The Cancerian Drive: Exploring the Chariot Card

CANCER - The Crab - June 22-July 22 Hello Cancerian and welcome to the card that is the gateway to yourself, The Chariot! The Chariot card is usually illustrated with an image of an armored warrior in a beautiful chariot being drawn by two animals. Lunar images often appear on the armor. This is the visual hint that lets us know that the Chariot card belongs to the Cancerians. This combination makes a lot of sense when you take a deep dive into the card’s symbolism. Your empathy, intuition, and drive are interwoven into the images on the Chariot card. Cancerians are always tuned into the meanings behind meanings, so I imagine your subconscious is already hard at work, attempting to understand the significance of the Chariot card. The information below will outline your strengths, show you ways to mitigate your weaknesses, and continue down the path of personal development. A deeper understanding of yourself will give you the knowledge you need to make sounder decisions and take advantage of situations that suit your temperament.

Why this pairing makes sense

A Cancerian is constantly aware of their emotions and the emotions of others. Extremely sensitive and perceptive, you can read between the lines and understand what is being left unsaid. Your engagement with your own emotions makes you a sympathetic listener and your protective tendencies make you a staunch defender of your friends and loved ones. You are empathetic because your imagination makes it easy for you to put yourself in someone else’s position. The Chariot card is a picture of a Cancerian in action. The charioteer is using all their senses to understand the changing situation around them. This information is vital to keeping the Chariot on the road. He rides to battle in defense of his home and loved ones. He is armored and ready to protect himself. You are a radio that is tuned to all the channels, Cancerian. You never just accept the information provided to you. You delve deeper, taking advantage of all your senses to figure out what is really going on. There are times when you get overwhelmed by the messages you receive, and you need to retreat into your shell so that you can regain your perspective. At times, you find it difficult to trust people because you can see past their actions and into their motivations. When the Chariot moves, the Charioteer must use everything at his disposal to ensure it stays on the road. As the world races by, he must use his five senses and intuition to understand what is approaching. All input is considered, and the Charioteer must rely upon his experience to decide what information is important and what can be discarded. He harnesses the dual skills of absorption and interpretation to navigate. Due to your intuitive and perceptive nature, you need emotional armor to protect yourself. When you take in too much information, you get overwhelmed, so you have built defenses to prevent it from happening. If your intuition isn’t tuned to the right channel, you can easily take offense, jumping to the conclusion that you are being slighted when you aren’t. However, your deep empathy and loyalty causes you to defend your friends to the very end. The Charioteer wears his armor proudly. He knows that he must wear it to get the job done. His devotion to the cause occasionally puts him in harm’s way but he feels it is worth it to defend himself and those he loves. However, when the Charioteer is working at his best, he leaves openings in his armor to give those he trusts access to his true self.

The Chariot Card and Your Strengths

As a Cancerian, you are a sounding board that resonates with your environment and the moods of the people around you. Your awareness of the subtext of every situation helps you to delicately navigate, avoiding pitfalls and smoothing over ruffled feathers. You are the sympathetic listener that embodies the experiences of the person confiding in you. As your loved ones share with you, you mourn each injury and celebrate each achievement right along with them. Always ready to jump to the defense of yourself or others, your willingness to charge into battles on behalf of your loved ones demonstrates your loyalty and the importance you place on friendship. You are naturally cautious, and you take things seriously. Taking risks just for the sake of taking risks doesn’t appeal to you. However, your drive and ambition will cause you to act decisively and boldly if you feel the payoff is worth it. Your conservative nature extends to your finances. Most Cancerians always have some money tucked away for a rainy day. Your closest friends often benefit from your secret stash, as you are always willing to help them in a time of need. Just like the Chariot card you are a mix of behaviors: bold but cautious, sensitive yet defensive, loyal to your friends yet in need of personal space. The Chariot card is a picture of someone managing to monitor and manage all aspects of a situation while keeping his chariot moving forward. Your imagination serves you well, my dear Cancerian. There are times that you find yourself drifting into daydreams and taking flights of fancy. This ability allows you to put yourself in others’ shoes and imagine what their experiences are like. It supports your empathy. It also allows you to dream big and imagine your future. The Charioteer must have a destination in mind before the Chariot starts moving. Your hopes and dreams point the way to where you should go. Your vivid imagination allows you to anticipate potential obstacles and roadblocks so that you can formulate contingency plans.

