Lately, I have have been surrounded by Swords… through the card I’m painting for the 5th Collaborative Tarot deck on Aeclectic Tarot … So, when 7 of Swords decided to pay a visit from my deck today; I thought ‘the more, the merrier’ :)
I like the 7 of Swords… to be honest I like all the Sword cards… I admire their honesty, ability to seek out the truth and soar above the clouds… maybe my admiration stems from often having my head stuck in the clouds :)
Things are not always what they seem …
7 of Swords reminds us that the mind can play, deceive, trick and whirl us off into a different reality – if we allow it to do so. It asks us to consider other angles, to think about what is true and what we are seeing, and to remember our intuitive voice. 7 of Swords can tempt us to ignore our intuition or forget what we have learnt… as a way of testing us…
Sometimes we might try to take a short-cut, or go ahead with something despite knowing intuitively that it is not a good idea … Niggles, cold feet, uncomfortable… we’ve all felt it.
Ignoring our Inner Voice
Usually cold feet or niggles make us sit up and take notice, but there are those times, when we somehow manage to ignore our inner voice – Perhaps we’re just too tempted or excited to listen… Or maybe we don’t want to disappoint someone… Or perhaps we just really want that niggling feeling to be wrong; so we cover our ears singing ‘la la la la’ … as we march on. Down the track, the echo of warning bells clang along to a jarring tune of “I told you so”…
Some see 7 of Swords as a thief or deceitful person … Though, as we travel the mind, 7 of Swords can be asking us to take a closer look at deceptions in our own mind. Are we mislead by an illusion, or are we misleading those around us? It reminds me a little of the Mirror of Erised (Harry Potter): “a mirror which shows the user his or her heart’s deepest desire…”
Folk stories and fairy tales have spell-bound young and old for generations with their suspense, magic, terrifying and fabulous creatures and heroic adventures. Like many, I grew up to the sounds of Trolls on bridges, Baba Yaga charging through the forest on her butter churn, Phoenix rising from the ashes, along with all the other fascinating and frightening creatures … Though, the classic tales were not only intended as children’s bedtime stories…
Baba Yaga – illustrated by Viktor Vasnetsov
Woven into the tapestry of each tale are words of advice, warning and encouragement, aimed at young people as they stand on the threshold to adulthood. Where some deal with the horrors of the adult world, others can provide comfort and even clues for understanding the different aspects of life:
- Feelings – Love, trust, deceit, heartache, happiness and the discovery of what really matters and is worth striving for …
- Inner Self – Following dreams, learning skills and through challenges conquering monsters and flying dragons, comes creative and spiritual growth
- Prosperity – Putting down foundations for wealth in home and hearth – the pitfalls of greed teaching the importance of generosity …
- The Mind – Seeking truth and clarity is at times the more lonely road, where the challenges are about understanding what is real and what is not.
In many old stories, the riddle appears along the journey of the mind… perhaps at a fork in the road where a mythical creature demands an answer to an impossible question – or… where the protagonist must rely on intuition and their innermost strength and ability to see clarity where the mist of deception has settled.
I like to see the VII of Swords as that riddle…
Traditional Keywords for VII of Swords
- Choice
- Impulsive
- Duplicity
- Deceptiveness
- Indecision
- Instability
- Irrational
When you see this card in a reading, you may want to ponder: What choices am I making at this point? Am I considering both (or all) sides of the equation? Am I trying to deceive myself or others through my actions? What is really on my mind, and what is my direction?
Or… as the VII of Swords in Nine Lives Tarot says:
“I am the VII of Swords – I am impulsive and quick to take advantage of your mind on a whim, though my purpose is to show you that things are not always what they seem. I encourage you to look in more than one direction, in order to find clarity in your choices and direction.”
As always, the meaning does vary depending on the situation and the surrounding cards. Like a kaleidoscope, the Tarot paints a new picture every time the cards are drawn … inviting us to look and discover new insights.
How do you relate to the 7 of Swords?
Do you think of this card as a riddle or a thief? Is it a card you can relate to, or do you cringe when you see it in a reading? If you’re happy to share thoughts, I’d love to hear from you :)
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Stay safe and well – and thanks for visiting!
Annette :)
I do love this card; it illustrates perfectly the feeling of deceit (is the deceit of our own making?). By not trusting our intuition (a 7 in Numerology has a lot to do with intuition and understanding our inner selves), we can fool ourselves into believing things that are not always true. I feel that we are often mislead by illusions, many times simply because we do not want to listen to our intuition. No, I do not see the card as a thief; it is more like a riddle, but a riddle where, deep inside of us, we always know the answer.
That’s a really nice way of interpreting the riddle – that we have the answer inside. Thank you :) It also ties in so well with how I interpret the 7 of Swords…