The Chariot represents doing a damn thing when you are in the middle of a depressive valley.

The Chariot tarot card is one of the Major Arcana cards with various meanings depending on the other cards in the reading.

Generally speaking, the Chariot tarot card symbolizes victory, progress, and forward momentum.

It can indicate that you are progressing well or on the right track with a project or goal.

In addition, this card suggests that you feel confident and optimistic about the future, and it is associated with the sign of Cancer. 

The Chariot card has a long and varied history.

It first appeared in Europe in the early 15th century and was often used to represent military victories.

Many of the earliest Chariot cards showed knights riding into battle.

Later versions of the Chariot card depicted more peaceful scenes, such as a charioteer driving his horses through a beautiful landscape.

The original image of the Chariot was the charioteer in a vehicle standing tall with a white and black sphinx in front of it.

That represents positivity and negativity's duality, and those are opposite forces.

While the sphinxes pull in different directions, the charioteer uses his determination and strength to keep the Chariot going in the desired order.

You will see a river flowing behind the charioteer, which means to be in the flow of life that is going on while you keep going after your goals.

The Chariot and Your Drive to Succeed

The Chariot is one of the tarot cards that are very much tied to mental health and mental illness, which I will get into in a bit.

However, right now, I will talk about how the Chariot card indicates that you will succeed if you stay the course and put in an effort.

It means you must be more assertive and aggressive to meet your goals.  

If you feel stuck or are not progressing, the Chariot tarot card can signify that you need to take more action and move forward.

So how can you do that if you are feeling very stuck? I will go over that in a bit as well.

Also, the card can represent travel and movement, or you will have a journey ahead.

This could be a physical journey, but it could also mean a journey of self-discovery or spiritual growth.

As with all tarot readings, it is essential to read the cards in context and consider the other cards in the spread.

Unless you are traveling for leisurely reasons or on a fun trip, the different types of traveling are far from fun.

That is because it forces you to be reflective and introspective, which is always one of the hardest things to do when dealing with trauma and mental illness.

I See the Chariot Tied to Mental Health

As mentioned earlier, the Chariot is a tarot card that relates well to mental health and illness.

You can even say that about chronic physical conditions, too.

But here is the thing: when you have any mental or chronic physical condition, you have the temptation to live in a Chariot in reverse mode.

But the thing is, you will be upset with yourself, and you have to keep the Chariot in mind as you go on with your day.

When you live with a moderate to severe mental or chronic physical illness, it is very challenging to get up, shower, eat breakfast, do your chores and run errands, work if you can, and take care of your kids and pets if you have any.

Those things are no big deal for someone fortunate enough not to deal with anything so extreme with their mental or physical health like that.

But for someone with a chronic illness, doing those things daily represents the Chariot because no matter how many obstacles you face, you do your best to keep going.

Here is the thing to remember about the Chariot. Cancer is associated with it, which means something is emotionally fueling you to keep going and moving forward. 

And when you are in the depressive valley, you may be apathetic.

If you have depression, you understand this well, and I also understand the severity of it can fluctuate. 

And I also understand I am considered "high functioning," which is not everyone's story with the condition, so I am telling this from my lens. 

Even if you are apathetic, you also know that you must find a way to move forward because bills won't pay themselves, the laundry will not get done by itself, and the house will not clean itself. 

Knowing that shit needs to be done is fueling the drive to do your best and also knowing that you won't be in the depressive episode forever and reminding yourself of that.

That is what I must remind myself of when I am in a valley. 

Fortunately, it has been a while since I have been in a severe depressive valley, but a year ago, I was in a terrible one. 

This was after I had unexpectedly lost a great client who turned into a great friend to RSV, and then my beloved dog of 14 years passed away. 

I had also lost some freelancing clients, as one ghosted me because I notified them that I had to start increasing my rates.

Another had no more use for my services due to going in a different direction (this is why I hate freelancing and am slowly getting out of it). 

There was other awful stuff that happened, but needless to say, it was the perfect storm to send me into a depressive spiral.

Therefore, I did not want to get out of bed when I was in the thick of it.

And that is everyone's story when they are struggling with depression. 

I had no desire to do anything, but at the same time, I also knew, as mentioned, that nothing that had to get done would be done if I only lay around wallowing in my depressive thoughts.

That was enough to do the bare minimum of what I needed to do. 

However, the quality of my output was crappy.

And I could not expect more of myself than I was able to do during that time.

Things that come easy to you when you are not struggling with depression or not in a valley are massively tricky when you are in one. 

For example, a 15-minute grocery shopping trip took me an hour.

Cooking was also impossible, so I bought readymade meals, even though they were not the healthiest option.

But when you are in a depressive valley, you don't care about that. 

Even though I was in a bad state, I knew in the back of my mind I would not stay in a depressive state like that forever. And I didn't, and I never do. 

I have been in depressive valleys since here and there, but they were not as severe and did not last as long as that one. 

Depression and any illness sucks, and that is why I see the Chariot as the card that represents you doing what you can to get through it and over a lousy episode because you have to have the drive to do so, and something significant has to fuel that drive. 

Now, let’s look and see what other cards the Chariot has esoteric ties. 

The Other Cards That Have Esoteric Ties to the Chariot

The Chariot is associated with Cancer, the seventh card in the Major Arcana. In the Major Arcana, the Chariot has esoteric ties to the High Priestess and the Tower.

The Moon is associated with the High Priestess, the ruler of Cancer, the sign associated with the Chariot. 

The High Priestess is about your subconscious mind, wisdom, and intuition.

Therefore, the one thing that guides you to go after something that you want, indicated by the Chariot, is trusting your intuition and using it to guide your decisions, leading to actions, as shown by the High Priestess. Where does the Tower come into this?

The Chariot is the seventh card, a highly mystical and spiritual number full of wisdom.

The Tower is the 16th card, which ends up being seven. You have the one, the initiator or creator, with the six, which is a harmonious number. 

When you mix those numbers, there is a disruption to the harmony.

Therefore, anytime that happens, you reflect during the aftermath to figure out what happened and learn something about it, which is where seven comes in. That is why the Tower is associated with 16. 

When you go after something, as indicated by the Chariot, the Tower represents the potential for sudden change and transformation that can happen to result from your decisions and actions, indicated by the Chariot.

Therefore, there may be upheavals and unexpected changes resulting from your actions. 

There is also an astrological relation between the Chariot and the Two of Cups (Venus in Cancer), Three of Cups (Mercury in Cancer), and Four of Cups (Moon in Cancer, where it is dignified).

The Chariot is about taking control and actions based on a decision with determination and willpower. 

The Two of Cups is about two people taking action to create something together, whether it is a new friendship, romantic partnership, or joint venture.

The Three of Cups is about celebrating while connecting with others, and the Four of Cups is a time of introspection and contemplation, where you reevaluate your situation to decide how to proceed going forward. 

The one thing that fuels your actions based on what those three Minor Arcana cards represent is emotions.

With the Two of Cups, you feel emotionally tied to creating something with someone else. 

The Three of Cups shows you want to connect with others on an emotional level to create some memories. 

The Four of Cups indicates due to boredom, apathy, and dissatisfaction with your situation, you are emotionally fueled to step back and reevaluate your situation so you know what actions to take to make a change to go forward. 

That is how the Chariot is indirectly related to those cards astrologically or numerologically when it comes to the Tower.