Seven of Swords
A man tiptoes away from a camp with five swords, leaving two behind: strategy, stealth, and cunning, or deception and trying to get away with something.
Swords, VII
Upright keywords
- strategy
- stealth
- deception
- cunning
- evasion
- going it alone
Meaning when upright
The Seven of Swords shows a man slipping away from a military camp with an armful of swords, glancing back over his shoulder with a sly smile. It signals strategy, stealth, and independent action: sometimes clever resourcefulness, sometimes deception, theft, or an attempt to dodge consequences. Waite himself calls the card "uncertain in its import," listing design, attempt, hope, and confidence alongside quarreling and a plan that may fail. Read it as a prompt to check who is being less than honest, yourself included.
On the card
- man carrying five swords away
- Taking what one can carry; strategy, theft, or an attempt to do too much alone.
- two swords left standing in the ground
- What is left behind or cannot be taken; a plan that may be incomplete.
- tiptoeing, sidelong stride
- Stealth, secrecy, and evasion.
- glance back over his shoulder
- Wariness, guilt, or fear of being caught.
- sly smile
- Cunning and self-satisfaction; confidence that may prove premature.
- tents of a military camp
- The group or establishment being left behind, outwitted, or deceived.
- distant figures and smoke at the far side of the camp
- Others unaware of what is happening; the ever-present chance of discovery.
- bright yellow sky
- Broad daylight: the act is bold and exposed despite its secrecy.
In Waite’s words
A man in the act of carrying away five swords rapidly; the two others of the card remain stuck in the ground. A camp is close at hand.
- Divinatory meaning
Design, attempt, wish, hope, confidence; also quarrelling, a plan that may fail, annoyance. The design is uncertain in its import, because the significations are widely at variance with each other.
- Reversed
Good advice, counsel, instruction, slander, babbling.
- Additional meaning
Dark girl; a good card; it promises a country life after a competence has been secured. Reversed: Good advice, probably neglected.
Correspondences
- Element
- Air
- Astrology
- Moon in Aquarius
- Sephira
- Netzach (7)
- Golden Dawn title
- Lord of Unstable Effort
- Decan
- Feb 9 – Feb 18
- Number
- Seven is assessment and the testing of faith; in Swords it tests the mind's honesty, pitting cleverness against conscience.
To reflect on
- Where am I tempted to take a shortcut or avoid accountability?
- Is there someone I'm not being fully honest with, including myself?
- What strategy could I pursue that I would be proud to have seen?
In your readings
Hasn’t appeared in your readings yet.
Ask about this card
Marguerite, the traditionalist, answers from Waite’s text, what is drawn on the card and its correspondences. You can choose another reader in settings.