Wednesday, 26 August 2009
What would you do if you were lying naked in bed and someone broke into your house? In my twenties, I probably would have charged out to tackle (or blind?) the offender. These days... well, I might just cower under the covers and hope they didn't see me.
I always thought that the fellow in the Seven of Wands has thrown on any clothes he can find, grabbed his weapon and raced out to defend the farm. After all, his shoes don't even match.
Then again, I haven't read for any people who've been placed under physical siege like that...
Maybe there's a more subtle meaning to the mismatched shoes, seeing that the majority of my clients who get this card are artists, not victims of farm raids.
Isabelle Radow Kliegman, in Tarot and the Tree of Life, writes:
'(The Seven of Wands) is the card that says, "I have the right to my eccentricities as long as they don't hurt anybody." As Alan Watts puts it so eloquently: "Everyone is entitled to his own weird." If I'm doing something that strikes you as very peculiar - back off.'
So, go forth, Tarot lovers! Fight for your own weird!
Liani xo
PS... Here are some great resources for those interested in connecting Tarot with fashion:
Did you know that over at Polyvore, people make collages of current fashion items and match them to tarot cards? Here's one that's all about the Seven of Wands:
http://www.polyvore.com/365_seven_wands/set?id=6951292
Also, for those of you who like your Tarot in a bottle, there are five new fragrances from Dolce and Gabbana, each honouring a different Major Arcana card:
http://www.examiner.com/x-11580-Denver-Accessories-Examiner~y2009m8d3-DolceGabbana-launch-their-newest-tarot-fragrances
What a great post and a terrific insight into the Seven of Wands!
I always feel this guy is ready for anything, but you have illustrated that he is literally - even if he's just feel out of bed, mentally he's already there - sometimes it's all we need to fight another day (or an unseen adversary!)
Strangely, when we were much younger, my best friend and I used to share trainers, well, Ellesse pumps. She had red and I had blue - we wore one of each colour so we were both wearing one red and one blue. It seems silly now, but in an effort to be different (even weird?) we actually made a carbon copy of each other - and went everywhere together like it too! Not very 'individual' after all!
I especially like Polyvor - what a cool find, how creative and inspiring :)
The perfume launch did the rounds everywhere Tarot enthusiasts gather, but I haven't read any reports about how they actually smell. Have you had the chance to do that yet? Makes me want to pop into the Trafford Centre in Manchester for a little sweet smelling Tarot exercise ;)
Thanks for posting this :)
Blessings,
Catherine
The bravest have an opinion they are willing to defend or can defend their own opinion...
Either way this is often a card that represents challenges in one form or another. You know standing up for what you beleive in or maybe being too defensive.
Those are great points. While I'm having a lot of fun writing about individual cards, of course we never know what the nuance is until we see them laid out with their brothers and sisters in a spread, or can use intuition to relate to the querent :)
Thanks for posting! Keep 'em coming...
Liani.