78 Weeks: Seven Swords

jmd

To find out what these threads refer to, please seeThe link above provides suggested dates and links to all threads for this study.

Some amongst us may be working through the deck in a different order, and using different decks.

For more general comments or questions about the 78 weeks, please post in the thread linked above.

Enjoy!
 

CreativeFire

Seven of Swords

For the study this week (which was actually last week ;) as I am behind again in posting my notes), I used only the Druidcraft 7 of Swords, as its different imagery to the RWS really interested me and helped with some thoughts and understanding on this card, as this has always been one of 'those' cards that I have struggled somewhat with understanding and reading.

Instead of seeing the usual man sneaking off with the swords from the tents in the RWS, in the Druidcraft image there is an elderly man sitting at a desk. He is writing with a feather quill and ink by candlelight and in front of him at another table, are seven swords - laying on and standing against the table.

Now this got me thinking, instead of an 'act' of deceit or sneakiness that is sometimes interpreted with the 7 of Swords, the Druidcraft 7 of Swords made me more relate to the 'thoughts' that may go into this. Like making plans, researching or working out a strategy of some sort before acting rashly.

The solitary figure in this card also made me think of taking time out by yourself to work things out to maybe understand or try to 'see' what is going on around you that may not be all that it seems. Also with the swords laying on the table and the man working with a quill / pen - the old saying of 'the pen is mightier than the sword' kept popping into my head as well and felt that this could also be connected with instead of 'fighting' using the sword or strength, sometimes using your mind and strategy could be the better approach, but it does depend on what the strategy is for. In that don't get consumed by plotting and planning or manipulating to achieve things - and keep any consequences in mind as well. Or alternatively be aware that someone might not be outwardly aggressive or deceitful, but they could be manipulating a situation quietly from behind the scenes.

CF
 

knavescurvy

the 7 of swords can be both rash and sneaky but neither are neccessary the 7 is aout exploration and innovation it is about trying something outside the bux often because you are bored of the drudgery that are the 6's but there is often little planing this is about adding new ideas to a structure you already have those Ideas are not neccessarily good and could lead to doing things that are underhanded or stupid. with extra monetoring this card is not too harmful though.
 

LaurelRae

I too feel that planning and strategy is the crux of this card. In the RWS there is a group of people on the left in the background, he is using guile and cunning in broad daylight in front of people. I feel the expression on his face (that no one likes) is necessary to express stealth.

Some other thoughts as I look at the card.

Taking what you need (leaving 2 behind)

Missing the point. (leaving 2 behind)

Maybe even a little bit of Murphy's Law::snuck into camp, stole 7 swords, nearly got away but dropped 2 swords.
 

gregory

Seven of Swords - Revelations Tarot

First impressions
Crafty, devious
From the artist’s website
Upright

He chuckles at his victim's stupidity as he walks away with yet another bundle of stolen goods.

Reversed
He is crafty with his words and clever with his lies. He hides under a mask of sincerity. Represents all things superficial and false.

Images and Symbolism
Because the card is one of swords, both images represent the theft or lies associated with thought and the mind. The swords may represent ideas which are stolen or the wasting or effort and mental capacity with the situation.

The reversed side has the man covered or flanked by swords, representing the shallow use of thought or ideas to project the wrong image or concept.
His hands in a mock prayer as he bows forward with his superficial smile. He aims to please, but only for his own gain.

Colour: bi-coloured, warm hues, yellows - associated with Gemini

Traditional meanings
Upright:

Be prudent and cunning when facing your opponent and you will disarm him. Use stealth and avoid a direct confrontation.
Reversed:
Subterfuge – your own or another’s – will endanger you.
My impressions:
Upright
A crafty looking man laughs. He has on his back a quiver-like pack with four swords in it. (well, you have to assume they are swords; you can only see the hilts !) Behind him a swirling maelstrom of reds and golds.

Reversed
A much calmer looking man looks to be praying - though he too has a strange very white grin on his face. One swords hilt rises behind his head; two more are curiously wound around his torso like belts or braces. The red/gold background is much calmer.

My take
This strikes me as a card of slyness and deceit in both its aspects. Both figures are grinning rather nastily – perhaps the reverse one, with his toothy smirk, is worse, as he is also pretending to pray, it seems to me. This card suggests to me that there is something seriously unpleasant that needs to be watched for, guarded against. Someone is out to deceive, to steal or to take advantage. It could even mean that the querent is deceitful; this would very much depend on the situation of the reading and possibly also the question. The upright image – wit the quiver and the swirling background could suggest some mechanism like conjuring or hypnotism used in the deceit. I also feel that the deceit would come from someone who could expect to be trusted, someone the querent trusts – or that the querent is going to do the dirty on someone who trusts them.

Another nasty card !


All the cards from this deck can be viewed here.
 

