Halloween Tarot Study - 7 of Imps

A non-conformist on a House and Garden tour??

There is conspiracy here - look in the foreground. And a couple of imps are noticing our "our of place" fella already. While the tour guide goes gabbing merrily away. Hmmm ...

How does this relate, not relate, to how you "normally" see this card?


Any thoughts?

*S*

Maybe the boy is a imp by heart. the other imps don't do any fuss about it, even if they are seeing the boy in the costume.
I saw more this card as testing courage. The full moon is smiling and look reassuring.

Okay - "courage." I like that!

Maybe - one against many?
And yes - the full moon looks very happy. So - nothing TOO serious is going to happen.

*S*

Skydancer said:

How does this relate, not relate, to how you "normally" see this card?


Any thoughts?

*S*

Click to expand...

I normally see the 7 of wands as a person standing up for themselves, defending their actions, and staying true to their beliefs.

So, the Seven of Imps I think still follows along those lines. The little boy is the only one whose face is showing, he is being his "true self". He looks quite innocent and unaware. The other Imps seem a bit taller, a bit older, and potentially have the inclination to lead him astray. I think they are pointing for him to go up into that haunted house, and he may not really be ready for that. I agree that it is a test of courage, not just courage to go up to the house, but finding the courage to speak up and not go if he doesn't want to.

D

Halloween Tarot - 7 of Imps

Hello,

Since this card don't follow the RWS illustration, I have thought it could be a good idea to discuss about it.

There are 6 imps (red with yellow eyes) and a boy disguised in imp walking on a road during the night of halloween.

You can only see a part of the face of the first imp on the left down corner. He and the cat are looking at each other. There is only a part of the cat's face visible too. He has red eyes on this card.
The second imp looks at them.

The third one looks at a house on the top of the hill on the left upper corner, brown, with three windows, surrounded by a fence.
The last imp has a wand and point the house with his finger.

In the middle of the card, there is the boy looking at the two last imps on the right, who look back at him. One of the imps is holding his hand.

The moon is full, smiling green face with red eyes, looking at the imps.
There are five stars in the sky and they look a little like a part of Ursa major.

The traditionnal meaning of the card in the RWS system is one fighting against the rest of the world.
Here it can't be applied.

The little boy pretend to be an imp, while he is not.
He tries to look like the others, to hide in the crowd.

All the characters are focusing on different subjects : the cat, the house and the boy.
The boy is the only one to look at the imps.
Finally they all look at something, glance direction seems important to me in this card. The subject being more what people looks like than what they really are?

Could the meaning of this card be : being different and trying to hide it?

Or being influenced by the others, eventually to make stupid things like walking outdoor at night when your a little boy?
(the meaning seems the right one for me in a reading i have done a few days ago).

Any other ideas?

Well, sneaking into the midst of a group of real imps would take some guts, especially for a little boy who is smaller than the real imps, don't you think? The RWS image also shows someone displaying a lot of courage in standing alone to do battle in holding others at bay. I think this does echo the RWS image after all. Maybe the imp who has ahold of the hand of the little boy is keeping him from running away and the imp pointing at the house may be saying something like, "OK,you want to be an imp, so I dare you to go up to that house and convince them you're an imp by doing really outrageous 'impish' things." What do little boys do when confronted with someone challenging their bravery? They suck it up and try to take on the challenge so they won't lose face.

Grizabella said:

I think this does echo the RWS image after all.

Click to expand...

I think so,too.
This could also be a grown person because the imps may be taller than humans? One traditional interpretation for the seven of Wands is "Standing your ground" and I think this picture fits nicely to that. Maybe this person is a wannabe-imp and he has alwasy wanted to join the imps and their nocturnal excursions. The imps look friendly but they notice that he is different. Maybe the first one is talking about this wannabe-imp with the cat? It is clear that the human is different from the rest. But s/he really wants to join them and so s/he doesn´t care what the others may say about it. And because s/he is so determined the imps are benevolent.

I picked up the deck/book set, so I'd like to share what the book suggests:

"...seven imps are cautiously making their approach to the haunted house on the hill... the Seven of Imps shows a tentative investigation into the unknown, in this case what horrors may lurk inside the creaky old mansion."

The book further points out that most Tarot sevens represent "a gamble or risk." It will take courage for the imps to enter the haunted mansion, which connects this seven with the typical RWS significance.

I think it's interesting that the "enemy," the haunted house, is located on a hill above the imps, a reversal of the typical RWS representation of a stalwart warrior standing above his foes. Although the imps seem to be at a disadvantage, the book states that "obstacles, challenges, and risks can be overcome, even if it's an uphill climb."

I also find it interesting that the imposter in the midst of the imps isn't mentioned in the book. Perhaps that's just intended as an additional symbol of courage, because as Griz points out, it would take a lot of guts to sneak into a group of imps, and even more guts to accompany them into a potentially dangerous haunted mansion.

Alan

Well, the haunted house could still be the "stalwart warrior standing above his foes". Right?

I need to find my book... I hadn't thought that the one imp might be holding the boy's hand, to make sure he goes through with a dare.

I like that the house could be the one defending itself, as well, since it is fenced off.