Chapter VII: The Chariot

The next trump in the Tarot is THE CHARIOT which represents the vehicle of conveyance for consciousness. The Chariot allows us to take consciousness journeys through the wide realm of the imagination. It harnesses the opposites to create volition. This requires a turning inward from the vast array of stimulation bombarding our senses from the outside, and finding a still center.

The goddess of this deep center or introversion is Hestia. She helps us find that quiet state of consciousness which characterizes contemplation and meditation. She helps us focus our attention inward in a non-heroic, non-linear manner. Hestia is essentially a goddess of meditation and a balanced lifestyle. She is the Will to be receptive to the influx of higher power.

What we call 'volition' is the synthesis of all the universal forces coming to a focus at a point within us. It is the Will, the power of choosing; a conscious choice or decision. It means the choice between our idealized, glamorized fantasies and plain, simple reality. It means abandoning even 'positive' thinking which is a polarity, for an unvarnished truth.

This trump is about the conquest of illusion through connecting with the inner self. THE CHARIOT symbolizes control over the tension of opposites, and that is also the nature of meditation, a suspension of the duality and polarization that characterize outer life. The corresponding Hebrew letter is Cheth, which means 'fence.' Meditation is the fence around the crop of our contemplative efforts.

Like THE CHARIOT, the personality is a vehicle for cosmic forces which operate within us largely at the subconscious level. This trump represents the power of astral projection and attraction. When we meditate, we may be physically in our rooms, but mentally far, far away; or, perhaps our imagination brings strong images of another to us. Meditation is simply becoming aware of these patterns, then moving past them to the depth where the still center appears as the Void.

Hestia was originally one of the twelve Olympians. She was the first-born child of Cronos and Rhea, and the first to be swallowed up again when Cronos realized he would be overthrown by one of his offspring.

Hestia is such a gracious and pliant goddess that when Zeus wanted to make room on Olympus for the arrival of Dionysus, she gave up her place among the divine dozen. Apparently she did not mind being displaced since she carries "the center" within herself.

Her personality is typically humble, letting life find unobstructed manifestation through her. Her mytheme is renunciation. Her mandate is seva, or service. She is the quiet type, but her unuttered speech contains the power of silence and secrecy which comes from the control of language. It increases receptivity. She is a self-sufficient individual who derives her sense of self worth from within, as shown by her perpetualmaidenhood.

This Virgin Goddess is a variation on the archetypal theme of the Holy Grail. Hestia is the virgin goddess of the hearth and its fire, as well as protectress of the home and of the state. She "keeps the home fires burning," as goddess of hearth and home.

Her sacred fire was moved from Greece to Rome by Aeneas who was from Troy. The tendency of fire is to transmute a material substance into a more rarefied form. This is also true of spiritual fire; it means the dominion of the spirit over form. When we can observe what is unworthy in ourselves, this fire purges us of corruption.

In her temple in the Roman Forum, six vestal virgins watched by day and by night to assure that the sacred fire did not die out. These virgins, consecrated to Vesta (Hestia), maintained the sacred fire or perpetual flame which was kept burning on her altar. Psychologically, this initiation meant that the temptations of the physical world were surmounted.

The six vestal virgins entered the service of the goddess around the ages of six to ten years old. Their term of active service lasted thirty years. After that they were permitted to marry, though few did since they were instilled with the virtues of this goddess. They received great honor and had very important public privileges.

Their persons were considered inviolable, and woe to the vestal found guilty of unchastity. If her spotless chastity were not maintained, she would be immediately killed along with her lover.

We are the physical focal point of all the generations who have gone before us--and all those who will follow us, as our progeny. This focusing of life force through the family is a physical representation of the Holy Grail -- the container of the manifestation of the divine.

Another aspect of Hestia in the physical world is shown in the patterns in the structure of matter. Hestia is characterized as being immobile or in repose. Her balanced personality and equanimity reflect the characteristic of equilibrium. Dynamic equilibrium may also be expressed in living systems as homeostasis.

In physics, the structure of matter can be expressed mathematically. The condition of maximal stability is expressed in the geometrical form known as Vector Equilibrium. It underlies the structure of the atomic nucleus of all atoms, therefore all matter. It is the blueprint for the stabilization of matter from nothingness.

Vector Equilibrium is produced by connecting the centers of twelve circles clustered around one, also known as closest-packed spheres. This condition of maximal equilibration forms the basis for the way energy travels within the nuclei of atoms, and is therefore a very fundamental principle in the construction of the universe.

Curiously, this particular geometry is described in an ancient Hebrew text known as the SEPHIR YETZIRAH, or THE BOOK OF FORMATION. To the ancient Hebrew mystics, it was known as the Throne Chariot of Fire. It linked the manifest with the archetypal world. Its geometrical form was used in a meditation practice. It was a vehicle for moving consciousness from one plane to the next. Vector Equilibrium represents the balancing of opposite factors. The Tarot Trump VII, THE CHARIOT depicts this vision of a divine Chariot.

