BASIC DESCRIPTION: A young man
holding a wand horizontally in both hands stands on elevated ground
above the top halves of six vertical wands. His posture appears
defensive, and his expression disconcerted. He wears one shoe and one
boot.
FIRST THING THAT STRUCK ME: He's holding
the high ground.
UPRIGHT MEANINGS: It is a card of
valour, for, on the surface, six are attacking one, who
has, however, the vantage 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.
(Waite)
Holding the high ground, courage of one's
conviction, taking a firm stand for strongly-held
beliefs, acting on inner truth, preparedness to take a risk, making a
difference, passionate involvement, personal power, strong character,
integrity, diligence. Test of faith, confident defense of
position, protection, resistance, taking on all comers, refusing to
yield, saying "No!", holding out against pressure, one's behavior
defuses criticisms. Valor, bravery, boldness, courage
in the face of difficulties, a brave person facing incredible odds.
Meeting challenges, overcoming obstacles, surmounting
the odds, holding one's own against adversaries. Success despite
opposition, advantage, gain, victory, King of the Hill. Effort to
stay on top in one's field, unrelenting competition in
business or trade, negotiation, debate.
ALSO: Initiation, induction into the
mysteries; achieving goals by synthesizing experiences of the past;
accepting the gifts of higher powers. Skill in martial arts.
REVERSED MEANINGS: Perplexity,
doubt, sinking into anxiety, consternation, uncertain
position, misgivings about an outcome, worry, agitation.
Embarrassment, losing face, lack of confidence, weakness,
stubbornness, insistence. A caution against indecision,
hesitancy causes losses, slipping in position, losing power
and influence. Inaction, failure to fight for oneself and
dependents, letting everybody down (including yourself), acting
irresponsibly.
ALSO: A holier-than-thou attitude.
Selling out.
BIBLICAL: "The Lord is with me; I
will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; he is
my helper. I will look with triumph on my enemies. ... All the
nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut {held} them
off. ... I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my
salvation."--Psalms 118:6-14 (NIV)
"Moreover, I say to you, my friends, Do not fear those who kill the
body and after this are not able to do anything more."--Luke12:4
(NWT)
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because
fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in
love."--1John 4:18 (KJV)
MYTHOLOGICAL: Hercules
HISTORICAL: The Alamo. Any siege. Also reminds me of the
battle over Jerusalem, the Temple and the Dome (the high holy
places).
ANIMAL: Turtles, for their
non-aggressive, non-violent method of self-defense.
PLANTS/FLOWERS: I think of flowers with
long stems, which take their lovely blooms out of the reach of snails
and slugs; i.e. tulips, poppies and such. Also, the alpine flowers
and plants that grow above the tree line.
LANDSCAPE: high ground
TIME/SEASON: indeterminate (not
winter)
CRYSTALS: Sodalite
MUSIC: "Get Up Stand Up" by Bob
Marley. Reversed: "And you always seem outnumbered, you don't dare
make a stand."--Bob Seeger
FILM/BOOK: Schindler's List, Norma Rae,
Silkwood
PUBLIC PEOPLE OR EVENTS: Julia Butterfly
Hill. Diego Rivera's refusal to paint over Lenin on the RCA mural he
did for the Rockefellers. Jim Morrison on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Greenpeace. The Chinese student(s) in Tiananmen Square. The Reverend
Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior. The Dalai Lama. I can't list them
all.
