calls for determination, confidence, and mastery. Success comes through focus, discipline, and the refusal to be distracted by emotional turbulence.

  Reversed, it indicates scattered will, lack of direction, or inner conflict. One must pause, recollect the center, and regain command of the inner vehicle before moving ahead.

Comparison with the Rider-Waite-Smith Chariot

Compared to the Rider-Waite-Smith Chariot, the Ocean Tarot Chariot is more fluid, emotional, and instinctual in its imagery. The RWS card emphasizes Hermetic symbolism, priestly authority, and the balancing of polarities through the black and white sphinxes.

The Ocean Tarot expresses the same spiritual principle through the language of the sea, where the struggle is not between visible opposites, but within the tides of the emotional and psychic self. Both cards teach victory through will and self-mastery, but the RWS Chariot presents the soul as a crowned Adept directing opposing forces, while the Ocean Tarot presents the soul as a sovereign voyager charging through the deep unconscious with courage and control.

Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.

-Leonardo Da Vinci

Go to magickeli.com for l🜍 Ritual of the Solar Chariot to Attune with the HGA

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When the Chariot card is thrown during a reading, the querent is reminded:

• To devote themselves to the combination of activity and quietude so that they may have the drive to attain goals.
• It is a time of clearing out the past, moving beyond and beginning with new energy while taking responsibility for one's present condition.
• There is a need for victory here, by combining the images or content of the unconscious with the consciousness for the purpose of achievement.
• The Chariot also signifies that the querent has begun controlling a situation by the force of their personality.... a focus of Will. 
• The goal will need fighting for, but you have been granted the energy to win it! 
• War.
• Triumph.
• Presumption. 

If reversed, it implies:

• Lust for destruction.
• Ruthlessness.
• Violence in maintaining traditional ideas.
• Riot. 
• Litigation. 
• Defeat. 

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