Seven of Wands
Wands
How This Card Is Derived
Papus gives no separate description of this card. It is derived from his system: Wands is Yod (י), the active, originating principle, acting in Atziluth, the archetypal world; the number 7 is He final of the second series, and Yod of the third, a second realization, which itself sets the last movement going. The meaning below is that combination read out — the active, originating principle taken at its 7th term — not a quotation from him.
Upright
The second pivot: the position realized, and realized as something that has to be held. The figure stands above, six staves come up from below, the higher ground is genuine and so is the pressure. Papus's seventh term achieves and destabilises in one motion — what is realized here is a defence, which means the last series will be about what defending costs.
Reversed
The ground given up, or held long after it stopped being worth the effort. Or a defence mounted against opposition that is no longer there, which is how the eighth and ninth terms of this suit get their material.
Correspondences
- Suit
- Wands — Yod (י), Atziluth, the archetypal world
- Suit principle
- the active, originating principle
- Number
- 7 — He final of the second series, and Yod of the third
- Numeric role
- a second realization, which itself sets the last movement going
In a Spread
At the commencement, the matter begins with a position already under pressure. In opposition, sustained resistance from several quarters. At equilibrium the situation holds only because someone is actively defending it. As the result: the position is kept — and Papus's seventh always hands on.