Episode 146: An Air of Great Power: On the Chariot in the Tarot

Of the twenty-two figures that make up the major arcana of the tarot, the Chariot is probably the most commonplace. While the tenth arcanum is a wheel, it's The Wheel of Fortune, not just any old wagon wheel. But arcanum VII is neither the Chariot of Fire or the Chariot of the Gods – just the plain old chariot. Usually, it is interpreted as a symbol of the will in its lower and higher aspects. In this episode, Phil notes that the Chariot can also symbolize something as ordinary as new car. Of course, here on Weird Studies, no car is just a car, and we like to think that Youngblood Priest, the protagonist of the 1972 film Super Fly, would agree. A car also a tool, a medium, a token of mastery, an atmospheric disturbance, a means of manifestation, a spaceship... Enroll in THE TWIN PEAKS MYTHOS, a 4-week Weird Studies view-along starting June 8th. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Support us on Patreon and gain access to Phil's podcast on Wagner's Ring Cycle. Download Pierre-Yves Martel's new album, Mer Bleue. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REFERENCES Rachel Pollack, Tarot Wisdom Jordan Parks Jr., Super Fly Our Known Friend, Meditations on the Tarot Weird Studies, Episode 144 on “Hellraiser” Plato, Phaedrus Vanessa Onwuemezi, Dark Neighborhood J. G. Ballard, Crash Paul Virilio, War and Cinema Karl Marx, Grundrisse Weird Studies, Episode 26 with Michael Garfield