Hey everyone,
So I’ve always struggled to connect with the traditional meaning of the Seven of Wands — you know, the whole "defending your position/fending off attackers" thing from the RWS deck. It just never quite clicked for me.
Lately I’ve been looking at the imagery more closely, and I started wondering... what if we’re looking at it wrong?
In the card, the figure is standing on top of an embankment, holding a wand. There are six other wands below them, yes — but no visible attackers. No faces. No bodies. Just... wands. And the person isn’t looking at them anyway. They're looking off to the side, almost like they're considering something else entirely.
And here’s the part that caught my eye: the figure is wearing two different shoes. That, to me, screams urgency — like they ran out there without time to properly dress. Emergency mode.
What if the figure isn’t defending, but rather trying to stabilize something? What if they’re trying to wedge the last wand into the earth to stop the embankment from collapsing? Almost like plugging a dam before it bursts?
Wands = fire, movement, action.
Sevens = introspection, reevaluation, strategy.
Put that together and maybe this card is less about fighting off enemies and more about trying to make a split-second decision under pressure — figuring out where and how to act to keep it all together.
I know Waite’s guidebook sticks to the combative interpretation, but honestly, the longer I sit with Smith’s artwork, the more I lean toward a different reading. Less "battle," more "critical moment of strategic placement."
What do you all think? Anyone else have alternate takes on this card — or any others where the art and the traditional meaning don’t quite line up for you?
Curious to hear your thoughts.
