Best laid plans

7 of Swords 

'The harlequin attempts to swallow his swords in a dramatic display of skill, yet his plan is flawed. The rope which binds the blades is frayed and will soon break, leaving him in a tragic predicament.' ~ Patrick Valenza, Deviant Moon Tarot LWB (US Games 2013)

He does appear to be in considerable peril, but I wonder what happened to his right foot!

The divinatory meanings given in the LWB are: ill-conceived plans, a path to failure, a poor attempt. These are a bit different from the usual RWS meanings of cunning, deception, or the more innocent pursuit of knowledge (study).

Thoth tradition names this card Lord of Futility, which doesn't quite have the same feeling as this particular interpretation of 7 of Swords, as Lord of Futility is more about feeling too doubtful to take a decisive course of action. The figure in this card doesn't seem to doubt his abilities, in fact may be overconfident and not seeing all the factors involved in his current course of action, nor their possible consequences. On the other hand, few activities seem more futile than sword swallowing.

This leads me to the following questions for today:

A time for caution

Sacred India Tarot 

It's poor old Bheeshma again. He's a granddad in this illustration. (I guess his 'terrible vow' didn't quite work out, or maybe 'Grandsire' is an honorific). Outside the window, the youngsters squabble and fight.

The Mahabharata is SOOOO complicated. It is very well known story in India and apparently is the longest epic poem in the world. It is considered as culturally important as Shakespeare, the Bible, the Koran and Greek drama. Obviously I am not going to be able to sum it up in a blog entry.

I did find this useful little article which sheds some light on ways that poor old Bheeshma has gone wrong since his vow of celibacy: Bheeshma - Grandsire, One of the Major Contributors to the Great War of Mahabharat.

He's called 'grandsire' so I can only assume he managed to father some children despite his vow. Apparently, he stuck his oar in where his stepmother's children were concerned (the ones he renounced his claim to the throne for), and it's their squabbles that lead to the big war that destroys the entire world, the battle of Mahabharat. Or so I gather.

The LWB is no help, because it assumes you have such knowledge of the Mahabharata that it reads like a discussion of the next door neighbours, or a popular TV show that everyone watches.

My husband told me he remembered show called 'Mahabharat' being on TV around 1988-89. I googled it and found many episodes on YouTube. Watched a couple of them, but there are 93, and the events of this particular card seem rather late in the saga. So I will find out eventually what is going on, but not today.

Fortunately the interpretations offered in the book are familiar:

plots, conspiracies, office politics, act with stealth and cunning to protect oneself, diplomatic and discreet behaviour, keep cards near chest, lack of attention gives advantage to foes. So -- a time for caution!

Sherlock Holmes Tarot Week - the rare mistake

Seven of Swords has always been a rather confusing card for many. In this card (Seven of Observation) from the Sherlock Holmes Tarot, Holmes is throwing a bit of temper tantrum because he's made a mistake. The card is known as Lord of Unstable Effort, and in that tradition, it does indeed mean feeling ineffectual, inept or pessimistic. Crowley went so far as to call it Futility. No one called it Theft or Cunning, though that is the contemporary meaning many readers assign to it. I'm sure that's because of the curious RWS image painted by Pamela Colman-Smith, which looks like a thief making off with some swords at a jousting tournament. It's rather unfortunate, because that is not the interpretation in the Golden Dawn tradition, which is what RWS is meant to follow. Waite himself wrote: 'Design, attempt, wish, hope, confidence; also quarreling, a plan that may fail, annoyance. The design is uncertain in its import, because the significations are widely at variance with each other.' So even he admits that the design of the card is unclear.

Actually, then, the Golden Dawn meaning of the card is clearer in the Sherlock Holmes Tarot than it is in the Rider Waite Smith deck. Sherlock certainly seems perturbed in this image, at least. And there is really nothing that would likely upset Sherlock other than making a mistake. If there is a story in which Holmes scatters newspapers in a fury, it isn't referenced in the companion book, and I haven't read all the Sherlock Holmes stories (a situation that will soon be remedied, as I have just ordered the Complete Annotated Sherlock Holmes, which contains the four novels and all 56 short stories).