The Chariot Card (Reversed) and Your Weaknesses

Your imagination and heightened perceptions can be your greatest assets. But if you allow them to run wild, or indulge in them too often, you can tell yourself stories that aren’t fully rooted in reality. An oversight could be interpreted as an intentional slight. The seed of that information could enter the fertile soil of your imagination and grow into the belief that it was a targeted message intended to tell you that you are no longer wanted. A half-heard conversation could tempt you into imagining the other half, baselessly manufacturing the topic and intent. The Cancerian tendency to withdraw and defend might alienate others or cause needless conflict. When you suffer an injury, your natural reaction is to remove yourself from the painful situation. Though you may fully intend to return to the issue after you process your pain, others may not be aware of your intent and assume you are abandoning the issue – or them. When the Chariot is reversed, it means that something has gone off track. Progress is being made in the wrong direction. Or your drive to achieve may have run wild, causing you to drive right over the needs and concerns of others. A careful analysis of the messages that are being received should take place. Your motivation may not be in the right place. A tendency to lay blame for what has happened might further complicate the situation. External confirmation of the information you sense can go a long way towards avoiding problems. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable enough to ask questions or seek confirmation will help you not assume the worst.

The Chariot Card and Problem Solving

For a Cancerian, problems may be completely circumvented due to a cautious approach and careful attention to all the information they absorb and integrate. Sometimes, a problem might even seem like a personal failure since you are convinced that you should have seen it coming. Once an issue is identified, you may need time to retreat and recover before you move on to solve the problem. However, once you are ready, you are determined to use all your skills to seek out the truth of the situation and find a resolution that is beneficial to you and your loved ones. Your natural attunement to your acquaintances and environment allows you to absorb a lot of information, both consciously and subconsciously. When you are confronted with a problem, the first source you are likely to turn to is yourself. You review your perceptions to orient yourself and figure out what to do next. For people who aren’t as strongly influenced by their intuition, you may seem to pull information or potential solutions out of thin air. Though it might be difficult, finding a way to talk through your reasoning will help them catch up. Your deep empathy for others means that you are often tempted to take on the problems of others. If someone close to you is suffering, you want to help shoulder the burden. It is important that you establish strong boundaries so that you don’t find yourself weighed down by the concerns of all the people around you. Though the Chariot card represents someone who can understand and coordinate a lot of different variables, it is an expression of an internal skill rather than an external one. When faced with a problem that involves others, you must learn to consciously share information and report on what you are sensing. Employ your empathy to understand that everyone will not approach a problem the same way you would.

The Chariot Card and Your Work Life

Your deep love of your own home can draw you to professions that are tied to home and family life. As a real estate agent, you could get deeply invested in finding families their perfect homes. Or your appreciation of art and beauty could be translated into interior design, allowing you to create spaces that are comfortable and comforting. A career as a chef or nutritionist could appeal to your nurturing side as you perfect recipes to nourish the body and soul. Whatever profession you find yourself in, the Chariot card can be a guide to a happy career. No matter what you are doing, you need to be in a role in which your powerful intuition can go to work. You need the challenge of a busy and active workspace to keep you on your toes. Allow your willpower to set the boundaries you need to feel comfortable in your workplace. Your ambitions can be achieved if you keep your eyes out for obstacles in the road.

The Chariot Card and Your Relationships

Though your tendency is to nurture and care for others, it isn’t exactly easy to get into a Cancerian’s inner circle. A crab has a shell for a reason, and it is to protect itself. Your shell is a defense against painful emotions and difficult relationships. It takes quite some time for someone to become a trusted friend, and even longer for a romantic relationship to fully blossom. Remember that the Charioteer’s hands are on the reigns, and he sets the pace. Don’t feel rushed in your relationships. If you are looking for compatible friends and lovers, search out people who value their home and family lives. A partner who is self-assured will be patient with your need to retreat into your shell at times. If you pair up with someone who is too clingy (as a friend or romantic partner) their panic when you retreat will be difficult for you to deal with. You run the risk of being drawn to people with deep emotional wounds, which isn’t necessarily a problem. But keep in mind that you can only do so much to help someone heal, then they must do the rest of the work themselves.

The Chariot Card’s Guidance

Take a ride on the Chariot by working with the imagery in the card to understand yourself more deeply. When you are relaxing comfortably at home, take some deep breaths. Then picture yourself on the Chariot’s platform. Feel the strong armor that encases you and the fresh wind on your face. Is the chariot moving or still? What kind of creatures pull it? Where are you going? What does the surrounding landscape look like? Exploring these questions and others will allow you to uncover the secrets of the Chariot card.