The first thing I notice about this Chariot card is how very blue it is, which makes me think that this perhaps has more to do with the subconscious and watery emotional world than with control over one's external situation.
The Charioteer stands straight, looking ahead, with a staff in his right hand and a bolt of lightning in his left, wearing a tunic of green and blue. He is framed by a red knotwork square curtain and in front of him are two horses that seem to be one horse with two front halves galloping off in opposite directions. The two horses are purple and blue and are covered in stars... night and day? dawn and dusk?
Below the horses there is a golden mist streaming from their legs suggesting fast movement and perhaps daylight - I am thinking this is a celestial charioteer - a Sun god traveling across the sky.
There is some colorful knotwork below the horses, between their feet, that looks like a vase of flowers - the movement of the chariot promoting growth, which further suggests this might be something related to the Sun.
Behind the Chariot, the background is composed of purple weave and the border that surrounds it is made of a blue swirling pattern that looks like moving water.
There is a synergy here of motion and stillness - stability as a force for directed energy. The celestial qualities here suggest that the skill of the Charioteer is such that he is able to ride toward his destiny (the ride across the sky of the Zodiac) and remain in control of the path. He has learned how to bring these horses together in spite of their tendency to head off in opposite directions, and the result of his progress on his destined path is growth.
The red curtain shows that his calm center comes from the stabilization of his will, and this gives him the serenity to handle the emotional and spiritual transistions he is traveling through without losing control of his own path.
There's a very nice balance here - this Charioteer neither hides from his destiny (those forces beyond his control), nor does he attempt to conquer it by brute force - instead, he exerts control by pulling existing elements together that might otherwise not be able to be used together, and harnesses them for his purpose. The message I see here is to use one's challenges to propell you down your path, instead of leaving them behind or attempting to slow down their energy. And the key to doing that, it seems, comes from the Charioteer himself.. he knows what he wants and brings that desire along down the larger path so that no matter what is happening beyond his reach... whether it's the bright light of day or the darkness of night, his goals cannot be left behind.
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