Heloise

I got this card coming up over and over again at one time. Well, I wasn't robbed or mugged and if someone got one over on me I don't know about it but I think it can mean these things. As it kept coming up I read up a lot about it and there are quite a few meanings for it. The above its one, another - particularly in a work enviroment is backstabbing or maybe leaving but having to slope off or not leaving under the terms requested but having to take what you can get - being pushed out because of unfair treatment say. In a relationship reading I'd say that one person isn't really committed and could up sticks and go, perhaps without being really decent about it and giving the other a proper explanation though it could be just a case that they have to cut their losses because its got too much. There is a definite feeling of leaving, having no choice in the matter and having to take what you can. Leaving something behind? A lack of thoroughness, a lack of closure, things not done properly or by the book. Perhaps later someone may dwell on the swords left behind who knows?! Well, those are my ramblings and I never did suss out what it meant in my case!
 

aja

this was one of those cards that I never really 'got' until it came up in a reading that someone did for me. I don't remember the deck offhand, but the keyword at the bottom of the card was 'Politics.' And that pretty well describes this card.

Sevens are neither all bad, nor all good. Same with this card. The darker side of the card has been discussed pretty thoroughly....what could be good?

- There's that bit of manipulation that one has to do sometimes to get people to work together as a group.
- Not -quite- telling the entire story...esp. if someone doesn't really need to know all the fact.
- The ultimate 'good' side of this card could be thought of as "tact" - saying something nicely, but not necessarily the unvarnished truth.
- And finally, the phrase 'sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do" comes to mind.

So, not all manipulation is bad or done for bad intent. And I like the idea of it representing 'thinking outside of the box" because sometimes to deal with a situation, you have to be innovative.

Of course, there's the old 'charm school' joke about learning to say "That's nice..." instead of "#@*% you"
 

Sophie

I see this as a card of strategy. Pure and simple - and that is whether it's RWS-based, Thoth-based, or Marseille-based, although it's obviously easier with Marseille, because there is no heavy imagery to contend with.

In the VI of Swords, you are taking time out to think things through. You need some detachment, some healing away from a situation perhaps - or simply, you need to be able to look at all sides. Then in the VII, you bring forward what you have been thinking. You are still detached, in a way, but the reason is different: you are planning, you are strategising. It is morally neutral. Thieves strategise, but so do heroic leaders, spiritual masters, chess players - and yes, couples who are trying to resolve differences.

Sometimes it can be the strategy is to cut loose. Sometimes it will be - to talk more diplomatically. Sometimes it will be - to lay it all out. Sometimes to be firm, sometimes to be soft. That is not the point of the card: the point is - it cuts through the thinking and traces a strategy for one to follow. It can be challenging - all sevens are challenging - but it's a plan. And because it's clever, it can also represent a situation where there is a plan B., too! That is what can sometimes gives rise to the feeling of underhandedness. But such is life. We have to cover our hides, sometimes ;)
 

Herzog

Deviant Moon

An interesting take. Card shows a performer on his back, one leg is stretched up over his head and from his foot a single sword dangles down from a rope. The sword is aimed at the performers wide open mouth. The remaining swords are scattered on the ground

Looking closer, we see the rope is frayed and about to snap. This creates tension and suspense. Also, the performers fingers are crossed on both hands.

The image suggests ideas, strategies, thinking or planning that does not serve one's best interest. Further angles should have been considered but this person acted rashly. He took a chance not considering all the consequences of his decisions/actions. Now all he can do is hope for best.

I agree with the idea of "Strategies." In this case, poor strategies.
 

gregory

Thoth

Card name: Seven of Swords

First impressions

A very COOL card; turquoise, with six purplish swords’ points, pointing downwards, converging on a seventh, larger, central one pointing upwards. Their hilts bear planetary emblems: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn and the Moon (two rings like crescent moons.) In the background are the geometrical figures like swastikas – five of them, suspended in the air. The hilt of the upward pointing sword bears the Sun symbol.

From the Book of Thoth
THE FOUR SEVENS

These cards are attributed to Netzach. The position is doubly unbalanced; off the middle pillar, and very low down on the Tree. It is taking a very great risk to descend so far into illusion, and, above all, to do it by frantic struggle. Netzach pertains to Venus; Netzach pertains to Earth; and the greatest catastrophe that can befall Venus is to lose her Heavenly origin. The four Sevens are not capable of bringing any comfort; each one represents the degeneration of the element. Its utmost weakness is exposed in every case.

The Seven of Swords is called Futility. This is a yet weaker card than the Seven of Wands. It has a passive sign instead of an active one, a passive planet instead of an active one. It is like a rheumatic boxer trying to “come back” after being out of the ring for years. Its ruler is the Moon. The little energy that it possesses is no more than dream-work; it is quite incapable of the sustained labour which alone, bar miracles, can bring any endeavour to fruition. The comparison with the Seven of Wands is most instructive.

FUTILITY SEVEN OF SWORDS
Netzach, in the suit of Swords, does not represent such catastrophe as in the other suits, for Netzach, the Sephira of Venus, means victory. There is, therefore, a modifying influence; and this is accentuated by the celestial rule of the Moon in Aquarius.

