Card of the Week: The Chariot

It is said that the race does not always go to the swift, and the battle does not always go to the strong.  But that is a good way to bet, especially when the swift and strong racer is you.

The Chariot card represents a call to action.  In traditional decks it is often illustrated as a warrior in a literal chariot driven by horses, slaves, or mythical creatures.  The Chariot implies that you are in control of a situation, backed by powerful forces.  It may refer to family, business, sports, military service, travel, or something else, but strongly suggests that you are in the driver’s seat.

Inverted, this card warns of a possible deflection in your course.  Double-check your map, and watch out for detours, engine trouble, losing traction, and other impediments to your journey.

In “The Tholian Web”, the Enterprise is investigating the recent disappearance of the starship Defiant in a unsurveyed area of space.  The region is unstable, with spatial fluctuations that cause nearby dimensions to randomly cross with our own in brief “interphase” periods.  The Defiant is located, and a small landing party in space suits investigates.  When they encounter an interphase, the landing party is quickly beamed back, but Kirk is not rescued in time and disappears into the interphase.  Alien Tholian ships arrive, accusing the Enterprise of intruding into their territory.  After a brief battle temporarily disables the Enterprise’s main engines, the Tholians begin to weave an energy web to capture the ship.  Before they can finish, another interphase occurs.  The Enterprise rescues Kirk and escapes through the interphase to an outside region of stable space.