The Chariot Yes or No: Yes, Through Focus and Control

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Chariot is a yes that has to be driven. Here is how I read it for yes or no questions, upright and reversed, and why the reversal is a no about direction.

If you want the short answer, the Chariot is a yes. In a yes or no draw the upright card says focused action and self-control can carry this forward. It is a yes to winning through, and it is a yes that depends on you holding two opposing pulls together long enough to arrive.

This is a card of yes as momentum. The sphinxes face different ways. The charioteer gets there anyway, by will.

Is the Chariot a yes or a no?

Upright, I read the Chariot as a yes. Reversed, I read it as a no. Those are the same directions my free yes or no tarot draw uses, so if you drew the card there, this page explains the answer it gave you.

Tina Gong's the Chariot guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with control, willpower, victory and determination. Brigit Esselmont's yes or no tarot overview at Biddy Tarot notes that readers assign yes and no values differently, which is true, and it is why I state mine rather than pretend there is one correct table.

Why the upright card reads this way

I read the Chariot as yes because the card is about arriving: the armoured figure, the city behind, the forward stance, the stars on the canopy. When a question is about whether something can be achieved by effort and focus, the Chariot says yes.

The yes is not a gift. The Chariot has no reins; the figure steers by stance. If you are hoping for a yes that does not require you to hold anything together, this is not that card.

The Chariot reversed as yes or no

Reversed, I read the Chariot as a no. The reversal describes a situation without shared direction or enough control to progress well: energy pulling in two directions and going nowhere, or a push that has become aggression.

If you drew the Chariot reversed, ask whether the two sphinxes in your situation are facing the same way. A no from this card is usually a no to driving before the direction is agreed.

The Chariot yes or no in a love question

In a love question, the Chariot is a yes to pursuing, to moving the relationship forward, to overcoming the obstacle between you. It is not a yes about the other person's feelings, and driving hard at someone who has not agreed on the direction is the reversal, not the upright. Reversed, it is a no to a relationship where you want different destinations.

The Chariot yes or no for work and money

For work and money, the Chariot is a strong yes to the goal that needs drive: the promotion, the launch, the deadline, the move. It is also a yes to travel and relocation. Reversed, it is a no to a project with no agreed direction, and a no to winning by force where cooperation was needed.

When a yes or no draw is the wrong tool

The Chariot answers questions about goals and effort. It is a poor card for questions about rest, patience or whether to let something go, which it will answer with a yes to pushing when pushing is wrong. A single card answers a single, well-formed question. If the question is really three questions, or is about another person's choices, a yes or no draw will give you a confident answer to the wrong thing. My guide to a one question psychic reading explains how I handle questions that need more than one card.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the exact question you asked, the two opposing pulls you would have to hold together to get a yes, and whether everyone involved agrees on the destination. The third note is the reversal's test.

For comparison, Strength yes or no and the Hermit yes or no answer differently. The the Chariot card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Chariot as timing and the Chariot as feelings cover the two other questions people most often ask of it. You can draw a card for your own question with the yes or no tarot tool. For a personal interpretation, my guide to an online psychic reading explains how readings work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.