The concept of balancing opposites is carried further by the fact that this card with its fiery symbolism is attributed to the astrological sign Cancer, a water sign. This places or locates it in the domestic realm of hearth and home. It also links Hestia with the virginal qualities of the (Cancer is ruled by the moon).

This path on the Tree of Life leads from Binah to Geburah, showing the influence of the Supernals descending through "the veil of Water (which is blood) upon the energy of man" and so inspiring it. On the Path of Return, this is one of the few paths which spans the great Void, known as The Abyss.

Since Hestia was the first-born of Cronos and Rhea--time and corporeal matter--she might be seen as that heat produced as a by-product of the creation. She is an expression of entropy. In the spectrum linking microcosm to macrocosm, she is the central fire in the warm-blooded human body, the home (the hearth), and the molten magma at the center of planet Earth.

Even the fire in the center of the Sun is analogous to these, inasmuch as it occupies a specific locus in space and time, and therefore shares its origin (if not its form) with them. These central fires warm and nourish and promote growth. It is intimately linked to the survival of the human species. Without our warm blood, we would never have developed our higher faculties.

It was a classical practice for the first and last tribute at any ritual to be offered to Hestia. She is truly the beginning and end for human consciousness. Without her receptive, containing 'space' there is no resting place for the atoms of the human body in the universe.

Hestia helps us lead a balanced life by providing a sense of center. The holy precinct makes communication with the divine forces possible. Thus we can harmonize inner and outer reality through her power.

She was rarely personified in human form. Rather, her image is architectural; she is the hearth itself with the structure surrounding it and protecting it, also. Hestia provides places, nexus points and spatiality. She gives us gathering places, power places, and dwelling places. We might think of her calming energy when we "can't settle down." She is important psychologically because without her we couldn't focus on an image. She is not personified, therefore, but is the "place" where personifying occurs.

Stability of the inner self, or a sense of belonging are Hestian. As the goddess of locality, Hestia reminds us of the sacred nature of being rooted in a particular area and nation. The yearning to seek out our "roots," and the resurgence in nationalism and patriotism all show the relationship between psyche and geography.

Every area has its natives or regional souls who are adapted for survival in the climatic conditions and prevailing cultural values. It is not possible to come to a universal citizenship without giving due respect to our genetic inheritance.

Hestia provides the focal point at the center of the world; and on a personal level we all tend to feel that we are the centers of our own special perspective on reality. We are each the center of our own Universe--and our consciousness projects that vision of the universe outward. When that projection "comes home to rest" we experience that reabsorption as the pure void, ground state of our being.

She is the sanctuary at the center, the holy ground, the magick circle. On an even deeper level, Hestia represents an archetypal image of the Self. This is represented in Crowley's Thoth Tarot on Trump VII as the circular image of the Holy Grail.

This mandala symbol, or sacred circle, depicts a state of harmony, wholeness, and integration, much like the native American medicine wheel. It contains "blood," that which is simultaneously fire and water, a paradoxical union of opposites.

Hestia thus show herself as a central aspect of psychic life--that of concentrating or focusing of one's energies. The concentrating of individual energies is shown by her virginal nature, which she shares with Athena and Artemis. It is a positive form of being self-centered. She is the light which makes the mysteries of life clear through understanding.

It is Hestia who helps us focus, concentrate, and balance our thoughts. Just recall how soothing it can be to sit in front of a fireplace in a calm, reflective mood.

Like the other Virgins, Artemis and Athena, Hestia has her own style of illumination. Many times, without her, it would be impossible to perceive any images in the depths of our psyche. Therefore, she is a key to insight.

Focus, as a nexus point, creates heat and light in optics, as when we focus the sun's rays with a magnifying glass to start a fire. Not all of these images of burning and concentration are positive. Hestia has her own forms of pathology, such as "cabin fever," produced by long hours of isolation.

Staying in one spot too long, we get "stir-crazy," or depressed. Remember, Saturn is the father of Hestia. Depression which leads to brooding can lead to a meditative place, if the depression is deepened rather than avoided, or manically denied by "staying busy."

Sometimes thoughts can burn with obsessive intensity. In some varieties of obsessive/compulsive disorder, there is a cleaning mania. Yet, in order to express wholeness, our Holy Grail must contain pathological aspects, the light and the dark fuel which feeds the fire.

The idea of a sanitorium or healing center as a sanctuary fosters our ability to re-center ourselves away from the hubbub of urban life. A "center of activity" might be seen in the eye of a storm, a volcanic eruption, or a hot bed of political intrigue. All centers are not tranquil.

That which lies in Hestia's center burns and smoulders. When we feel "burned-out" we need to readjust our focus, and frequently a change of location, retreat, or visit to a favored power spot in nature helps rejuvenate us. Sometimes we feel a need to remove ourselves from the whirl of activity at the center. When homelife gets hectic with many visitors and chores pile up, we long for a vacation. Or, if home is quiet, it can be our refuge, our soft cocoon to cushion us from the pressures of outer life.