Today is Friday and I'm working from home today, and there is no way that I am going to let anything make me feel ineffectual, inept or perturbed today. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say. I put up my shields of protection, like a glowing orb around me, and may anything that comes out bounce off into the ether today. Before me Raphael, behind me Gabriel, on my right hand Michael, on my left hand Uriel.

Moon never beams without bringing me dreams -- 7 of Swords in Cosmic Tarot

The RWS 7 of Swords looks nothing like this one from the Cosmic Tarot. It has the familiar depiction of a man apparently sneaking away with five stolen swords from amongst the tents of a medieval jousting tournament.  (The other two remained stabbed in the ground -- or rather the floor of the stage.) The meaning of the 7 of Swords in Cosmic Tarot is closer to that of Thoth. In fact, I would say the Cosmic Tarot is a Thoth-inspired or Thoth-based deck, as far as meanings go. You can see on the bottom of the Thoth 7 of Swords the card title 'Futility'. The Golden Dawn called it 'Lord of Unstable Effort.'

I really don't know why 7 of Swords has come to mean 'theft' or 'deceit' in common parlance, other than the figure in the RWS card tiptoeing away from the apparent scene of his crime. So leaving aside the vagaries of Pamela Colman-Smith's image, let's take a look at the 7 of Swords from Cosmic Tarot, reading it in light of Thoth/Golden Dawn interpretations. In Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley writes, 'The 7 of Swords is called Futility. 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 it possesses is no more than dream work. It is quite incapable of the sustained labour which alone, bar miracles, can bring any endeavor to fruition.' The 7 of Swords, according to Crowley's system, is ruled by the moon in Aquarius. 

'The Moon in Aquarius comes up with the grand ideas, but can have a hard time with the nuts and bolts. Some may find the mundane challenges of daily life, such as paying bills or doing the dishes, to be a herculean struggle. When feeling insecure, they may hide behind a veil of aloofness and try to blend in with the multitudes. Some find connection by simply sitting alone in a public place, such as a coffee shop.' ~ Molly Hall

So we begin to see where 'Lord of Unstable Effort', and even 'Futility' comes from. It's an astrological association. The word futility itself simply means, 'the quality of having no useful result'. It is not the same thing as 'doom', though some people do seem to think that's what the word means. 'Futility' is merely not of any particular use. And so lingering around the house all day in one's bathrobe, never quite eating a full meal, never quite watching an entire show or reading a chapter from a book, having got through an entire day with out really accomplishing anything -- that could very easily be a 7 of Swords day. 'Futility' doesn't mean horrible, gloom, or despair. Just kinda pointless.

The image from Cosmic Tarot is dominated by the moon in the cloudy sky, its pale yellow colour repeated in the large cloak draped over the woman's shoulders and arms, as if she is clothed in the moon's energy. The seven swords are stabbed into the ground around her, which is completely barren and grey. She is strolling out of the open circle of the swords toward the moon, moving in slow, languorous steps, and we can see she is reaching her left arm out to straighten the robe so she can toss it over her right shoulder, enveloping herself in the energy of this 'passive planet', the moon. She will continue to stroll in her slow, purposeless way, casting a shadow in the moonlight, looking down at her pale feet, thinking of nothing in particular, or if she is thinking it will be of something inconsequential, or of something quite 'grand' but of no practical application. She will look back on the past hours and wonder where they went, and what she was doing during them.

It's that sort of Futility -- and in fact, I spend most Sundays like that! Just sort of piddling around, not accomplishing much. There's nothing wrong with a bit of idleness, sometimes.

Do or do not: Seven of Swords

CBD Tarot, Ben-Dov 2010

Are you kidding me? Seven of Swords again! Today's draw from the CBD Tarot gives me the same card I drew on Saturday. The LWB says the card means 'Concentrating on a clear goal and doing what it takes to reach it.' This not my favourite activity any day of the week. I'm much better at procrastination and excuse-making! Doh. Is this card going to become a stalker?

