“Big wheel keep on turnin'”
– from Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Several years ago I posted a high-level overview of my personal reassignment of some of the Golden Dawn’s astrological correspondences for the tarot’s Major Arcana (I’m an experienced astrologer and some of them just didn’t sit well with me). I’ve linked it for reference at the bottom, and the present essay is the second in what will become a series of in-depth analyses of my position on each alteration. (I’ve already examined the swapped relationship of the Moon and Pisces to the High Priestess and the Moon trump in the following study: https://parsifalswheeldivination.org/2017/11/09/the-moon-pisces-and-the-high-priestess/.

Modern interpretation of the Chariot leans toward the idea of “movement, pure and simple,” with little regard for the esoteric meaning of “triumph in material affairs” attributed to A.E. Waite and the Golden Dawn before him. The attribution of Cancer to this card never made sense to me even though Paul Foster Case – whose opinion I value in most things – bent over backwards (I once said he “practically hyperventilated”) trying to make it stick. I see it as purposeful “movement toward a goal,” which does not exactly convey lunar vacillation. (As a strong Cancerian type, my approach to life is restrained and I just can’t relate to the connection.) In my allegorical model, the Chariot represents the Emperor’s “mobile throne” when he’s out on campaign, and there is nothing nebulous about his intentions.

Similarly, although it was once seen as an encouraging omen, the Wheel of Fortune has lost its luster in recent times and is now viewed as signifying change that can be either favorable or unfavorable, making its link to astrological Jupiter a bit moot. Jupiter is the “Greater Benefic” (or “Greater Fortune”) in classical astrology and really belongs with a card that demonstrates its potency in full measure. Current thinking is that the rim of the Wheel descends as well as ascends, and the downward arc is invariably unfortunate, but Jupiter typically militates in the positive direction. (You can probably see where this is headed. If we intend to keep the inherent uncertainty of the Wheel intact, Jupiter has to go.)

Consequently, I relocated Jupiter to the Chariot to emphasize the “victory” portrayed by that card, and the “yin/yang” volatility of lunar Cancer to the Wheel of Fortune in its present indefinite incarnation. These revisions fit quite comfortably into my pantheon of correspondences, and the only reason I can see for the Golden Dawn failing to do the same is that it didn’t suit their astrological vision of the Universe. As I see it, this switch is a non-controversial “no-brainer” that needs no further justification except among Golden Dawn purists who will of course fight it tooth-and-nail.

Astrologically Rethinking the Major Arcana