The Tarot Year: 10-20 February

the decan

the VII of swords is the final Aquarius decan, named Unstable Effort, and, astrologically, the Moon in Aquarius.

what does the 7 of swords mean in tarot?

here we are looking at the long-term price of short-term thinking – of rushing, of half-assed solutions, of doing or saying things that create more problems than they solve.

it’s not total chaos but maybe that would be better. sometimes in trying to sort things out we make matters worse and create a downward spiral. once and for all – do or die – all or nothing… this kind of absolute thinking can lead to nothing at all, except greater confusion.

what does the Queen of cups mean in tarot?

the card I drew to read this decan is the Queen of cups, a card of supreme focus. on one level, she is the antidote to the VII. proper preparation, due diligence, and a response to the environment – not just her own needs.

but it’s the Tarot, so of course it’s a bit more nuanced than that. the Queen represents Cancer in the court cards, a sign ruled by the Moon. here, we are looking at the power of emotion, which isn’t something everybody understands how to harness.

but focus is mental, right? so stability is a question of mind? that’s only half the picture. together, these cards speak to us of the role of emotional focus in bringing internal and external stability into being. we could almost merge these cards into the image of VII The Chariot – with their shared lunar astrology, shared numerology, and the energy of Cancer brought in by the Queen.

the charioteer combines thought and feeling, knowing that both are needed to move forward in a way that is not only correct, but which also keeps stability in motion. because solidity is not the same as stability, just as chaos is not the same as stability.

rather, stability is a living thing. I’d even go so far as to say it’s one of our inner senses – like time, or justice. it’s a sense that asks us to see with our heart and our head, and that’s why these cards have come to talk to each other. stability is a living thing – a process – not a prison we build for ourselves. these cards speak of how to be stable in the living process of living change.

feel like lashing out? want to break free from the past, but don’t want to use dynamite? not sure how to move forward without taking two steps back?

visit my readings page to book a reading or drop me a message online!

the advice

manage the world and be exhausted; manage yourself and be yourself

inner stability precedes external stability. chaos cannot be tamed. first, stabilise yourself

stability is a living thing, not a prison you build around yourself

take your problems in the order they come, not all at once

solve the problem before enacting the solution

with head straight and heart clear, that’s how you solve a problem

all or nothing thinking tends to lead to nothing at all

how to spot a bad idea; use someone else’s eyes

under pressure, pause. under balance, act

make sure your eyes and your feet point in the same direction

anyone can see the future when the lights are out, but who can see the way?

turn fluidity into focus; keep step with the rhythm of moonlight

thought and feeling are partners in a dance, if we separate them, we lose our grace

no two waves are the same, but they all share the pulse of the sea

the symbols

to me, the key symbols in these cards are the VII’s hat, and the Queen’s dress. the astrology of the VII is Moon in Aquarius, and the design gives us one of the RWS tarot’s ‘hotheads.’

but unlike the II of pentacles, for example, who has the capacity to contain the challenge of change in their big red hat, the VII’s madcap scheme takes over from sanity, and he attempts to steal what seems to be an opposing army’s weapons. on his own.

perhaps he thinks he can end the war – he has a vision for it – and the opportunity to act. so like the classically Aquarian symbol, the Knight of swords, he rushes in where fools fear to tread.

but the Moon has brought fantasy, illusion, and deceit, and all too much imagination into the mental arena. the shadow side of Aquarius’s ability to map the future from the patterns of the present is thinking that is too futuristic, too idealistic, concepts or stories that leave their audience behind.

so that hat tells us a lot. the lunar energy has tipped Aquarian rationality over into bad ideas, unrealistic thinking, rushing where patience and diplomacy may be the better option.

the RWS VII is a ‘stage’ card – one of those Tarots with a clear border at the bottom fifth. the structure of the image tells us the action may be performative in some way – virtue signalling perhaps. taking an action to highlight one’s own value but failing to clean out the whole problem – well, that is a problem.

as the VII struggles away, those figures at the back of the card – cooking their dinner over an open fire, I’d guess, from the little cloud of smoke – can easily pick up a left behind sword and then it’s not so much ‘back to square one’ as ‘Good Night Vienna.’ the VII is one step forward and five steps back.

the other key image is the wind – which sends the tent flags in different directions. it’s always worth looking at the sky in the Tarot, and particularly the quality of the sky in the air/sword cards, which symbolise thought. so this is an image in the mid-ground of the forces in the present scattering the mind of the VII.

his confusion is such that he looks over his shoulder to the right, and to the future – even as he walks his body into the past. the recoloured version goes too far, I think, in having the VII close his eyes. it’s not that he is blind, but that he is blinded by his own vision of the future, not that he doesn't see, but that he sees wrongly.

in a situation like this, it might be better to address the immediate, negative influences – than to try and solve all problems of the future in one fell swoop. that’s why the Queen is such a good lesson for the VII.

the Queen, representing Cancer – which has a special relationship with memory and attachment – reminds us how important it is to ground our movement into the future in response to the traditions of the past.

sometimes Aquarian energy wants things to change faster than that, which is understandable, when so many things are inexecrable – let’s face it. but it’s one thing setting course, and another thing getting all hands up on deck.

visionaries often appear mad because what being ‘ahead of your time’ means is not being more advanced than anybody else – it means not being understood by your contemporaries. anybody can dream up a utopia, but it’s another thing building a better world.

thinking about how to improve on what is doesn’t mean abandoning everything that is good, in favour of something that is simply new. on the bluntest level of interpretation, the VII is intelligence transformed into idiocy.

the shadow of the Queen, of course, would be holding onto the past too tightly – and I don’t think it’s any coincidence that she sits at that most symbolic boundary of Great Britain – the White Cliffs of Dover.

