Sevens: A Personal Gnosis

For what is typically considered an expansive number, sevens are sure a curious thing in Tarot. The number of Jupiter finds a lot of restriction in the cards. Here are a few personal anecdotes and insight into how I approach sevens in a reading.

Saturn in Taurus—Restriction of Pleasure—

May 11th through the 20th

I went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing with my nephew a few months ago. He wanted to see how money was made, and I wanted to ignore all of my responsibilities for the morning, so it worked out perfectly for both of us. On the tour, while watching nearly 7 million in potential new currency be printed, an interesting question was posed: Do the printers worry about job security with our quick and steady march into a cashless society? The guide’s response was incredible: “No, every transaction you do on your debt card, or in an app, requires physical currency with a serial number to back it—otherwise it’s completely worthless. In fact, if you Venmo your friend $20 for lunch, an armored truck has to take that exact $20 from your bank to theirs.”.

I thought about this for hours. The fallacy of the day trader screaming “buy, buy, buy, sell, sell, sell” on an exchange floor. The idea of “quick cash” culture and empty promises in lotto and loans. Even some of my beloved Hoodoo magic for quick luck and prosperity are sometimes lies we sell ourselves. True prosperity, all growth, comes from time. Long hours and dedication into seeing your workings mature. There is often so much disappointment: “why is this taking so long?!?!?” we scream at new endorsors and opportunities. But that’s the way financial magic works. It’s entirely slow and steady progress from work with very few quick fixes.

Venus in Scorpio,—Digging Below the Beauty—November 13th through the 22nd

Never has there been a card that so embodies my Sagittarian spirit. I want to learn everything. I want to get my hands dirty and dig into every topic, philosophy, language, style of magic, sport, musical instrument, and I want to do each for exactly 12 1/2 seconds then walk away to something new. Even as I’m writing this, I’m also working at my day job, keeping up with my cello practice, learning piano, brushing up on my French and Italian while also learning Latin, Hebrew, and Greek. I am trying to maintain a fairly rigorous exercise routine, but also reading three books, knitting a scarf, a blanket, and crocheting a shawl. That is on top of the every day cleaning, cooking, being a husband, a friend to others and some volunteer work here and there.

I always wonder what would happen if I just picked something. If I put all my energy into one thing and stop living a life being the master of none. If I would just choose the dragon and spend the rest of my life taming it. If I would stop daydreaming about being a classical pianist and settle for just being a classical cellist. Sometimes we have to make choices. We need to decide and put all our energy and effort into the one thing that we either love, or just need to survive. I think Oscar Wilde said “There is nothing more exhausting than the constant pursuit of novelty”. Maybe if we take a step back and focus on what’s important in that moment we won’t walk around so disillusioned—our heads constantly in the cloud.

Venus in Saturn—Restriction of the Beauty—February 9th through the 18th

I used to have a pretty fundamental understanding of this card: don’t be sneaky. But as I get older, I’m able to do the one thing this card tells me not to do: look back. I had a fairly rocky and unorthodox childhood. It involved packing up as many possessions as I could carry, and moving in the middle of the night more times than I can even remember. Sometimes this was a quiet matter. Like the card, I would find myself tip-toeing through an enemy camp to be delivered to safety. Sometimes it was over shouting, the threat of violence, and a sheriff intervening. Now that I’m an old man I able to see clearly what this card was telling me all along: self-preservation is all that matters.

Sure, sometimes we have to go about it in a way we aren’t exactly proud of. But ultimately what delivers us from trouble and ensures our stability in the future is what’s needed. If you are in a relationship that is not healthy, or a job that is slowly killing you, by all means necessary, gather as many resources as you can to get out. There are no heroes in suffering and very few victims in funneling what you need to survive. I used to get so mad at the people that would sneak in behind me on the metro. They were just quick enough to get through the turnstiles riding in on my fare. But why? The train is going to be there regardless, greed is still going to raise the cost of each trip. If this person needs to tip-toe in just to get to work and feed their family, who am I to judge?

I’m not advocating for theft, nor dishonesty, nor unfair treatment of others. I’m advocating for survival and doing what you have to. I always look at the gaze of the figure in the card. Are they looking to someone else? If it’s a court card, try and find who they are running from. But mostly, I ask of you to do what you need to do but, unlike this guy, don’t look back.

Mars in Leo—At War with Fire—August 12th through the 22nd

At me Bro. When Pamela Colman Smith designed this card she had the Taming of the Shrew in mind. When the character of Petruchio arrives to his wedding with Katherine, he is dressed in rags and wearing shoes “one buckled and the other laced”. His matter of dress and demeanor is an attempt at dominance. When we find ourselves in this position I always ask: and for what? Do we have our own Katherine we need to control for a chance at her family’s wealth? Whereas with the 7 of Swords I ask you to engage in self-preservation, here I ask you to check your ethics. Why are you trying so hard to stay on top?

When my careers was first budding, I really thought I was already a famous restauranteur. At 23 I was opening new restaurant concepts all over town and managing businesses with gross profits in the tens of millions annually—I thought I was fancy. But, like the card, I was constantly at odds. I couldn’t take care of myself, I was so thin as my daily diet consisted of random pieces of bread ends from the waste station and three packs of cigarettes. Sure, anyone could describe me as successful for such a young age, but to what cost? I never relaxed, all my personal relationships were strained, I was an absolutely insufferable person to work for. I was at the top of the hill battling everyone with mismatched shoes. One day I got into a fight with my boss, whom I was always clashing with (in fairness, at that time in my life, I was clashing with most including myself). We still aren’t sure to this day if I quit or was fired, but whatever happened next was a great relief. Whenever I see this card I always think, is this really worth being at war with fire itself?

Your friend,