Seven of Wands: Modern RWS Tarot Card Meanings
‘Seven of Wands’, Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
RWS Seven of Wands: Upright Meanings
Keywords
Defiance, Courage, Defending a Position, Perseverance, Holding Your Ground
Generally
The Seven of Wands signifies a time of defending your position against opposition, challenge, or competition. It represents the courage to stand your ground and persevere when you are outnumbered or your beliefs are being tested. This is the energy of a public speaker holding their own during a difficult Q&A, a lone artist defending their creative vision against critics, or an individual maintaining a difficult boundary in a family dispute. It is about defiance, perseverance, and the struggle to maintain a hard-won position.
In a Love Context
In matters of love, this card often points to the need to fight for a relationship or to defend it from external criticism. It can represent a couple standing together against disapproving family members, one partner defending the relationship to sceptical friends, or the internal struggle to maintain your commitment during a challenging period. It signifies the courage to protect the bond you have built, even when it is difficult.
In a Money/Career Context
This card represents defending your professional position, your ideas, or your business against intense competition. It might be a start-up founder fighting to maintain market share against a larger rival, an employee defending their project during a critical review, or an artist protecting their intellectual property. It is the energy of holding your ground and proving the value of your work under pressure.
In a Spiritual Context
This can signify a period of defending your spiritual beliefs against doubt, either from others or from within. It may represent holding firm to your personal philosophy in the face of a dogmatic group, the courage to maintain your practice during a "dark night of the soul," or the necessary struggle to protect your spiritual integrity from external pressures to conform.
In Common Spread Positions
As Advice
Stand your ground. Defend your position. Do not back down. Persevere through the challenge.
As (Ultimate) Outcome
A hard-won victory. Successfully defending your turf. A struggle that is overcome through courage.
As Obstacles
Constant battles are exhausting you. A defensive attitude is preventing progress. You are fighting a losing battle.
As Hidden Energy
An unacknowledged competitive threat. A secret need to defend your boundaries. The potential to win if you stand firm.
As Resources/Alliances
Your own courage and perseverance. A defensible position. The moral high ground.
RWS Seven of Wands: Reversed Meanings
Keywords
Giving Up, Being Overwhelmed, Defeat, Surrender, Lack of Confidence
Generally
Reversed, the Seven of Wands can point to feeling overwhelmed, giving up the fight, or being defeated by the opposition. It signifies a loss of confidence, a failure to defend your position, or the exhaustion that comes from constant struggle. This can manifest as backing down in an argument, abandoning a difficult project, or feeling completely overrun by the challenges of life.
In a Love Context
This card often signifies giving up on a relationship or feeling unable to defend it any longer. It can be the moment you decide a partnership is not worth fighting for, feeling overwhelmed by a partner's criticism, or a relationship that is failing due to a lack of conviction from one or both parties.
In a Money/Career Context
This can mean being defeated by competitors, abandoning a project, or a complete loss of confidence in your professional abilities. It might represent giving up on a business venture, failing to defend your ideas in a meeting, or the feeling of being completely overwhelmed by your workload and admitting defeat.
In a Spiritual Context
This can mean a loss of faith or giving up on a difficult spiritual path. It may represent feeling overwhelmed by spiritual doubt, abandoning a practice that has become too challenging, or the feeling that your spiritual beliefs cannot stand up to scrutiny. It is the energy of spiritual surrender or defeat.
In Common Spread Positions
As Advice
Pick your battles wisely. A strategic retreat is necessary. Stop fighting a losing battle.
As (Ultimate) Outcome
Defeat. Being overwhelmed by the opposition. A failure to stand your ground.
As Obstacles
A crippling lack of confidence. The feeling of being completely outnumbered. An unwillingness to fight for what you believe in.
As Hidden Energy
A secret desire to give up. An unacknowledged fear of confrontation is undermining your position.
As Resources/Alliances
Help comes from accepting defeat and moving on. The wisdom gained from a lost battle.
Additional Notes on The RWS Seven of Wands
Waite’s Divinatory Meanings of The Seven of Wands
"It is a card of valour, for on the surface, six are attacking one, who has, however, the vantage of position. On the intellectual plane, it signifies discussion, wordy strife; in business--negotiations, war of trade, barter, competition. It is further a card of success, for the combatant is on the top and his enemies may be unable to reach him. Reversed: Perplexity, embarrassments, anxiety. It is also a caution against indecision." (The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911)
RWS Seven of Wands Symbolism
A.E. Waite’s Seven of Wands depicts a single figure standing on a hilltop or ridge, using their own wand to defensively fight off six other wands that are being thrust up at them from below. The figure's expression is one of defiance and determination. His position on the high ground gives him a strategic advantage, but he is clearly outnumbered. The scene is a powerful allegory for the courage to defend one's position, to stand your ground against opposition, and to persevere in the face of a challenge.
Meditations On The Seven of Wands
What belief, position, or value am I currently being called upon to defend?
Continue Reading: RWS Minor Arcana
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