7 of Swords

VII of Swords

3rd Decan of Aquarius (Saturn-Uranus), February 9th-18th

Ruled by: Venus in Libra

Constellation: Cygnus

Element: Air, Venus in Yetzirah (Formative - Vav)

Keywords: Trickery, futility, instability, deception, getting away with "it", infiltration, avoidance, hoarding, strategy, sneaking around, cheating, lying, stealing.

Description: The Seven of Swords is riddled with conflict. Resolution and compromise, which is so desired, tends to be mere wishful thinking and is unlikely. Failure or falling short are pressing possibilities. It's Murphy's Law.

"Best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." - Robert Burns

Cutting corners, procrastinating, doing as little as possible, or attempting to take the easy way out. All, of which, are also indicated by this key. Selfishness and complacency are emphasized. It's all play and no work -- shirking responsibilities in favor of pleasure and entertainment. It's going after desired results without putting any real effort in. Half-assing it. Expecting reward and recognition for doing the bare minimum. Taking credit for (or copying) someone else's hard work.

This key may also imply that there's a feeling of uncertainty about what one truly wants and/or why. Perhaps a desire is conflicting with long-held beliefs, values, or a series of mental complexes. Maybe one is approaching their goals with scattered effort, confusion, and/or clouded perception. Victory, here, is unlikely or partial, at best.

The Sphere of Netzach's (Victory; Venus) influence in Yetzirah, the Formative World. This is desire impressing itself upon mental processes and/or thought patterns -- whether that be through (or resulting in) flights of fancy, fantasy, or imagination. With this, though, the capacity to delude and deceive self as well as other. There is also an element of manipulation present, a recurring theme in the Suite of Air.

Communication may be muddied. One may feel misunderstood, unheard, or lost in translation. Old thought-forms no longer resonate, but are still being (unsuccessfully and inappropriately) utilized. The old is crumbling, and yet one is still resting on their laurels of past success. One might be hoarding outmoded mental constructs -- maybe even with the wish to recreate the fruit those paradigms once bore. But that fruit is now rotten or ill-gotten.

Much is tugging it one's awareness, which may be pulling the querent in too many directions. New ideas may be competing for the limelight. Clinging to the old modus operandi may be hindering future progress, and is sending one down an unsavory path. Tried and true may one day be proven false. Sometimes it's worth it to take a risk and be more impractical. Either way, success is never a sure thing.