Just what does the Seven of Swords mean? One fantastic thing about pips-only decks is that they make you consider many ways of interpreting card meaning.

Eteilla's key word for 7 of Swords is 'esperance' -- it means expectancy, hope, or conviction.

The Golden Dawn meaning is the more familiar to most tarotists -- taking risks, being partly successful/partly unsuccessful, deceit, betrayal, theft, or just being cunning. We see some of these ideas in the Rider Waite Smith image.

Some people have a seemingly different take on the 7 of Swords and see studying and learning, such as in the Druidcraft Tarot or the Gaian Tarot.

Numerologically, seven signifies challenges or tests, using skills and courage, mastery, projection, putting forth an effort, getting things done, a push; proving oneself, taking chances, perhaps even confrontations. Maybe uncertainty, mystery, or misgivings. It is a number of reflection and assessment.

In the guidebook to the Pathfinders Tarot, David Fontana suggests that 7 is most frequently occurring in connection with profundities -- 7 heavens, 7 pillars of wisdom, 7 chakras, 7 days in a week, 7 ruling planets, 7 notes on the tonic scale, 7 cardinal virtues, 7 deadly sins, 7 wonders of the world, etc. He says 7 is concerned with the imagination, dreams, and openness to the hidden realities behind appearances.

If a 7 is a challenge and the suit of swords is thought, then Seven of Swords could be 'challenging thoughts'. Perhaps this is why the Golden Dawn named this card 'Lord of Unstable Effort'. Things could go either way. The card, then, calls for a thorough examination of both the situation and one's motives for taking various actions. Of course, pondering this could lead to Pamela Coleman Smith's Rider Waite figure tiptoeing away with the apparently stolen swords (what was his motive? did it seem right in his eyes?) OR the scholar at his desk in Druidcraft (perhaps he's making a list of pros and cons, or writing a treatise from both points of view). Either way, we see an artist's conception of examining motives.

Maybe the Seven of Swords could represent a crisis point -- a point at which we must decide whether we are going to do something, or just leave it. Time to make up your mind. Press on, or turn back. I can think of several areas in my life where I could apply this. The thing is, the tarot can only point in a direction. It's up to you to do or not do -- and in that way, maybe every reading is like a Seven of Swords.

The Devil made me avoid it (?)

This week's featured tarot is the beautiful CBD Tarot DeMarseille, by Dr Yoav Ben-Dov, a 'faithful reproduction of the traditional Tarot cards based on the standard deck printed by Nicholas Conver, 1760, restored and adapted by Yoav Ben-Dov, 2010.' I bought it from Ben-Dov's website: www.cbdtarot.com. I've decided to do 3-card draws at least some of the days, because the pips-only TdM can be a bit hard to relate to in single-card draws (though I actually quite like doing single-card draws with it).

The Devil - 7 of Swords - Queen of Coins
CBD Tarot (2010)

Today's draw: There will be a struggle between temptation and the physical or material plane. This could be anything from a temptation to overeat to a strong impulse to buy something I don't really need. Well, I face this kind of temptation every day! However, I can't say that I do much  resisting against them. The 7 of Swords shows great determination in achieving a goal, so the message for the day must be that I should stand firm when these temptations present themselves. I think it's most likely pointing to skipping my yoga practice. The Devil doesn't like discipline. I will take this as a warning that some sort of strong impulse to misbehave is coming my way today.

Just (You do it to yourself)

Tarot of the Sidhe, Carding 2010

Rider Waite Smith

This is an alarming-looking image for an easy Friday morning!

