← Encyclopedia of Tarot · lesson 57/121
Seven of Swords
The Seven of Swords is the card of cunning. It shows someone acting alone and by indirect means — a strategy, a workaround, a quiet escape, or sometimes a deception. Waite himself noted that its meanings pull in different directions, and readers usually decide between them from the question and the cards nearby.
The image
A man tiptoes away from a camp of tents, carrying five swords in his arms and glancing back over his shoulder. Two swords remain stuck in the ground behind him, and in the distance a small group of soldiers stands near the tents. The figure is usually read as getting away with something — whether by wit or by stealth — and the two swords left behind as what the plan could not carry.
Upright
Strategy, resourcefulness, acting alone, avoiding confrontation; also evasion, a plan that may fail, or a lack of openness. Waite lists "design, attempt, wish, hope, confidence" alongside "quarrelling, a plan that may fail". It can also ask the person to check whether they, or someone else, are being fully honest.
Reversed
Waite's reversal is good advice — counsel, instruction — though perhaps ignored. Modern readers often see a secret coming to light, a change of heart, or a return of what was taken. Some readers do not use reversals.
Correspondences
Minor Arcana, the Seven of the suit of Swords, element Air. In the Golden Dawn system, which most English-language decks follow, it is the Moon in the third decan of Aquarius, 20°–30°, in Netzach, the seventh sephirah. The Order called it "Unstable Effort".
In a reading
As advice it can mean: be strategic rather than confrontational. As an obstacle, something left unsaid. Beside the Page of Swords, watch what is said and to whom.
In astrology
The Golden Dawn's correspondences, which most English-language decks follow (French, Marseille-based tradition differs for some Major Arcana).
Decan: Moon in Aquarius, 20°–30°
Element: Air — the element of Gemini, Libra and Aquarius
Mode: Fixed — Aquarius is a fixed sign