The intellectual wreckage of the card is thus not so vehement as in the Five. There is vacillation, a wish to compromise, a certain toleration. But, in certain circumstances, the results may be more disastrous than ever. This naturally depends upon the success of the policy. This is always in doubt as long as there exist violent, uncompromising forces which take it as a natural prey.

This card, like the Four, suggests the policy of appeasement.

The symbol shows six Swords with their hilts in crescent formation. Their points meet below the centre of the card, impinging upon a blade of a much larger up-thrusting sword, as if there were a contest between the many feeble and the one strong. He strives in vain.

Images and Symbolism

Frieda Harris says in her essays:

Seven of Swords = Futility. Netzach in the suit of Air. Moon in Aquarius.
The card shows six Swords with their hilts in crescent formation. Their points impinge on a much larger upthrusting Sword. Here vacillation and compromise are depicted.

Also:
Seven of Swords = Futility. Moon in Aquarius. Netzach
The hilts of the swords form a crescent, but the card is a tenuous design to show that the mind is confused and undecided.

Snuffin says that the large sword represents the Ruach in Tiphareth . It points upwards, embodying (says Banzhaf) the penetrating mind. Snuffin sees the smaller ones as forming a crescent. He says that the larger swords is struggling against the others – the Ruach versus the other parts of the mind. The struggle is futile (as the keyword says); the emotions – the influence of Netxach and the Moon – cloud the mind and distorting the intellectual influenced of Aquarius and Yetzirah. the blue of the background refers to the moon in Yetzirah; the swords’ purple hue is the colour of Aquarius in Assiah – the material world.
Snuffin also sees the asymmetrical arrangement of the swastikas as indicating disorder and instability.
Banzhaf sees the smaller swords as unconscious shadows which turn against their own objectives – hindering the larger blade’s incisiveness, of which they should be a part.. AS Crowley himself says: “a contest between the many feeble and the one strong.”
DuQuette says that the card shows a planetary battle – six planets versus the sun. He points out that the large sword is damaged; I’m not so sure that’s what the apparent marks on it are – they look more like reflections of the swastikas to me ! but the arrangement is orderly and he says that this suggests the possibility of a negotiated settlement.

Meaning (cribbed from Wasserman)
Seven of Swords: Futility. Unstable effort. Vacillation. Vain striving against opposition too powerful. Partial success by giving up on the brink of winning through lack of energy. Fascination with display. Journey by land. Untrustworthy person.


DuQuette Journey by land: in character untrustworthy.
Partial success. Yielding when victory is within grasp, as if the last reserves of strength were used up. Inclination to lose when on the point of gaining, through not continuing the effort. Love of abundance, fascinated by display, given to compliments, affronts and insolences, and to spy upon others. Inclined to betray confidences, not always intentionally. Rather vacillatory and unreliable.


Traditional meanings – From Thirteen’s book of meanings:
SEVENS
The fives were about instability and loss, losing momentum, losing love, losing an argument, and losing money. The Sixes restored harmony with their give and take. Now comes the Sevens. Seven is a magic number, a number of creativity and individuality. You might want to stay in the comfort and company of the Sixes, but challenges are a part of life, and we often have to face them on our own.
As with the Chariot, the Sevens require that you take control in a tough situation, manage your responsibilities, and find a way to succeed. One constant is the paradox of the chariot, a card that should be about movement, but is pictured at rest. Likewise, the driver of a chariot never moves. He holds fast to the reins and stands still there in the car. It goes from one point to the other at his command, but he, carried along within, remains steadfast.
In the Sevens, that is the most common way to succeed. Remain steadfast within. Thus these cards offer you a chance to show not only what you've learned and retained from your trials, but how well you deal with the unexpected.
Seven of Swords
A thief sneaks off with five out of seven swords. It's no surprise that when it comes to swords, attacks are sneaky and tricky, not direct like with Wands. Yet this is still an attack that requires creativity and steadfastness. The image also us back to number five (stolen swords) and "loss" along with what remains behind, number two, and choices.
This is the "Thief" card, and though it can be taken literally (protect yourself against theft), it usually means a different type of stealing. Being the intellect and communication, what might be stolen are ideas, something you've written, or even an internet password. The querent should be warned to be on their guard, especially against those who are trying to extract information from them.
Stand guard over what you value, and try to outwit the thief. In some cases, in fact, this card might be advising the querent that they have to be the thief. They need to be tricky, sneaky, even dishonest because, in some situations, honesty is not the best policy. Sometimes flattery, lies, dissembling is necessary to get back what you feel belongs to you.
(I include Thirteen’s meanings here, but the way, as while someone else was adding them to her Thoth posts, I found them enlightening in context, even though the descriptions are way different !)

My impressions (appearance of the card):
It’s strange how you do seem to have six against one here. The blue is very calm; I suppose futility is pretty stationary. But the smaller swords do actually look quite threatening, hemming the large one in, and it reaches for the moon – like a little kid aiming for the impossible.

My take (what I make of it/what I might see in a reading where I drew it)
Your objective is in sight – but don’t go for it too fast; there are obstacles just waiting for you not to notice them- and of you don’t see them and avoid them, they will run you through and through !