The Chariot

Keywords & Phrases:
Diligence. Willpower. Honesty. Perseverance. Control over feelings and thoughts. Being pulled in two directions. Learning to stick to the right path. Being successful. Determination to win at all costs. Wanting victory. High adventure and taking risks. Being in the driver's seat. Mental and physical journeys. Travel. Victory. Triumph. Conquest. Displaying oneself. Progress. Clear purpose. Single-mindedness. Ambition. Mastery. Energy to fight for a goal. Great effort. Achievement. The drive for success. Sense of purpose. Victory resulting from personal effort. Victory over the instincts. Successfully controlling some situation through the force of your personality. Confidence, optimism, and faith in your own abilities. Reaching your goal.

Summary:
The Chariot reveals that strong motivation and self-will are the key to progress. This card is all about confidence, healthy ego, and self-belief. Either you will have the self-assurance and spirit to get what you want, or you will meet someone who represents this archetypal phase in your life. You have now reached a point where you can stand up for your own beliefs and make decisions based on what you want rather than what other people assume is right for you.

This card exemplifies the hero's journey and represents ambition, determination, and youthful energy. Its charioteer harnesses his power and talents and forges ahead, driven by a burning desire to succeed. The charioteer succeeds through a combination of self-discipline, bravado, and sheer willpower. This is the "go for it" card and its purpose is to inspire you to test what you have learned and to prove your abilities. Unlike the Fool, the individual who drives the Chariot knows the reason for his journey. Through purposeful action, you achieve your goals.

To control his chariot and the opposing forces of the black and white sphinxes that pull it, the charioteer needs to have self-assurance, self-control, and self-discipline. But although he may take responsibility for his chosen path and have the tenacity to stay that course, he also has a tendency to run roughshod over whoever or whatever gets in his way.

The Chariot suggests a need to stay centered and take control of competing forces to carry on. You are capable of a calm sense of command, provided you steer a middle course between conflicting thoughts. feelings, and wishes. At the same time you may feel unable to speed up the outcome, so the best course of action is to go with the flow of the forces you have set in motion. You may find yourself struggling to assert yourself because you need to resolve a set of conflicting interests. You will be able to stay on course after making a firm resolution. Your strategy should be to move forward with determination and a clear sense of purpose. You will conquer your difficulties and emerge victorious.

The Chariot is a complex dance of control. What makes it go? And who, really, is in charge?

Even after achieving success, our mind must not be distracted from the goal for which we fought.

I am Eos, the Greek goddess of the dawn. Climb into my chariot. I take you away from darkness and I illuminate the path. A dark night ends, a bright day begins.

Questions:
What inner struggle needs resolution? Are there past issues that I need to consider and resolve before charging ahead? What mask are you presenting to the world? What emotional reactions are you hiding? What contradictions and tensions are you struggling to maintain control over? Where have you experienced a recent victory or success in your life? What progress are you making in testing your abilities in the world?

Seven of Cups

Keywords & Phrases:
Precious illusions. An altered state of consciousness. Deluged by fantasies. Caught up in illusions or the realm of the senses. Dreams. Reveries. Visions. The creative imagination. Indecision. Temptations. Tests of the soul and emotions. Indulgence. Wishful thinking. Too much choice. Self-indulgence. Feeling disorganized. Fantasizing about what you can achieve. High expectations. Lazy attitude to life. Putting off the inevitable. Believing you can get away with anything. Having your cake and eating it too. Illusions about love. An array of options open to you. Lack of focus. Daydreams. A sense of confusion. Head in the clouds. Poor concentration. Uncertainty. A difficult choice. Not thinking clearly. Too many options. Muddled thinking. Scattered energies. Unrealistic expectations. Disorganization. Romanticism. Emotions dominate rational thought. Inability to cope. Castles in the air. Yearnings.

Summary:
This card has three very distinct meanings. The first is that you have so many options that you can't organize yourself to make the right choice. The second is that you are living under some kind of illusion of what you can achieve. The third is that you are simply indulging in all kinds of excesses.

Imagination and fantasy combine to produce numerous opportunities. You may have myriad options, but you feel muddled and confused and have trouble distinguishing the good choices from the bad. You need to make a choice and should devote much care and consideration to making it. What you desire most may be just under your nose, waiting to be recognized. Until you pick one of your alternatives and begin working with it, all your dreams and ideas remain just castles in the air. Beneath your confusion and indecision lies an abundance of innovative energy waiting to be released.

The Seven of Cups depicts a person with many options, but who may be unable to make a choice due to confusion. Since this card is in the suit of Cups, which deals with emotions, this indecision is generally on an emotional level. Consequently, the advice of this card may be to follow your bliss - that is, to discover what it is you really love and then focus on doing that.

The Seven of Cups also has a very dreamlike quality, which may indicate living in a dream world, believing in illusions, suffering delusions, or indulging in escapism. Similarly, this card may warn of inaction due to daydreaming or wishful thinking. On the other hand, fantasy can be inspirational in the right context, such as a creative or artistic endeavor.

When you are confused, take a moment to clear your mind and ask, "What am I feeling in this circumstance?" Consider how valid your emotional responses are and how they may be affecting your judgment. Then, in a state of calm and centeredness, release these emotions and their control over you.

You may be feeling stuck or confused about making a decision. The options may seem too numerous or too evenly balanced, or each option may involve some sort of trade-off. You can't have everything and you're unsure of which way to go. Your heart urges you to go in one direction and your head says to go in another. You may not appreciate the ramifications of each choice before you. You need to focus and concentrate on a single goal to succeed. At this time, your wishful thinking is your worst enemy.

Success will depend on your weighing matters carefully to reach a thoughtful and focused decision. The Seven of Cups warns that your thinking may be too muddled to make the best choice. Your expectations may be unrealistic and your imagination may be working overtime. You would be wise to take your time and seek more information. On the other hand, this is an excellent time for creative projects of any kind. Sometimes this card can herald a significant dream or psychic intuition. If so, be sure to listen to your inner voice.

My eyes are closed. What I see and what I believe is only what I desire. Under the veil of illusion, I hide the utopia of a perfect equilibrium. I am Maya, the Hindu goddess of appearance.

When you dream, when you relax into your fantasies - do you see what you want, what you think you should see, what you think is true, what you fear for but don't think will happen, or all of the above?

Questions:
How are you overdoing or indulging yourself? What are your fantasies for the future? What are your current daydreams? How are you deluding yourself? How are you gratifying your senses? What mystical visions are you experiencing? How much work am I willing to put forth to make my dreams a reality? What opportunities have I lost because of daydreaming?