The Card of the Year 2023
The Chariot
On first consideration The Chariot, with its onrushing surge of energy, power and focus may seem somewhat at odds with the state of the world, as we begin the year with war, strikes, economic crises everywhere and much else besides.
Yet the energy of The Chariot could be just the tonic we need on a global scale to help us get past such challenges and all that comes with them. In times such as these, when all about us can seem locked in despair and futility, we can find that, both collectively and individually – the one feeding the other – that there appear those souls that the world needs. We really need look no further than President Zelensky of the Ukraine for the perfect example.
When we divide those global situations down to an individual level, and as even a cursory glance at any news programme confirms that they insist on repeatedly showing us, there are so many in times of fear, worry, struggle and so on. When I do come across such programmes given they can be hard to avoid if you want to know what is happening in the world, I find myself moved and sending these folk an energetic input at least, but also wishing that there was at least a mandatory section of something positive and affirming in every one broadcast. They are there and it is perhaps in times like these that we need them more.
This can be where the energy of The Chariot can help us along. This card can be aligned to the Crown Chakra, one of the functions of this energy centre being the reception point of Universal energy entering the individual. We can help this process by simply sitting and attuning, for just a few minutes each day, to become conscious of it, open ourselves to the inception and digestion of this energy, visualising and allowing it to seep into the very fibre of our being, from where it can work its way through us to manifestation.
It can be helpful to imagine ourselves as ‘The Charioteer’ on the card. As we do so we can consider where we are headed, since it can be easy to get caught up in the rush forwards but lose sight of what we are heading towards. We might like to ask ourselves, what are our goals and targets for the year, what do we want to have put into place in our selves and lives by the end of the year? We can perhaps check our progress at the end of each month, breaking what might seem like a lofty or difficult task down into bite-size, manageable chunks.
One of the key phrases I associate with The Chariot card is ‘effortless effort’. By this I mean that sense of being in tune, in line with ourselves, inwardly and outwardly, where things just seem to fall into place and pace with us and on we go, breathing easy and achieving more than we thought possible. This is not something we can achieve by force, or blood, sweat and tears, but rather by a relaxed focus and awareness. Fueled by a solid grasp of what we are going to create or achieve, we can then relax and focus on the task in hand. This is more than a case of ‘going with the flow’. It is that but more than that, we must first create the flow, as suggested above.
In the Tarot deck I created with the artist Patrick Gamble, I chose the title of ‘Passion’ for this card, because it seems to exemplify the above quality I have been trying to describe. When we look about us, all can seem bleak and in the depth and dark of winter can feel like it too, but there can still be passion. I have been so very lucky in that I have been able to devote a good deal of my working life to my passion, the Tarot and all the activities you see on my website. I do think that if we can discover what our passion is in life and can find a way to make enough money to survive, or at least some of it, we have unleashed some of that ‘effortless effort’. Do not think though that this does not require active input from you – it is hard work most certainly but we are doing what we love so it really does not matter.
We may need to consider what it is we really love to spend our time doing. Imagine that money did not exist – what would you do with your life? The Chariot can help you this year and who knows what might happen by the end of it?
Copyright © Steve Hounsome 2023
