Integrating the Chariot Year

mysteries of the heart path

What will it take to integrate the lessons of 2023, also known as The Chariot year? Beyond the meditation below, I will be leading two workshops on Integrating the Chariot and Turning Towards Strength. Join me in Santa Cruz on December 10th at Eothen Circle AND join me virtually on January 10th via zoom. Whether you attend one of my workshops or not, I hope that you create some space to meditate on what these archetypes have illuminated for you this year, and how they can support your unfolding in 2024. In my humble opinion, we can use all the magical support we can get!

---

The Chariot wobbles down a path straight into the heart of the matter. The road is undefined, invisible, in the future. The Chariot itself is pulled by mystical creatures, beasts of both spiritual and material knowledge, these creatures who hold answers to secrets. As the Charioteer you have no reins, no way to control your magical cart. You hold yourself with confidence out of necessity, in order to maintain balance on the bumpy ride ahead. Your posture is the key to achieving any sort of directional control. The greater aligned you feel within and throughout, the more in alignment you feel with the winding path of the Chariot itself. Wearing armor to protect you from any tumbles, you are acutely aware of the harm that could come should you lose sight of yourself or the path ahead. Adorning the canopy of the chariot are seven stars, a constant reminder of the alchemical work you are undertaking as you venture forth into the mystery. 

In 2023 I gave birth to my first child and surrendered my maidenhood. I became a mother and two months later my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. In 2023 I stretched my capacity to care for more people than I thought I could. In the midst of stepping fully into the role of caretaker I managed to also take care of myself (just managed.) 2023 has been the year of The Chariot, and it has taken me down many roads I could not have anticipated journeying down. 

Most basic readings of the Chariot offer us keywords like “success,” “career growth,” “expansion” and I think many of us clued into the energy were hoping for a dose of easy growth, counting on the comfort of expansion leading us to greater abundance and ease in our lives. Yet the esoteric truth underlying the seemingly linear and motivating archetype of the Chariot is rather mystifying. The Chariot is a vehicle, not a destination. The card is not titled, “The Charioteer.” Rather than inviting us to focus on the ego presence driving the vehicle, here the emphasis is placed on the method of movement itself. 

Let’s consider that The Chariot is a symbol for how we navigate our life path. The Chariot is the way we move through the world. It is our commute to work. It is our physical body that moves through and on and in the world. It is our cosmic bicycle. The Chariot is the numinous spirit which directs our every choice, movement, and chance encounter. 

The rather elementary readings of The Chariot (keywords offered above) seem to suggest something about the magical purpose of the vehicle; that perhaps The Chariot will lead us to greatness. If The Chariot represents our life path, then if we, the charioteer, are in alignment with our magical chariot, we are perhaps destined for success. By being in collaboration with, or in alignment with, The Chariot, we are moving in the “right” direction. Crucial to unlocking this potential is our ability to trust in the path ahead, as well as trust in our ability to navigate the unknown with grace. 

As we all know too well our life paths are not linear. We are so often caught off guard. The dark wood is full of demons. Our trip is often strange. Life is full of interruptions, surprises, loss, and surrender. The Chariot leads us off into realms unknown, testing our own resolve to stay aboard. Just like the Charioteer on many tarot decks, we only operate with the illusion of control. Many of the chariot drivers depicted on traditional decks are not holding any reins, implying that the charioteer isn’t really running the show. It all comes down to trust. Where does one source trust, but from the heart. 

The Chariot is ruled by the astrological sign of Cancer. Cancer is the crab, ruled by The Moon. The energy of Cancer is at once sensitive and guarded, nourishing and selective. The protective shell of the crab is mirrored in the armor worn by the Charioteer. The Chariot itself is carrying precious cargo. There is a quest being undertaken, one that is not for the faint of heart, but one that requires great vulnerability for success. 

When I became a mother I had no clue how soft and how vulnerable I would feel. So many layers of defenses, projections, and masks were shed in the process of giving birth and becoming someone else's primary protector in the world. New boundaries of both protection and support were required to feel safe and secure in those precious early days of welcoming a new life into the world. The Chariot’s armor is studded with faces of the Moon, reminding us that our boundaries may be built from our needs, and sourced from our emotional intelligence, rather than hardened out of trauma or pain. A mother’s armor is similarly cast out of love and awareness of the tenderness required to navigate such new stages of being, for both child and mother themself. This armor, just like the crab, is protecting the desires of an authentic heart - a heart in the process of becoming. The Chariot itself is powered by destiny, and our ability to merge our spiritual drives with the power of our will is the key to staying balanced on this ever changing path. 

So many of us have been navigating life-path altering adjustments during this Chariot year. Many of us still are uncertain about where the path is leading us, and whether or not we are heading on to a battlefield of sorts. What the Chariot has been attempting to mirror for us is the dance of balancing our personal will and an open heart, with the demands of the cosmic road of fate. Perhaps The Chariot is a conversation about free will and fate. It is an invitation to give over the reins to spirit (rather than to another oppressive force!) to see where you are led, what lessons you are called to learn, and what skills you are meant to acquire in order to find fulfillment. 

Each of us have experienced this feeling of being at the whims of life’s own powerful inertia. The Chariot is not suggesting that we relinquish control, rather it is inviting us to trust in the process of life’s potent inertia. Trust in the gestation period. Trust in the lessons of labor. Trust in the cycle of healing. And all the while, never forget to show up in your truest most authentic and vulnerable forms so that you can fully feel “in alignment” with your purpose. 

Sharing my Chariot Lessons Integration Spread with paid subscribers below. Thank you for your support!