Dreamer Seven, 'A Coward Betrays', from Emily Carding's Tarot of the Sidhe, is the equivalent of 7 of Swords, which in RWS shows a man carrying swords which he's apparently stolen, tiptoeing away from some tents. Traditionally, the card is taken to mean some sort of unethical behaviour or nefarious scheming. But it's also sometimes interpreted to mean studying and learning (such as in the Druidcraft Tarot, though he might as easily be plotting or scheming something underhand, I suppose.) Learn Tarot suggests these meanings, as well as: 

The Seven of Swords can also indicate a hidden dishonor - a choice you or another has made that does not do justice to the highest. We all make wrong choices that we want to hide. Some of these are minor, some serious. Your inner voice will tell you when this is happening. When you see the Seven of Swords, take a good look at what you're doing because hidden dishonors will eat away at your happiness and self-respect.

That is a profound interpretation of this card, and I think it is quite pertinent to the image seen on the Tarot of the Sidhe Dreamer Seven card. It is a full moon, in a clearing amongst bare trees. Five wraith-like beings have apprehended a male sidhe. One of them holds a knife overhead in a threatening manner, as if he would plunge it into the sidhe's chest. From behind a tree, another sidhe watches, in hiding. What are these terrible wraiths? What has the green-shirted sidhe done to deserve this? Is he the coward who betrayed? Or is it the other figure peering around the tree? I believe it's the overall sense of the thing rather than the details that must be considered with this particular card. Emily Carding's verse for Dreamer Seven:

'At times the shadows in Dream are hidden,
And from the depths will emerge unbidden,
They must be faced, the challenge met,
Lest dreams be tangled in cunning net.'

Musings on the Celtic Tarot: Swords

Suit of Swords--Celtic Tarot, Davis  

The first thing I notice about this suit is the arcing of lightning or electricity and its various manifestations throughout. You can see the first stirrings of it on the tip of the sword in the Ace, then the big spark jumping between sword tips in the Two. It's gone in the Three, but beginning to whirl up again behind the swords in the Four, goes a little crazy in the Five, shoots a clear steady beam in the Six, becomes a full on power storm in the Seven, then is pretty much gone in Eight, Nine and Ten. The background of those cards also appears a deeper red. Why? Looking closer, you can see that there is a ball of energy in Eight, a few glimmering pinpoints in Nine, and a few even smaller ones in Ten. Curious...what could it mean?

Prairie Tarot--7 of Swords

Prairie Tarot, Glow in the Dark, 2011

Today's card is 7 of Swords, from Robin Ator's Prairie Tarot: A Tarot of the American West. A man, likely a white man, judging from his clothes and hair, approaches an Indian camp or reservation. Behind his back he clutches seven swords. From the front, his ramrod straight posture is, I'm sure, accompanied by a look of studied guilelessness. The unwary Indians must all still be in their teepees, probably not even realising that he's walked up with his nice little surprise.

The card speaks to me of duplicity, deceit, betrayal. Why, though, are the colours of the swords arranged into the colours of the chakras?? And do my eyes betray me, or is the man's left hand dripping blood from the blades he clutches with his oversized, greedy hands?

Who is the man most deeply betraying here? The Indians? Or himself? Maybe he doesn't want to be here. Maybe he was sent on this mission to trick the Indians and doesn't want to do it. Maybe there is a crisis of conscience within him. Maybe.

Either way, there is a strong sense that the present moment of quiet depicting in the cards is about to end. There is a tension in the man's posture and the eye is drawn to the flaps of the teepees, as if the Indians are just about to begin emerging from them. Whatever is about to happen, is to going to happen within seconds, and whatever that may be, it's going to be painful for someone. This is not a win-win situation here, no way.

Gaian Tarot - 7 of Air

Here's my card of the day from Joanna Powell Colbert's Gaian Tarot (Llewellyn 2011.)

The hiker is stopping on his journey to check his map. He looks very relaxed and confident, so I don't think he's lost. I think he's considering his options. There's lots of stuff on that map to see, and only the rest of the day to see it in. Which way should he go?

Maybe this morning before he set out, he had made a detailed plan of what he would do during this hike. But now that he's out here in the hills, things look different. Maybe the path he'd planned doesn't take him to the place he now realises he would prefer to see. I really think he's about to change plans entirely, much to his surprise. I like this card.

I don't really know what it had to do with my day today. But I like it, anyway. :)