On the psychological level, since Hestia is among the first-born of gods, she is a synthesis of their potencies, more fundamental than their later differentiation. She represents the fiery power of the true Self. Her center is "on fire" with life energy, which can manifest as volition, conscious and deliberate use of the will. True will comes from bringing the divine influences into an effective synthesis so that they come to a focal point within ourselves.

A receptive will means "willingness" to experience cosmic influences through the practice of reflective concentration of the mind. If we relax our bodies, and center our energies with one-pointed attention, we gain access to the fiery life-giving energy of the Cosmos.

This requires a quiet mind--an emptying of the mind--and reflects in a personality which doesn't spend a lot of time in idle chatter. It indicates a psychological interiority or inwardness and inner creativity. Hestia renounces outer life in the greater world-at-large for a more fulfilling experience of her inner Self.

On the mundane level, the woman possessed by Hestia thinks that a woman's place is in the home (yes, they still exist). She inherently senses the divinity at the core of the situation, but renounces or sacrifices the possibility of experiencing herself through other gods in the field of archetypal manifestation.

This natural attitude is often contaminated by cultural chauvinism. A modern phenomenon, the househusband is coming to know Hestia in himself through the endless repetition of archetypal household chores. Many men find great peace in this lifestyle, which they never found in the work-a-day world. This knowledge of Hestia as the ground of being creates a sense of inner space in the psychic domain. It is a very private form of awareness--the simple life.

When attention is directed inward, there is little desire to be praised and lauded by society at large for our accomplishments. The solitude of household tasks is a special reward which goes beyond the pleasure of craftwork, sewing, cooking, etc. What one loses in public recognition is recaptured in the extra time available for introspection. One develops a sense of self-sufficiency.

With Hestia animating the background of household duties, there is a sense of dignity restored to this function which is too often seen as distasteful or menial. The daily "rounds" are part of this central life mystery. It is a primal part of us, fundamental to our well-being. It may hark back to our days as cave-dwellers when perhaps the single most important function was that of keeping the fire going for the family unit--it meant warmth and nourishment at the most basic level.

"Hestia: a Background of Psychological Focusing" in FACING THE GODS, James Hillman, Ed. (Barbara Kirksey, contributor).

"Hestia: Goddess of the Hearth: Notes on an oppressed Archetype," SPRING JOURNAL 1979, Stephanie A. Demetrakopoulos.

In the Greek myth, Hestia is depicted as a female dependent of Zeus. Her place in the family is somewhat like that of a maiden aunt, and her specific job was to tend the divine household fire. Her job was extremely important in ancient times since rekindling a fire could be a difficult task.

As a stay-at-home virgin, Hestia was perfect for the job, since an unmarried sister had few other commitments in the outside world. Hestia therefore stayed at the sacred hearth on Mt. Olympus, even though she donated her throne to Dionysus. She was much like the fabled Cinderella, in that she stayed calmly behind while the others went abouttheir business. Cinderella got her prince; Hestia gets her Self, her wholeness.

We might can Hestia's quiet reflectiveness "the yoga of contentment." When our desires are simple and we have the spiritual capacity to be thankful for what we do have, it makes it easier to truly "be in the now." Otherwise we yearn for bygone times, or some idealized future when supposedly everything will be "right" or "better" or "fixed". The now has to be at least OK for our consciousness to be there, and truly inhabit that place. Otherwise it flits off in imaginal flights of fancy to another time and place.

Hestia might be conceived of an "existential" goddess--one who accepts the human condition, and supports the state of consciousness that is neither riddled with toxic shame nor grandiose fantasies. These notions promote subhuman and superhuman attitudes, but Hestia is that union of opposites.

By being most fully human, she expresses an inherently divine quality within that form of being. She doesn't mood alter by pumping up her expectations or sink into an escapist depression. She sticks in the moment, which is a very spiritual position from which to operate--it is the place of balance and stability which has its own form of momentum in terms of driving consciousness. She accepts life on its own terms, and finds contentment, fulfillment, and wholeness within what is given in the moment. She is at home in the Void.

Vesta (Roman)
Isis, as Virgin (Egyptian)
Xiuhtecuhtli (Aztec fire & hearth deity)

CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLE

Those who speak for Hestia today might include Betty Furness, consumer advocate; or Heloise, of household-hint fame. She is also exemplified by some attitudes of women in the "Moral Majority." She is alive in the thousands of voiceless volunteers who keep our homes and communities running smoothly. Most of her examples are neither well-known nor vocal, as this is not their temperament. They seek to serve in a quiet, selfless manner. An example of this archetype may have been the voice of the housewife poet, Silvia Plath.

Modern devotees of spiritual disciplines offer themselves for seva or selfless service, thereby building and expressing compassion. Other serve humanity through community service.