April 29, 2010 - Seven of Wands

By last night I had slipped and slid into a major funk.  A year out of my heart surgery and so much the same, I wonder if I've made the necessary changes in my life.  Am I truly living the whole-hearted existence I've been called to?  Some places in my life are still so unsettled, so messy, so painful.

My question today then was what did I need to know to help me find consistent happiness and the Seven of Wands.  This card urges the querent to be aggressive, defiant, and show conviction. It tells you to go after what you want, go on the offensive, seize the advantage.  It also says, "don't yield."  And finally, show conviction.  Be sure, know you are right and act resolutely.  There's something combative about this card that just goes against my grain.  I also wonder what I'm supposed to be fighting against.  The rough places in my life are more nebulous.  Not quite bad, but not really good either.  I feel like this river needs to chart a new course and while I can't tell you what that new course is, I know this isn't it.

Joan Bunning talks about this in her discussion on the Seven of Wands.  She writes: 'The Seven of Wands is all about taking a stand. Taking a stand is a forceful act that changes the energy flow of the world for good or ill. Most of the time we flow with our lives as if on a river. Events and feelings carry us forward with little effort. Sometimes, though, we are not content to drift. We want to resist the flow, or change its course entirely!"  This is not the first time I've had that image of a river changing course completely, wondering if it is possible, and what happens to those who reside by its banks.  We're not talking flood and flow.  We're talking a major shift in direction, the kind of thing that changes everyone.


In the Jane Austen Tarot,  the Seven of Wands (Candlesticks) depicts Elizabeth Bennett giving Lady Catherine de Bourgh a piece of her mind.  Elizabeth has refused the proposal of Lady Catherine's nephew, Fitzwilliam Darcy.  That she has come to a place of realizing how wrong she was about this man and that she may indeed love him, hardly matters.  By this point in the book she can have no hope that he will ask again.  So when Lady Catherine comes and demands that Elizabeth deny the rumors and promise never to enter into an engagement Elizabeth refuses.  Lady Catherine's rudeness was handled deftly, as only Elizabeth Bennett can, and the great lady leaves with no assurances.


The Seven of Wands comes up when it seems you are facing defeat.  Even with everything stacked against you, if right os on your side, then the battlefield is even.  This is not a time for pessimism and doubt but courage and conviction.  It's also about taking responsibility for your actions.  You may make some powerful enemies when you take a stand like that, and that is the price.  Are you willing to pay that price for what you believe in? 


So here I am, a bit funky, and with the Seven of Wands telling me to to consider carefully and if I choose yes, then take that stand.  Not sure what it all means exactly, but I'll keep you posted.