Bohemian Gothic - 7 of Wands

Dancing Bear

I have also found this thread interesting as this is the card that had disturbed me the most, also Baba's last comment , getting he demon to stir the pot a bit more ...

I had come to the conclusion that this is what he is actually doing, as the crowd has no real hope of winning any fight, and why did they want to fight in the first place, was it he , who "stirred the pot" just for amusement.. as it is a no win situation for the crowd really, coz god only knows what other tricks a demon has up their sleeve..compared to us mere mortals :p

It reminded me of putting ones hand upon a childs forehead, keeping them at arms length as they try to get you, they have no hope ;) LOL! until you choose to let go then you are faster than them LOL!

To read this in a spread, not only the obvious , but has the querent started it all, as boredom set in?..lusting after a bit of excitement in their life, knowing they cant lose but love to see others bite and watch to see what unfolds for their own amusement? Bit of a trouble maker this one! me thinks!!

Or has he done it unknowingly as i did when i started this thread?
 

Grizabella

Maybe he's trying to get the street partiers to shut up so he can sleep. :p

He's in possession of that building or that particular room, but he's got to defend it from those who want to take it from him. He's got a face even his mother probably doesn't like a lot, but we don't look very good, either, when we get overly defensive.
 

Queen of Disks

This deck just landed at my house yesterday, and I love it so much!

I don't think this demon is scary either. He is more the humorous type to me. He kind of reminds me of Hellboy ("Yeah, I know, I'm ugly!") The demon does not seem to be taking the angry natives seriously if he is not coming out of his castle to deal with them. The natives probably don't like the demon as a neighbor, but this demon is probably just trying to live his life and mind his buisness. He looks like a grouchy old man trying to get the kids off of his front lawn.
 

baba-prague

Queen of Disks said:
This deck just landed at my house yesterday, and I love it so much!

I don't think this demon is scary either. He is more the humorous type to me. He kind of reminds me of Hellboy ("Yeah, I know, I'm ugly!") The demon does not seem to be taking the angry natives seriously if he is not coming out of his castle to deal with them. The natives probably don't like the demon as a neighbor, but this demon is probably just trying to live his life and mind his buisness. He looks like a grouchy old man trying to get the kids off of his front lawn.

You know, by the time we got to this card I was just thoroughly spooked and even a bit scared by an experience I had while doing the deck - and which was loosely associated with this image. I was told as a young girl (by my grandmother on one side) that it's best not to talk about some of these things except to a very few people. So I won't go into the whole story if you don't mind. But it left me a bit jumpy about almost every image in the deck that we subsequently made - including this one.

Now, months later, I can see that he does have a humorous, sort of "cocky" aspect to him. At the time of making the picture, I found him quite disturbing. I wonder now if he can't - like The Magician - be read either way. He's a bit like the horror film character who tells a joke, then kills someone. Or perhaps there is even a touch of "The Joker" in him. I find that mix of trickster and authentic power very challenging.
 

Queen of Disks

Pardon my twisted sense of humor...

I think of this demon not so much as the Joker, but more like Hellboy or Frankenstien's monster or many of the monsters and freaks on the X-Files. It's not his fault that he is a demon, I don't think he had a say in being one. And it's not his fault the world doesn't understand. I pictured the demon having a dry sense of humor as a way to deal with it all. To me, this demon was just trying to live in this castle and keep to himself and his neighbors just see a demon and they have to get rid of it.

I agree, Karen, The Magician does seem a little humorous, mainly because he seems a bit over the top. (I think it's the red outfit.) It's like he is trying very very hard to be this powerful sorcerer and is looking slightly silly in the process (he reminds me of Aleister Crowley back when he had hair. The Magician has hands like Nosferatu.) (And I won't ask what your experience was, Karen.)
 

Alisa13

The 7 of wands depicts a monster vampire, he has had to struggle to get his head out the window to defend himself. Clearly, in some ways, he has the upper hand as his weapon looks much nastier and lethal than the sticks that are trying to take a swack at him. To me his look is one of concentration, not too aggressive and not mocking; it must be hard to hold that position of being half in and half out of a window and try to defend yourself. To me the 7 of wands speaks of constrained defence. The card speaks of a precarious defence and no certain indication of success but of having the tools (that lethal mace!) to defend oneself.
Alisa 13 :)
 

Alisa13

Well, there you go - I didn't realize there were 2 more pages of thread on this fellow!
I agree with the Joker (dark Batman Joker) Hellboy comparison.
I'd LOVE to hear about Baba Prague's disturbing experiences while creating this deck! Maybe one day . . . .
Alisa 13:)
 

Thirteen

He'd not a vampire--not with those demonic ram's horns. Clearly a demon and, yes, rather the Hellboy type. And in the 2nd edition of the deck, it's quite clear that the "Wand" he's waving at the crowd of sticks is a morning star. So he's not merely defending himself from being hit with sticks, he's trying to knock the stick-holders over the head with the spiked ball on the end (still awkward, but it's much easier to swing a mourning star out the window and hit people then a stick).

I really like this as it implies, as I think the 7/Wands should, that the beleaguered person holding their ground, who feels outnumbered and attacked, actually has a great deal of power. They have the morning star. They have the teeth and claws. They are a scary demon. Which makes for a very interesting view of the 7/Wands. That even though you may feel ganged-up on, those ganging up on you may feel you're really dangerous, powerful and scary. And maybe you are. Maybe, you can win this stand off--but also that you'd better be careful, as those fighting you may think you're dangerous enough that they have to destroy you.

Here's another interesting thing about the 2nd edition (don't know if it's in the 1st)--the demon's has a fetter and broken chain on his left arm. He was imprisoned and got out. Horror-story-wise, it seems someone conjured him from the netherworld then chained him to use his power for their purposes and, oops, he got free.

But what an interesting metaphor given the 7/Wands. That something inside a person, some "demon" or rage or feeling that they've been using to maintain their power, has finally broken free; that it has taken over and taken a stand, ready to pound on and kill in defense of their position rather than surrender it.

That, of course, is the running theme of almost all the cards in this deck: that we need to be careful of what we summon up or create or let lose--or what we think we want or must have. We should not be so confident that we can handle or control such things. They tend to get lose and take over :D
 

BlueRosary

Thirteen said:
Here's another interesting thing about the 2nd edition (don't know if it's in the 1st)--the demon's has a fetter and broken chain on his left arm. He was imprisoned and got out. Horror-story-wise, it seems someone conjured him from the netherworld then chained him to use his power for their purposes and, oops, he got free.

Thirteen - I really like they way you describe this card!

In the 1st ed it looks more like that chain is attached to end of his weapon, but I still have always had the feeling with this card that he is trying to escape.
 

Alisa13

Thirteen - so well put!

I love your explanation of this card! I drew this one (reversed) the other day and you have certainly helped to fill out the meaning.
I totally agree that the Monster is beleaguered and may not know he is the scariest thing in town - what a revelation! How very cool! To see things from the "stick people's" view. Also, that the Monster doesn't realize how powerful he is. I see something on his wrist - not sure what it is. I have the 1st edition and it looks more like some sort of gemstone bracelet? The cuff of his jacket perhaps?
Thank you so much for posting a huge lightbulb went off. I will never look at this card or the original RWS deck the same again.
Alisa13 :)