The sneaky 7 of Swords…
I’ve often heard many tarot readers refer to the 7 of Swords as a card of “deceit” or “trickery”. Thus, their interpretation of this card tends to be quite negative, as if the boogeyman or Rougarou is lurking in the shadows, coming to get you…
The Rougarou, a werewolf-like beast who, in Cajun folklore, haunts the Louisiana swamps looking to eat naughty children who do not observe the Catholic tradition of Lent or disobey their parents. Image taken from the Terrebonne Parish Library (https://mytpl.org/project/rougarou-the-swamp-werewolf/)
In some interpretations, the figure in the 7 of Swords is an outside person, a friend or lover turned foe, or someone who wishes to harm you by thwarting some goal or accomplishment you’re after. Other times, it references dishonesty. Whether that is someone being dishonest with you, or on a deeper level, the ways in which you have been dishonest with yourself.
Thus, this card is often used by Tarot Readers as a way to engage in “shadow work” and uncover one’s own sources of trickery within. As our inner world is often reflected in our external interactions with others. Or as the “Mother” of all Drag Queens, RuPaul says:
Yet, while I believe there is much merit in interpreting the 7 of Swords in this way, I have come to have a different understanding of this card in its “light” or “positive” aspects, which I believe is worthy of some much-needed attention.
