Rider–Waite–Smith Tarot: Seven of Wands & the Triple Goddess Tarot – Seven of Wands

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Rider–Waite–Smith Tarot — Seven of Wands (RWS)

The Rider–Waite–Smith Seven of Wands depicts a young man gripping his phallic-shaped staff while standing upon a craggy eminence, defending himself against the onslaught of six leafy staves rising from below. The leafiness of the opposing wands implies a vital, fertile force—Fire in its aggressive, proliferating, and passionate mode.

Here, six attack one. Yet the one holds the high ground, an inherently advantageous position. On the surface, this is a card of Valor—of standing one’s ground against odds. Intellectually and socially, however, it is a card of discussion, worldly strife, business rivalry, negotiation, trade wars, barter, and competition. The success implied is tenuous: the figure stands above his challengers for now, but their efforts have not ceased. Victory is provisional, not yet secured.

Psychologically, this card reflects a state in which one feels strong and confident, yet remains the target of jealousy and resentment from weaker egos. Such egos attempt to feel powerful by diminishing others—by besmirching character, distorting truth, or coercing compliance to a prevailing social egregore.

This is how weakness disguises itself as authority. As a Wand card, the Seven of Wands may also signify sexual intensity, impulsive attraction, or even a hasty marriage. There can be a powerful draw toward art, music, ornamentation, jewelry, clothing, and beauty, yet without sufficient discipline to give these passions lasting form. The glamour of luxury and adornment can intoxicate the senses, but when mistaken for self-value, such splendor is revealed as hollow.

In an upside-down world, cowardice often governs—hiding behind words, bureaucracy, contracts, and lawyers while blame is endlessly displaced. Lopsided laws and propaganda reinforce this inversion, profaning the identities of the young and virtuous, who are then sacrificed for the agendas of fearful, aging powers. Here the card implies a deeper mandate: cease internal bickering and stand together as a wall against such corruption.

The energy of the Seven of Wands is intensely exciting—it rises like a tsunami—but if undisciplined, it is quickly wasted. Excess leads to burnout: love lost, financial ruin, friendships destroyed, not by fate, but by unchecked passion. Thus arises the Hermetic injunction to “watch the watcher”—to examine one’s own desire at its root.

Qabalistically, the solar fecundity of Tiphareth (the Sixth Sephirah) stands behind the Seven of Wands as its spiritual source, while the card itself operates within the sphere of Netzach, the Sephirah of passion, desire, victory, and endurance. Tiphareth represents the Soul—the Solar Self, the Buddha-psyche—which the personality is meant to reflect.

Yet indoctrination, propaganda, media-driven word hypnosis, dogma, and environmental conditioning implant an entropic mind-virus that constructs a false ego—a mask formed of borrowed definitions that render the individual a slave to external authority.

We are Celestial Energy long before we animate flesh in a human name. Therefore, the maxim “Above all things, know thyself” requires an honest confrontation with raw passion and desire, for these forces will rule us if left unexamined—especially if we believe we are bodies seeking Spirit, rather than Spirit owning its manifestation through disciplined Will and Mind.

Thus, the Seven of Wands may ultimately express the Victory of the Solar Soul over the man-made persona—the triumph of authentic identity over the mask of words imposed by media, culture, and fear. We are deceived into believing we are mere sensation, reaction, and appetite, when in truth we are the Psyche of Power that generates sensation through assumption and Will.

The Triple Goddess Tarot — Seven of Wands

The Triple Goddess Tarot – Seven of Wands portrays a woman dressed in red, cloaked in white, standing firmly upon a hillock. She grips a sturdy rod or wand in a powerful defensive stance as six opposing wands rise against her. Behind her, partially hidden, stands a child.

The image is unmistakable: one fierce woman committed to defending what she loves.

This card is the embodiment of protective Will. The red garment signifies active Fire—life-force, passion, and courage—while the white cape speaks of purity of intent, guardianship, and spiritual authority. Unlike the RWS figure, whose struggle is primarily personal and competitive, this woman’s stance is relational and sacramental. She does not defend ego or status; she defends life, innocence, lineage, and continuity.

The presence of the child transforms the meaning of the card. Here, Will is no longer abstract ambition or social rivalry—it is love made fierce. This is the Will that rises instinctively when something sacred is threatened. The woman becomes the Mother-as-Warrior, echoing ancient goddesses who protect thresholds, mysteries, and the unborn future.

Thus, this Seven of Wands symbolizes the courage to take a stand, not for domination, but for preservation. It speaks of bravery in the face of pressure, of holding one’s ground when values, boundaries, or loved ones are under assault. There is also an esoteric implication of guarding secrets—protecting inner truths, initiatory knowledge, and the vulnerable aspects of the Self from corrosive external forces.

In this deck, the Seven of Wands is not merely resistance; it is sacred defense. It teaches that some battles are not chosen but accepted, and that true strength arises when Will is aligned with love, responsibility, and the instinct to shield what must endure.

Although the Triple Goddess Tarot – Seven of Wands presents a single woman in a moment of conflict, the image is quietly structured as a simultaneous revelation of Maiden, Mother, and Crone—not as three figures, but as three operative modes of Will functioning at once.

