Seven of Swords Tarot Card Meaning - Upright, Reversed & More

Seven of Swords upright

Seven of Swords At A Glance

Keywords: Deception, bad intentions, trickery, wrong impression, unwilling to see other side of the debate, discovering uncomfortable truths, lies
Season: Spring
Element: Air (thoughts, ideas and communication)

Seven of Swords Tarot Card Description

The Seven of Swords is the seventh card in the minor arcana suit of Swords within tarot. The original artwork for the Seven of Swords features a man holding 5 swords sneaking away from a group of people. Two swords remain propped up as he flees.

The colors and composition of the scene show that this man is either not part of the group or if he was he has betrayed the group. He is not acting as if he owns all 5 swords. Instead he is trying to perform his actions with stealth because he doesn’t want to get caught. He appears to be stealing the swords and even has an expression of smugness revealing his bad intentions.

Seven of Swords Upright Meaning

The Seven of Swords when upright is discussing themes of trickery and deceit. This can mean deceit done to us or it could mean we are the ones with ulterior motives. The Seven of Swords can suggest that we might need to analyze our intentions and reconsider actions which might manipulate others.

It also suggests that we may have been too trusting and that someone around us or a situation we face might not be as it appears. We should take steps to question what is best for us and gather more information before we determine if this situation is trustful or not.

“I know that we create our own reality, but dealing with manipulation is an uncomfortable lesson that many have had to learn.” - Zoe Hagon

Seven of Swords Reversed Meaning

Seven of Swords reversed

When the Seven of Swords comes to us reversed it is suggesting we have experienced a difficult time which has lead us to discovering a deep truth. It can be very upsetting to have our world view questioned or to be proven wrong but once we stop laboring under the false misapprehensions we used to carry we are liberated and feel lighter emotionally.

This can look like untangling our minds from dogma we inherited or breaking the cycle of generational trauma we experienced.

“When ambition gets out of hand we are vulnerable to manipulation by others.” - Keith Campbell

Seven of Swords: Yes or No

The Seven of Swords is definitely a no card whether upright or reversed. It warns that the opportunity we are considering is not what it appears and that we should back away and do more research before we accept.

It strongly forewarns that there could be ulterior motives from others at play that don’t have our best interests at heart.

Let’s Break Down the Seven of Swords In Our Lives

How the Seven of Swords relates to the facets of our lives and the specific advice it gives for these areas.

Seven of Swords In Love

Receiving the Seven of Swords in a love reading is not a pleasant experience. As this card deals with deception and betrayal to receive this means exactly what we would expect. There could be issues of infidelity. It could also suggest that jealous and suspicious actions are creating tension within the relationship.

Reversed it can mean there is a situation that requires careful thought and a gentle approach. To attempt to deal with this with a heavy hand could cause emotional suffering and instead we must formulate a plan to spare the feelings of all involved.

Seven of Swords With Money

To see the 7 of Swords in money matters is not a great sign. It can forewarn of scams, shady businesses or other attempts to steal our hard-earned money. The advice of this card is to double and triple check any agreements we are considering signing especially if they involve our money, property or other resources.

Reversed we are facing the consequences for being dishonest or reckless with our pursuit of money or other resources. We may have been too eager in our acquisition and didn’t realize how much harm this could cause others. Now it has been shown to us we must endeavor to do better and make the situation right.

Seven of Swords At Work

To receive the Seven of Swords regarding career questions can imply there may be work-placed drama or gossip creating tension and affecting our ability to work. The issue will be detectable by us but not blatant enough for us to question it outright or take the situation to our superiors. In this matter we need to sort it ourselves. This could mean fighting fire with fire and showing that we won’t be pushed around.

Reversed it can suggest we have exposed a lie or have seen a very important truth about how the company/system we work for truly operates. The situation may be bigger than us and not something we can tackle alone but we can always choose not to be a part of it and find more favorable employers or industries.

Seven of Swords With Others

When we receive this card and have enquired about others or society it can suggest we are feeling mistrustful of others. We have a desire to close ourselves off from the outside world. Though it is important to trust our gut we must make sure to keep a connection with at least a few people that we trust so we are not lonely.

Reversed it can imply we are overcoming a recent betrayal of sorts and we are beginning to trust again. We may have a lot of fear here as we all know the saying “once bitten, twice shy” but this card when reversed urges us it’s okay to let our guard down and trust again.

Seven of Swords With Self

When we receive this card and have asked an internal question about ourselves it can infer that we may have been lying to ourselves or betraying own plan. It can be small like planning to meditate but ending up scrolling social media instead. Or it can be much bigger like believing self-limiting beliefs about ourselves that prevent us from achieving our dreams.

Reversed the Seven of Swords can mean we are learning to accept a part of ourselves that we previously tried to push away or deny. This process is called shadow work. The shadow is said to be all the parts of ourselves which we hide from society because they are less favorable.

However in time this creates a fractured psyche and low self-esteem. By accepting these other traits as a part of ourselves we integrate our shadow into our personality and feel more at peace with ourselves.

Seven of Swords As Feelings

The Seven of Swords feels like our stomach dropping when we find out someone has betrayed us. Or it can be when we are faced with the desire to manipulate someone else for our own gain.

There is power here which is tempting but it is often not the path we should pursuit. We shouldn’t punish ourselves for our feelings because we can’t choose these, but we can choose not to act on the less savory ones.