The 7 of Wands – triumphantly defending yourself; holding off all attackers; confronting your problems; facing adversity; dealing with challenges. All of these terms can be applied to the 7 of Wands. It is a card of triumph over adversity, or at least being willing to attempt to triumph over adversity.  Wands are usually associated with the element of fire, inspiration, energy, passion, feeling, enterprise, ambition, matters pertaining to the “spark of life”, and action.  The number 7 in many cultures is a sacred number (think of the 7 chakras) and is the number of divine and earthly harmony, of fate and transformation.  The 7 of Wands often symbolizes standing up for what you believe in and defending your principles.

“You are experiencing who you are on a variety of levels.  You recognize that you are not just one self, you are many selves.  Now, you are being more flexible with ways that you name yourself.  It’s stimulating to imagine yourself as a variety of different people.  Others may not see your multiple selves but you enjoy them.” – Gail Fairfield

So I’m not fighting off outside forces, I’ve been resisting embracing who I really am or at least accepting that there are facets to me that I’ve previously preferred to avoid.  I guess the time has come for me to acknowledge and recognize that I do have a more nurturing, softer side.  This is very frightening to me and in the past I’ve fought off this knowledge with a determination and vehemence that was ferocious in its intensity.  I was like the stubborn child who covered her ears and closed her eyes all the while denying what was right in front of her.  And gods know I can be very stubborn and persistent in holding on to my views, especially when they concern me.

So maybe one of the lessons I have to learn at this point in my life is that I don’t need to only be a one-trick pony.  I can still be the smart and smart-ass me but I can be more as well.  I don’t need to fight off my softer side.  In fact doing so might be negatively impacting my creativity.  Maybe I need to tap into that side of myself in order to feed my creative spirit.  I’ve done the Swords things for a long time.  In fact there are days when I think I can do it in my sleep.  And I can manifest Wands energy with relative ease and little discomfort.  Cups energy has always made me suspicious.  Trusting my intuition, being emotionally open and supportive and listening to my inner voice has always seem fraught with peril for me.  I’ve fought off those softer emotions with every fiber of my being.  In my family they symbolized weakness and manipulation.  And I don’t ever want to be that way.

As I grow older I realize I don’t have to.  I can stop fighting this pointless fight and start embracing these aspects of myself.  I can be like the ferret in the Ferret 7 of Wands – celebrating and partying!  He has achieved his victory and now is the time to share the accomplishment with others.  That is something I’ve often avoided.  When I completed both my masters degrees I did not attend the graduation ceremony and no parties were held.  Maybe I need to learn to be less afraid to share my achievements and victories with others; to let them in instead of fighting to keep them at a distance.

At a class given by Rachel Pollack, I drew the 7 of Wands in response to a question about how I interact in personal relationships and this card made me realize that I’m very combative and try to keep people at a distance.  If I don’t let them within my personal perimeter then they can’t hurt me.  But it also means I can’t have deep, intimate friendships.  My husband managed to get beyond the perimeter because he is more persistent and tougher than I am.  And once he got inside, he convinced me to let my guard down.  I don’t want to force people to go through that just to become my friend.  I need to be willing to let down those defenses and be open to what can happen when I let other in.  Thankfully I’ve made some wonderful friends over the years who have also embodied this energy for me so I know it can be done.  I’m just a slow learner.