The Maiden — Innocence Worth Defending

The child behind the woman is the clearest marker of the Maiden current. Here the Maiden is not naïve curiosity or youthful experimentation; she is potential itself—the unformed future, the inner spark, the uninitiated soul. This is the secret that must be protected.

Hermetically, the Maiden represents:

• Untouched creative potency

• Inner truth prior to social conditioning

• The soul before it is claimed by fear, propaganda, or imposed identity

In this card, the Maiden does not fight. She is shielded. This implies a crucial teaching: raw potential cannot defend itself. It must be guarded by a mature Will until it is strong enough to stand alone.

The Mother — Fierce, Protective Will

The woman in red, planted firmly on the hillock, is the Mother in her most ancient form—not sentimental, but feral, sovereign, and unyielding. Red marks her as Fire and blood; white marks her as consecrated. This is Will sanctified by love.

The Mother here embodies:

• Boundary-making

• Courage born of responsibility

• The instinct to stand between harm and what is sacred

This is not ambition-driven conflict (as often seen in the RWS image), but defensive power. The Mother does not seek victory for glory—she seeks continuance. Her battle is not egoic; it is custodial.

The Crone — Wisdom That Knows When to Stand

Though not visually aged, the Crone is present as discernment. She is revealed in what the woman does not do. She does not chase. She does not descend into chaos. She holds position.

The Crone current appears as:

• Strategic stillness

• Knowledge of terrain and timing

• The wisdom to choose which battles must be fought

Standing on elevated ground, the woman demonstrates Crone-awareness: she knows that not all force requires motion. Some force is held, radiated, and withstood.

The Triple Goddess Unified — Sacred Defense as Initiation

When these three currents operate together, the Seven of Wands becomes an image of initiatory guardianship:

• The Maiden is the future Self, the hidden seed.

• The Mother is the active Will that protects it.

• The Crone is the wisdom that knows endurance is stronger than reaction.

This is Netzach purified by Tiphareth’s Solar ethic—desire disciplined by love, courage guided by wisdom. The card teaches that not all resistance is conflict; some resistance is consecration.

To draw this card is to be asked:

What within you is still too young to fight, and are you willing to become fierce enough to protect it?

This is the Seven of Wands as the Holy Stand—where Will, Love, and Wisdom converge to say: Here, and no further.

In gematria, the number seven holds significant meanings and associations across various traditions, particularly in Jewish mysticism and Kabbalistic teachings. Here are some key interpretations and associations:

1. Spiritual Perfection and Completion: The number seven is often seen as representing spiritual perfection and completion. This is rooted in the biblical creation narrative, where God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, making the seventh day (Shabbat) holy.

2. Divine Order and Law: Seven symbolizes divine order and law. This is evident in the seven-branched Menorah, which is a symbol of light, wisdom, and divine guidance in the Jewish tradition.

3. Connection to the Divine: Seven represents the connection between the divine and the earthly. In Kabbalah, the seventh sephira on the Tree of Life is Netzach (Victory), which is associated with endurance and eternity.

4. Completion in Cycles: Seven often signifies the completion of cycles. This can be seen in various religious and mystical contexts, such as the seven days of the week, the seven-year agricultural cycle in the Torah (Shmita), and the seven heavens in Jewish cosmology.

5. Mystical and Hidden Knowledge: Seven is also linked to mystical and hidden knowledge. This can be seen in the seven levels of Torah interpretation (Pardes) and the seven layers of spiritual realms or consciousness in mystical traditions.

6. Protection and Blessings: In Jewish tradition, seven is considered a number of protection and blessings. For example, the seven blessings recited at a Jewish wedding (Sheva Brachot) and the seven circuits made around the groom by the bride (Hakafot) symbolize divine blessings and protection.

These associations show how the number seven is deeply embedded in the symbolic and mystical frameworks of gematria and other esoteric traditions.

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Throwing the 7/ SEVEN OF WANDS card during a reading implies that:

• Within 7 days or 7 weeks, the querent will need to display personal valor to achieve success, as there will be opposition obstacles, difficulties, and quarreling; however, the querent will also have the courage to meet them.
• Victory is always possible if we have the courage and proper energy excised to meet ignorance, pretense, wrangling, and threat, face to face.
• The querent is exploring innovative ideas of self.
• The querent is standing completely on their own but knowing how to achieve victory over a conflict. 
• Depending on the dignity of the cards, ill or well, victory may just be in small and unimportant things and influence over a subordinate.
• Results may not yet be seen from the effort expended, slow down and await the results.
• A rough way to view this 7 of Wands-Valour (English spelling) Just grab your flaming club and charge! You'll succeed without dying, but you may bleed a little.

If ill defined by the surrounding cards or reversed, it implies:

• Indecisiveness.
• Ignorance.
• discrepancy between instinct and spirit.

• Gain and success in 7 weeks or 7 months, depending on the position of the Card.
• We have here, victory after strife caused by industriousness, energy expression, love and pleasure gained by labor.   
• There is also a suggestion of Victory gained by avoiding strife through actions of sociability and carefulness.

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May your path be illuminated, your Will be strong, and may you live long and prosper.

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