OCCUPATIONS: activist, fireman,
superhero, defending champion, defensive lineman
QUOTES FROM OTHER SOURCES: "Let me win,
but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."--Special
Olympics motto
"We have come out of the time when obedience, the acceptance of
discipline, intelligent courage and resolution were most important,
into that more difficult time when it is a man's duty to understand
his world rather than simply fight for it."--Ernest Hemingway
"I know of no more encouraging fact than he unquestionable ability of
man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor."-- Henry David
Thoreau
SITUATIONS IN MY LIFE: When I found my daughter unattended outside the pre-school, I didn't scream and holler, and pitch a fit in front of all the other kids. I went home and thought and evaluated and prepared. I found out who to call, and set up a meeting with the director, where I shared some safety suggestions. When it turned out that no one at the school was at all concerned, or interested in my suggestions, I didn't call the mayor or authorities (though maybe I should have). I talked with other mothers in my community. The group my daughter was in is now down to four kids. Teachers are calling around trying to recruit kids! I didn't force the school to take any action, but if they don't, they won't have enough kids to stay in business--*safely.*
THIS CARD/PERSON IN MY LIFE: Bob O'Neill, Karin Meyer
PERSONAL THOUGHTS:
ON CHALLENGE:
What comes through strongest for me about the Seven of Wands--a
common thread maybe--is the challenge; and I've learned that that you
have to *conquer* before you can *defend.* Unlike other types of
challenges reprented in the Tarot (e.g. Tower, odd-numbered Wands,
etc.), this is one you have to prepare for before you can meet it. In
the RW image, the figure can be seen "holding the high ground," and
it's an excellent vantage point for him, but he had to get up there
first. Comparing to other cards such as the Halloween, it can be seen
that the six wands of preparation are the other side of the
challenge, and something of an "unseen force" at the moment of
defense. I've thought of many examples of how this applies on
different levels, and I'd like to share some of them with you.
Physical level
~ If he's building a fence, as my husband said, then before he even
went to the site, he had to figure out what supplies he would need,
gather them, transport them, and have the know-how, before he could
life one pole.
~ In a similar vein, I just heard how my family in Florida tried 13
different lumber yards and waited in line five hours to buy plywood
to board up the house for the coming hurricane. If they hadn't put in
this preparatory "conquering" effort, there would be no defense. The
storm would have its way.
Emotional level
~ Recognizing a fear, examining it, working with it, then meeting it
head on.
~ A well-founded, caring relationship is strong against adulterous
temptation, gossip, pettiness, or whatever.
Spiritual level
~ Having built one's faith to the level of taking a stand, perhaps
against what's popular. Some real life examples could be "Just Say
No," refusing to salute the flag, wearing a pentagram, living without
TV, home schooling, etc. Or the Jehovah's Witnesses who could have
gotten out of the concentration camps by signing a paper renouncing
their religion and taking up arms for the Fatherland, and didn't.
~ Jehovah's Witnesses, in most all of what they do.
~ Spirituality with conviction is not something that "befalls" you.
Spirituality that is simply inherited, or in name only, won't help in
times of challenge. The belief or faith (even in oneself) that gives
courage has to be built up (high).
Mental level
~ A math test! Better yet, six finals in one week. 
Thing is, the last two are younger ideas in society (IMHO), and perhaps we don't understand them fully, or grasp their power. My first impression of the RW image was of something like the Frankenstein movie--peasants with pitchforks, right? What if the peasants had held a sit-in at the castle? Talked to the monster to find out why he's so pissed? If you think it impossible to reason with the monster, then you have only seen the movie and not read the book.
I think the term "passive resistance" is maybe inappropriate and misleading; implying that all non-violent, non-cooperative resistance is passive, and that passive is the same as inactive or submissive. The only reason the term is in common usage is because people went out on the streets and got beat up! They could have stayed home. People who practice passive resistance are, ironically, called "activists." Many are even trained in non-violent (so-called passive rather than aggressive) response. The point of turning the other cheek is not to get beat up for one's ideals, but to resolve things without becoming a perpetrator of violence oneself. Something like sitting locked down in protest against destruction of life while the authorities swab pepper spray onto your eyeball might be better termed "active, non-aggressive resistance." This *is* fighting evil (especially when you can get it on film). [For more information, see the Headwaters Action Video Collective.]
Passive resistance can be a problelm when it leads to aggressive resistance--when you've turned the other cheek until you've had enough, and strike back. I've found it's better to look for an alternative solution *before* it gets to the point of retribution. It's better to sit in trees than to spike them.
FAVORITE REPRESENTATION: Ancestral
Path, Blue Rose, Healing Tarot
COMPARISONS TO OTHER CARDS: More
purposeful than the strife of the Five of Wands.
COMPARISONS TO OTHER DECKS:
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This page contains excerpts from my original contributions to an
online Tarot discussion. The
Comparative
Tarot list is made possible by Valerie Sim and Yahoo! groups.
Special thanks to all my motivators and helpers!
Seven of Wands IMHO page created September 2004.
http://www.moonchild.ch/Tarot/minors/wands/w07/w07imho.html
