the chariot is definatley aries, temperance is more like libra or aquarius, sag would probabley be the knight of wands

Chariot = Cancer
Temperance = Sagittarius

I think that the Chariot is one of the most misunderstood cards in the major arcana. It's not about speed or action, it's about opening your perceptions so that you can see where you are going. The path of life doesn't open up for you until you open up for it. Another name for this card I like to use is the Navigator.

IMO,
David

Here's some articles I wrote on these two cards, with astrological correspondences. I consider both of these cards to be "gateway" cards, acting as doorways between different phases of the major arcana journey.

7 / The Chariot
Gateway of the West
Sign of Cancer

The Chariot card shows us how to navigate through life by paying attention. Some people interpret this card as having a very active element of movement and adventure. My own emphasis is somewhat different. In my view, the Chariot is a card of slow and gradual movement. It is about using care and caution to move forward. You do this by bringing your whole self to each step you are taking, and being fully aware of each step. In this way this card is about mindfulness in motion. There is surely adventure to this card. Life is an adventure, and the adventure of life is made possible by the faculties of our perception. Through our perceptions we are able to move through this life experience.

In Vedic astrology, the Chariot card corresponds with the sign of Cancer, a cardinal water sign ruled by the Moon. Cancer is the energetic field of the Moon in action in our lives. Remember that the Moon or Priestess card represents the ability to listen and perceive things as they are. The Chariot takes this ability of true perception and uses it to help us find our way through life. The Chariot carries our home with us through life. Our perceptions are like a wondrous vessel that carries our consciousness through our life experience. I like to think of the Chariot as a glorious dream ship. Just like the nurturing energy of the maternal Moon, this ship holds us and gently guides us through life.

In my unique understanding of Toltec shamanism, the Chariot is one of four gateway cards. Specifically, it is the gateway of the west. In European shamanism, this direction relates to the element of water. In this schematic, the gateway of the west card is the gateway between the masteries of awareness and transformation. It shows the completion of the mastery of awareness. The Chariot card depicts a being with clear perception. It is the energy of full awareness that allows us to pay attention within and without. It is this energy that helps us navigate through life.

Find the Chariot card in your favorite tarot deck, and place it somewhere you will see it. Bring the energy of the Chariot into all aspects of your life.

(c) 2004 by David Ray

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14 / Temperance
Gateway of the South
Sign of Sagittarius

The Temperance card is the card of becoming the artist of your own life. It represents the point in your path when you are able to work energetically with all areas of your life, thoughts and emotions as well as physical matter. This is the secret wisdom of personal alchemy. Medeival alchemists aspired to transform lead into gold. But the language of metals was just a metaphor for the transformation that can take place within the human spirit, changing our inert patterns into vital joy and liberation. The word temperance refers to the dynamic balance that occurs between the elements, specifically fire and water. By balancing fire with water and water with fire, we are not limited by either. The fire of sunlight and the water of rain create the magnificent miracle of the rainbow. By blending the elemental constituents of our experience in conscious ways, we create the work of art that is our life.

In Vedic astrology, the Temperance card corresponds to the sign of Sagittarius. Sagittarius is a mutable fire sign ruled by Jupiter. It is a fire sign but it is mutable fire, which is a tempered fire. While Aries is physical fire of the earth plane, and Leo is the bright shining fire of the ego, Sagittarius is the celestial fire, which has elements of fire and water. The ruler of Sagittarius, Jupiter is actually a watery planet in Vedic astrology. It corresponds to the wood element in Chinese mysticism, which is an element of growth. Sagittarius loves the freedom to grow and expand. Sagittarius is a creative sign, showing ambition and exploration.

In my schematic of the Tarot and Toltec shamanism, this card is the gateway of the south. It is the gateway between the masteries of transformation and intent. Temperance shows the completion of the mastery of transformation and contains all six cards preceding it, from Strength to Death. Remember Strength is Leo (fixed fire) while Death is Scorpio (fixed water). Temperance shows the completion of the path between fire and water. The mastery of awareness occurs between the gateways of east and west, showing the spinning of the earth and the path of the tonal. The mastery of transformation occurs between the gateways of west and south (water and fire), showing the axis between the tonal and unknown realm of the nagual, which is related to the poles of the earth (north and south). With this card, you have gained the ability to transform your perceptions and you can now use this ability to create your life anew, free from the limitations of old ways of dreaming.

The Temperance card in some ways is what the Tarot is all about. With this card you realize that everything you experience, all the raw ingredients of your life and even the painful ones, are just hues on your artist's pallet. Temperance is all about freedom and liberation. This is the place where you realize that enlightenment is all about lightening up.

Find the Temperance card from your favorite Tarot deck. Put it somewhere you will notice it. Invite the energy of the Temperance in your card. Imagine that you are this enigmatic angel, immersed in the energetic reality of life, free to move energy as you see fit. You are free to become the artist of your own life.

(c) 2004 by David Ray

Here are all the astrological correspondences of the major arcana, as I see it. I agree there are different ways of working with the major arcana, and everyone should feel free to explore and experiment with different correspondences. This schematic is taught by most tarot teachers and books, with some modifications that I made. I wanted to get back to the traditional planets of astrology. The newer planets were only discovered in the past few hundred years (Pluto in the 1930's), and tarot is much older than that. So I was going on the assumption that originally the outer planets were not given major arcana correspondences. Through my meditations and studies, this is what I came up with, and it has worked very well for me. The gateway cards split the major arcana into three phases or masteries of six cards each (666).

Fool - Rahu, the North Node of the Moon (gateway of the east)

Magician - Mercury
Priestess - Moon
Empress - Venus
Emperor - Aries
Hierophant - Taurus
Lovers - Gemini

Chariot - Cancer (gateway of the west)

Strength - Leo
Hermit - Virgo
Fortune - Jupiter
Justice - Libra
Hanged One - Ketu, the South Node of the Moon
Death - Scorpio

Temperance - Sagittarius (gateway of the south)

Devil - Capricorn
Tower - Mars
Star - Aquarius
Moon - Pisces
Sun - Sun
Judgment - Saturn

World - Earth (gateway of the north)

According to the Golden Dawn System, the Chariot is Water or Cancer. And, Temperance is Fire or
Sagittarius. Some other systems have assigned Sagittarius and Capricorn to the Chariot, but that's
another thread.

LLL,

Max