Cancer, as a sign, of course, has a special relationship with the idea of boundary because of the shell of the crab. if we protect our inner world too much, we cannot make ourselves known – but if we expose ourselves to far, we risk suffering. it's important to work out how hard our shell should be, at every level.

her shadow speaks to us of the personal price of holding onto the past, as well as that of rigid concepts of nation, state, and identity, and futile resistance to tide and time.

more positively, in the original colours, we can see the dynamic lines of the water merge with the Queen’s dress on her right leg. she is indistinguishable from, merged, and in harmony with her environment.

she is also in harmony with her deepest, inner environment – the unconscious. when the conscious and the unconscious mind are aligned, the energetic focus produced within our lives is not only profound, but transformative.

that is why her effort is stable and will be sustained. no exhaustion required – her energy is self-generating, and she does not waste it managing inner contradictions.

we can imagine all sorts of ideas to make the changes we want, right now. but who is coming with us on the journey? whose support have we enlisted?

if we are disconnected from our world, even the most glorious of ideas, plans, or creations, simply lack the foundations on which to grow.

the Queen has put in that ground work – because she has concentrated her mind on a specific thing – her cup. of course, as a water sign, there is a risk of passive inaction, a risk of obsessiveness, of over contemplation – and a failure to share her love, vision, or work with the world.

but the message here is really for the VII – slow and steady wins the race – solve the problem before announcing the solution – make sure what you are doing meets a real need in the world, or it will fall on deaf ears, or wait a long time for receptive ears to be born.

finally, the Queen has a throne – she is the Queen of the Thrones of Water. that most stable of objects – repeated so often in the Tarot – is not simply an image of stability, which the Queen has, and the VII needs.

the thrones were angels, so the throne when it appears represents not only stability in the world, but also in the soul, in our connection to an aspect of the divine. inner stability precedes external stability, and very often that means being aligned with one’s own highest values and beliefs, in all our thoughts and deeds. the quickest way to lose such stability is to abandon one’s code.

beneath the surface

seven being the number of introspection, it’s no surprise that the error here comes not from intention, but from overthinking. the Queen connects strongly with the theme of introspection – and as noted above, obsessive thinking and emotional blocks could easily be the shadow side of the card.

the difference in the kind of thinking that is taking place here, though, is very different – even if the theme is shared. in Qabalistic terms, the Queens sit on Binah on the Tree of Life, the second sephiroth, assigned Saturn.

her introspection is made concrete in the intricacies of her cup, which Waite suggests is something she has made herself, and is an idea I’ve never had cause to question, though perhaps it should be questioned.

what is key here is that the cup represents the visionary, creative inventiveness of Cancer – the astrology of the Queen – and the emotional power it brings to intellectual endeavour.

without his wife, Albert Einstein would never have discovered relativity. that’s because he literally had to shut himself in his study for so long, he would either have starved to death without her, or never completed the process due to interruption by the needs of life. he literally just didn’t come out of his room till he had changed the future of humankind. sometimes that is what it takes.

he was a Pisces, but the point is the same – it’s all very well having the intellectual ability, but without the emotional focus, and a very understanding partner to support us, we won’t make it past lunchtime.

the VII acts from the head, so success is only partial, and may be short lived. if you want to clean out the whole problem, you have to look with your heart and your head. only those things we really feel connected with emotionally – it’s only those things we have the discipline for – only those things we have the guts for, to carry us through the long haul.

last time, I wrote ‘life is marathons, not miracles.’ the VII believes in miracles – and what the hell, why not give it a shot? sometimes. but for most of us, it’s the meticulous, painstaking work of due diligence that will bring success. fools rush in where angels fear to tread, as the saying goes.

back to the Tree of Life – the VII’s are assigned Venus and their sephiroth is Netzach, named Victory. you can see little bit of victory in the VII, but this is Netzach in Yetzirah, the realm of air. in this aspect, the emotionally-focused Venus is in tension with rationally-focused air, and there is a sense of lashing out here to end the situation quickly – but not once and for all.

so these cards speak to us of the need to manage our thoughts and feelings, to not rush forward with brilliant ideas, or to be inactive, because our feelings are too strong.

our thoughts arise from feelings and our feelings arise from thoughts. thought and feeling are partners in a dance, and if we separate them, we lose our grace.

as readers we encounter clients who don’t speak, but feel, or who talk a lot, as a way of pushing feeling down. reading can produce new understanding – and bring feeling to the surface, as well as cognition. head straight and heart clear – that’s how to tackle problems, and it’s the message I’ll end on, as it seems highly appropriate to Tarot more generally as well.

with thanks to the decks and designers – the RWS of Pamela Colman Smith with Mary Hanson-Roberts, Chris-Anne's Muse and Lightseer Tarot, RuPaul’s Drag Race Tarot, Manara, Kim Krans's Tarot, Siri Rose’s Cascadia Tarot, Elisa Poggese’s Sensual Wicca Tarot, Nicoletta Ceccoli’s Tarot, Antonella Platano’s Tarot of the 78 Doors, Jack Sephiroth’s Heaven and Earth Tarot, Marco Proietto’s Capobianco Nero Tarot, MJ Cullinane’s Crow Tarot, and Star Spinner Tarot by Trungles.