Seven of Disks

smw

smw yes Crowley does like his drama l used to be quite intimidated when l begun my journey with The Thoth, it is a wonderful deck l love it.

yes, me too :)
 

Barleywine

I was comparing it to the 7 of pentacles 'Lord of Success unfulfilled' from Liber LXXVIII - A description of the Tarot cards, I think by Crowley? I can't see a date for this.

http://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib78.html

I have the Weiser reprint of A Description of the Cards of the Tarot (retitled Tarot Divination: The Equinox) from 1976. It was originally published by Crowley in The Equinox, Volume 1, Number 8 "at the Autumn Equinox of 1912."
 

smw

I have the Weiser reprint of A Description of the Cards of the Tarot (retitled Tarot Divination: The Equinox) from 1976. It was originally published by Crowley in The Equinox, Volume 1, Number 8 "at the Autumn Equinox of 1912."

Thanks Barleywine. I wondered if that was the 1912 Crowley version you mentioned.
 

ravenest

I've always been curious where this idea of a "bountiful harvest" came from. Waite never said it; he considered the divinatory meanings to be "exceedingly contradictory," denoting on one hand "money" (but not "money due and payable" as far as I can tell) and the processes of business and barter (but not necessarily their "fruits" in hand), and altercation and quarreling on the other hand (oh, and just for good measure, innocence and ingenuity on the third hand). It strikes me that even Waite was flummoxed by this card, suggesting that the abundant pentacles are treasures of the heart's desire, but then being decidedly less sanguine about their interpretation in a reading.

The "traditional" commentators apparently didn't pay attention to tthe fact that only one of the seven pentacles has actually been "harvested; the rest are still "on the vine," and the man looks a bit daunted that he still has so much work left to do. Even in the RWS version there is an aura of stymied or suspended labor. If this were truly a card of great success, he would have all of the pentacles in a wheelbarrow and be merrily on his way to market with them.

Great point. I just went through it myself, being autumn, particularly with my rozella crop this year, HEAPS to pick and process, very daunting! 1/3 stayed on the shrubs and is still there. Fiddly to pick, sold two crates to the fruit and veg shop, made jam, glad its over !

Thats bounty for ya !

Anyone want rozella seeds for next year?


But when I left the fruit and veg shop with cash in my pocket - thats more like it !
 

ravenest

I think I understand your point although what bothers me in this case is that the different traditions propose such different essences/energies and paradigms for interpretation. That doesn't happen with the other cards, that although vary from system to system they often cary similar essences.

The card's associated decan covers the stars attributed to the two horns of the bull, both themselves with conflicting energies. Its common with some star pairs, if not good / bad, some other polarity (like Castor and Pollux of Gemini being , originally, one mortal and one immortal ) .
 

ravenest

Failure does seem a harsh way of naming the 7 Disks it seems to be true though.
Two examples of where the 7 Disks came up in readings l did for others, and obviously in a very potted version.

1. The lady had tried hard to save and have money set aside for her future, an urgent matter came up where she had to use the savings. It was a miserable time for her money wise and her failure was not being able to generate enough money to start her savings up again. 7 Disks was very attuned to her predicament.

2. The other person was trying to decide between leaving one enterprise and starting a new one, mainly because the enterprise was not doing so well. He did in the end start afresh. If he had stayed with the first option it would have failed miserably. 7 Disks here was giving a timely warning.

These examples may or may not help the discussion here, good old 7 Disks does try hard to point the way, even with its harsh title.

Hmmmm .... I seem permanently stuck at 1.
 

Orione

I always equated this card with the figure of Adam, and the card in the RWS seems to support this. While Adam was in the Garden of Eden at Tiphareth, everything was balanced and in line with the Will of God. However, once he ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge he gained the creative powers of gods (creating new life) but lacked the godly "engine." As a direct result of this the carefree abundance of the Garden was denied to him and so he had to work for his subsistence from the very earth that spawned his own life.

Seen in this light, the title of failure may be fitting, as not only does Adam toil but the (literal) fruits of his efforts are poor and meagre. All of the four Sevens taken together show different aspects of the "hard work" of being alive. Force becomes aggression, thought becomes obsession, emotion becomes masturbatory self-indulgence and abundance becomes hard and cold.

I know this was posted ages ago, but this image really makes the card come alive for me. Thank you!!!