EXERCISE NLe: Chariot
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 22:26:31 +0200
From: Moonchild
To: Comparative Tarot http://comparativetarot.com
Chariot Exercise: Magical Mystery Tour by Nina Lee Braden
Copyright 2003. All rights reserved.
> Do not read ahead in this exercise. Work it as you read.
> Choose four key words or phrases to describe your personal concept of the Chariot card.
What are these words or phrases?1. travel and transportation
2. initiation and mastery (A baby bird knows when it can fly.)
3. moving ahead/forward progress
4. putting resources to work (spiritual, intellectual, emotional, material)> Go through your Tarot decks, and look at the Chariot in each deck. Find a choice of Chariot
which best exemplifies each key word or phrase.
<snip>
> When you are done, you will have four Chariot cards in front of you. What decks did you choose from?
Which Chariot goes with which key word or phrase?1. Gothic (Halloween as runner-up)
2. Wheel of Change
3. David's
4. Arthurian> Now, assign an element to each of the four directions. You may have a series of assignments
or correspondences that you normally use. One common association is east/air, south/fire,
west/water, and north/earth. Choose whatever correspondence works best for you.east--earth
south--fire
west--water
north--air> Imagine a map in front of you. If you wish, you may pull out a road map or atlas to put in front of you, a map
with your location pictured. If you were to travel to the east, which Chariot card would you choose to travel in/with?
Put that card in front of you to the east on your map (real map or imagined map). If you were to travel to the south,
which Chariot card would you choose to travel in/with? Do the same thing for the west and north.east--Gothic
south--David's
west--Arthurian
north--Wheel of Change> <snip>
> With your four cards in front of you, laid out in the directions on a map, sit quietly. Be still.
Quiet your mind. Picture yourself in your home.
> Pick up the card of the east and say, "By the power of (insert key word or phrase),
I now explore the lessons of (insert element here)."
<snip>
> Using the mystical tool of your choice, travel with your card to the east,
seeking to learn the lesson of the element that you have chosen.East--"By the power of travel and transportation, I now explore the lessons of earth."
The "Dracula" vibe of this deck, immediately made me think of things
*under* the earth. But putting myself into the card, the first thing I
noticed was that we were undoubtedly traveling on a dirt path. The
power of travel and transportation allows us to see first hand the color
and texture of the soil all over the earth. I can't explain; I can only
describe. It's seeing white sand and shell roads, brown pebbles of a
Spanish beach, orange Georgia clay, golden desert sands, dark rocky
European gardens. Without travel, all I'd know of earth would be the
dirt under my fingernails. (But from clawing *in,* or clawing *out*?)South--"By the power of moving ahead/forward progress, I now explore the lessons of fire."
This is a lesson of culture and temperament. In many places I've found
that people to the south are considered to be passionate, but lazy;
while people from the north are considered to be industrious, yet
emotionally reserved. Both types of people (whether northern or
southern) are driven, just in different senses. Perhaps the first type
has a sense for passion, while the second type has a passion for sense.
In my own life, when I'm driven by passion, I gain lateral motion. I
need more sensibility, so I can move forward.West--"By the power of putting resources to work (spiritual,
intellectual, emotional, material), I now explore the lessons of water."I chose the Arthurian Tarot to travel west because to my west is the
Atlantic ocean, and this card features a ship. "Prydwen" sails through
stormy waters through a narrow cliff-lined passage toward a sea monster.
There are seven people on board. Each has their task, their talent.
My family is also to the west, and there are many of us (and thus nearly
continuous drama). But when the seas get really stormy, it's all hands
on deck. Each contributes what they can to keep the boat afloat.Whatever resources we are lacking, we make up for by our associations.
For example, my husband is my "walking calculator" and I'm his "walking
encyclopedia." While the Charioteer my frequently be the lone driver,
managing the resources and organizing the work, he does not achieve
success alone. "No man is an island" and we need the support of others.
Examples of supporters in each realm include: clergy, teacher, family,
boss. For me, the focus of this card in this position is on family, and
the experiences I had during my vacation.North--"By the power of initiation and mastery, I now explore the lessons of air."
The Wheel of Change Chariot is such an unusual card. There's a
silhouette of a wild woman dancing over a galaxy. From her abdomen, a
wheel raditates spokes to seven planets, with five rays going off the
edge of the card. Below her is a medicine wheel of twelve stones, with
astrological symbols in different colors on each stone, and matching
colored lines going from the center of the wheel to each stone. So,
there are two main "centers" in this card--one on earth and one in space.Initiation and mastery can be opposite ends of the spectrum but
initiation, in a sense, ends at mastery; and mastery leads to
initiation. A common example is rites of passage, e.g. puberty,
marriage, childbirth, baptism. At puberty, one has "mastered" childhood
and is "initiated" into adulthood. Each human moves forward through the
stages of their lives, marked by the turning of the Wheel. But, like
the complex movements of our earth and space, these are the same
initiations and masteries of other humans, all across the earth and
through the movements of the planets--generations past and future.A baby bird knows when it can fly. (And it's always easier on the baby
than on the parent, I'm sure.)
One Love All Love,
Moonchild
This page is excerpted from my original contributions to the Comparative Tarot discussion group.
Graphics created and generously shared by Full Moon Graphics.
http://www.moonchild.ch/Tarot/personal/exercise/EXnl07.html
