The Textbook Answers Are Just Wrong, I Had To Test It Myself
I swear, every time someone asks this question, some New Age guru pops up and screams, “The Chariot!” or “The Six of Swords!” Right? It’s in all the books. The Chariot is movement, it’s control, it’s getting where you want to go fast. The Six of Swords is moving away from trouble, calm waters, traveling light. It sounds great on paper, but if you’ve actually traveled internationally with a family, you know that textbook garbage is useless.
Travel isn’t about movement; travel is about survival. Travel is about not losing your passport, not getting your bags stolen, and for God’s sake, not having that one nightmare connection where you sprint through the airport only to watch the plane pull away from the gate. I learned this the hard way.
My first big trip post-pandemic—a long haul to see my sister—was a total nightmare. I thought I was being smart. I pulled The Chariot every day of the planning stage. I visualized that speed and control. And what happened?
- The flight got delayed by six hours after we were already sitting on the runway.
- The rental car company claimed my reservation didn’t exist, and I spent three hours arguing with a guy whose only English was “No, sir.”
- And the cherry on top? My checked bag didn’t show up for four days. Four days of wearing the same t-shirt in a humid climate.
Control? Movement? Nah. That trip was pure chaos. I realized The Chariot is probably only good if you’re traveling light on a motorcycle and don’t care about anything. It’s too fast, too aggressive. It focuses on the goal and ignores the bumps in the road.
My Practical Experiment: Slowing Down to Survive
So, I scrapped the whole book approach. I decided I needed less speed and more stability. I needed a card that said, “Yeah, we’re going slow, but damn it, we’re getting there fully intact.”
I started looking at the cards differently. Travel safety is really about delay prevention, stability, and material security. Not speed. I chucked The Chariot and the Six of Swords right out of my travel spread and pulled three new candidates for my next three planned trips:
- The Hermit: For the first trip. I figured The Hermit represents careful planning, reflection, and going inward. Maybe if I planned harder, things wouldn’t go wrong.
- Four of Wands: For the second trip. This card means stability, celebration, and coming home/arrival. I was hoping it would ensure a stable landing and a safe environment.
- Knight of Pentacles: For the final, longest trip. This guy is the slowest of the Knights. He’s methodical, reliable, and obsessed with the physical world and details.
The Hermit trip was okay, but stressful. It made me over-plan everything. I was up until 2 AM checking passport copies and seat assignments. I arrived safe, sure, but I felt exhausted before I even started the trip.
The Four of Wands trip was terrible. I focused too much on a celebratory arrival, and I ended up missing a detail on my visa application. I almost didn’t board the plane. The card was too focused on the end point, not the rough patch in the middle. It failed me.
But then, I pulled The Knight of Pentacles for a trip down the coast that involved multiple hotel changes, trains, and buses. This was the acid test. And you know what? It was the most boring, easiest travel I have ever done.
We missed a bus, but the next one arrived five minutes later. The hotel check-in was slow, but the room was pristine. The entire journey was defined by a steady, predictable pace. Nothing rushed, nothing lost, and nothing dramatic. The Knight of Pentacles is the best card for safe travel because safe travel is 90% boring logistics and 10% not getting sick. This Knight handles the boring logistics.
Why I Even Care So Much: The Time I Was Stranded
You might be asking why I took the time to do this whole stupid experiment, ignoring the advice of every Tarot book written in the last fifty years. Why the obsession with safe and stable travel?
It’s because of a trip I took about five years ago, way before I was smart enough to pull The Knight of Pentacles.
I was traveling solo for work, and I ended up getting stuck in a tiny port city way out in the middle of nowhere. It was supposed to be a one-day layover. It turned into three days. My debit card stopped working. I couldn’t understand the local language. I was running on about four hours of sleep total, and I couldn’t get a signal strong enough to call the office or my wife.
I was so desperate, I even tried to hitch a ride with a couple of guys who looked sketchy as hell, just to get to a town with an international bank. I was terrified. It wasn’t just losing my bag; it was truly feeling alone and cut off, with my finances and safety completely compromised.
When I finally got back home, days late, I swore I would never put myself or my family in a situation where I had to rely on sheer luck again. I realized that the best travel card isn’t the one that rushes you forward (The Chariot), but the one that ensures the foundation is rock solid, every single step of the way. That’s the Knight of Pentacles.
I’ve pulled him for every important logistical journey since then. He hasn’t let me down once. Try it. Forget the textbook; focus on the foundation.
