Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 7 of Swords:Futility & The Night Sun Tarot-7 of Swords

Many of us who've had elementary physics know that there is only one energy, and that we can't create nor destroy this energy, but we can transform and transmit it; even by our imagination. In fact, everything that is, is a transformation of the One energy/Life...including you! The Sevens are no exception, they are a state of energy- conscious that is a transformation that unbalances the previously stable sixes. We often call this one energy-light, both invisible and reflected.

 It is a risky business descending, using frantic energy, into this domain of illusion, as Netzach is attributed to Venus, and Earth. This knocks Venus off her heavenly perch which to Venus is a great catastrophe; Venus is assigned the metal copper, shinny outside, but corrupt inside. Therefore, the four Sevens, bring no comfort and are a depredation of the element they represent, exposing their greatest weakness. Outer shine and inner corruption.

Astrologically this card is  Moon in Aquarius. The Moon in Aquarius indicates  sociability, often religious inclination. While the Moon is less fluid and changeable here, the balances established are easily upset.

To a Qabalist, this is Netzach (Victory) in Yetzirah (Astral World). The Astral world is fluid and deceptive, while Netzach is success after battle. Which indicates that much struggle is wrought before achieving what you envision. Hence, the shine of victory is corrupted by the detritus of battle.

The mundane divination meaning of this card is unstable effort, vacillation and untrustworthy character.

More over, this card represents wanting something but believing you can't have it. You are resigned to giving up. However, there is  the desire and possibility of victory over this feeling of futility within the next 7 weeks or 7 months. The feeling of futility is really just creating problems for yourself by not believing in your inner creative potential. The 7 of Sword implies that the individual mind has become inflexible and focused on fear of lack. Hence, mental flexibility is the up side of this card. It reminds us to experiment in all areas of our life; lifestyle, daily routine, beliefs, hope and communications. Reminding us that "To settle for" is to practice mental futility as a happy balance of unconscious and consciousness are never achieved. Because of the influence of Netzach-victory, we must shed thoughts of futility and hope for the best as we fight on.  This is because life is a constant transformation of Force and Form (Chokmah and Binah)...Form and Force, symbolized in Qabalistic Tarot, as the figure eight. 

In the Night Sun Tarot, Fabio Listrani, concentrates on the upbeat message of the 7 of Swords. As the upside, is hope, meditation, new roads to be traveled etc.. Because of the ever changing cycles of the Moon, who represents "imagination", nothing is written in stone as imagination linked with determination, always gets the job done. Here the individual, is holding the "world egg", promising new creation. The alchemical symbol for air, the element assigned to the swords suit, is shown on the ground, as part of the new path. As common with his sword suit, Fabio Listrani has designed the background of this card as yellow, the color assigned to the element of air, and the sacred geometry of the Soul-mind.

As a Psyche/Soul, we enforce our will upon the motion/life of our physical-form by creating beliefs, dogma, ideas that set  energy-in-motion (emotion). To know that Energy-in-Motion, is the Will that is you and not the follower that is body---is to avoid futility.  I Am the E-Motion that operates this body, rather than, I am emotional which implies that the body is moved by environment rather than the on-board consciousness.  When Emotions are just let loose with out Willful focus, they are aunstable effort, vacillation, and untrustworthy character and any mental control is futile. Like all Motion, Energy-in-motion (emotions) requires guidance systems in order to "hit their target". "Above all things know thyself", also describes a vital character who knows what it wants and is able to line up its sights and get what it wants without harming others in the process. "To know thyself", means that every thing you see is another way to be you [Force and Form] so you knowingly treat them well but here is the caveat; to treat others as yourself is a law which you never have broken! If you think ill of you, you treat others ill! If you think Well of you, you treat others well! That is how the One Conscious operates, since all that is, is another way to be the One Energy that can't be destroyed or created, only transformed and transmitted! Therefore, Dr. Paul Foster Case design a "guidance system", using the Tree of Life, for the Force and Form that is us. It's called:

It is should be obvious that it is FUTILE to seek happiness when you are unhappy with you! Victory over chaos, comes from an Ordered Mind/Emotion union; Love being the Greatest Balance of Ordered harmony! Love thyself, makes all things possible. Dislike yourself, makes everything a horrendous effort of futility! This card says,"Wake-up to a new perspective about you or all your actions are futile; you're good enough to inherit the All!"  Remember, inheritance is not earned, it is accepted. Hence, the Justice of freedom of thought, states, that what you think you are worth, is what you get! We are all the Children of the Divine Creative (Divine Parents)---our presence is enough to inherit the Universe but we decide our presence by our perspective of ourselves! Why limit your presence? As a consciousness, Rock On with your body-dance partner! You are the Force of your Forms so dance in the rhythm produced by Mind-Soul and Body in equalized motion!

One could say that The Thoth 7 of Swords card represents the sabotaging mind where you know what you want symbolized by the central sword and then go about defining the reasons why you can't obtain it, as shown by the six swords surrounding the central one.

This is the yes-but mind that often keeps us from making our dreams work.

As stated: Astrologically the 7 of Swords is Moon and Sun in Aquarius, the circle with a dot in the center is a symbol of the Sun, the Crescent is the Moon and the wavy lines at the bottom are Aquarius.

Each of the six swords of procrastination bear a planetary sign for the six ways we sabotage our selves.

 I like to say that, instead of the Power of

Hence, The Tarot -7 of Swords follows the Axiom, "Above all things, know thyself", albeit an old but well established doctrine of the Gnosis, and Qabalah, "that it is futile trying to understand the "Great No-Thing", by using words as thought".

In the Gnostic Gospels of  Didymos Judas Thomas, Jesus is quoted as saying,"If those who lead say to you,'see, the kingdom is in the sky.' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,'  then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, you  will then become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons [suns] of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who is that poverty." (The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas---The Nag Hammadi Library--)

The word Suns in brackets is of  my own insertion, because the original word is interpretation as Son and/or Sun, both having similar meanings in Qabalah. The fact that many Monks who interpreted the Gospels from the original Greek, were misogynistic, required them to use the word "Son". Qabalah and Science both know that we are all androgyny; each of us, both male and female, are to be Tiphareth (beauty) which is "the Son/Sun" and/or Enlightened Mind- number 6 on the Tree of Life that is known as the Christ or Buddha consciousness and/or The Real Person.

In the process of "Remembering ourselves", the 7 of Swords points us toward Tiphareth/Beauty. Considered one of the mystical feminine numbers, 7 is not only the number of the "goddess", is also the Sephira- Netzack (meaning Victory) on the Tree of Life. Netzach- Victory, in the suit of Swords is not as catastrophic as 7 in the other suits, as Netzach is the Sephiroth of Venus. This modifying influence is accentuated by the celestial fact of the Moon being in Aquarius, as the planetary rule of this card. To speak of this modifying influence simply, is that the intellectual wreckage of this card is not so vehement as is the Five of Swords-Defeat. For there is vacillation, and a certain tolerance brought on by the need to compromise. However, in certain circumstances, the need to compromise, can bring even greater disaster than defeat, depending on the success of the policy of compromise.

The policy of appeasement that is suggested by this card, is always in doubt, as there exists uncompromising-violent forces which prey on vacillation.

What the 7 of Swords represents, is the futility of using the cultural doctrine of appeasement to approach God-Self Knowledge, i.e. The Higher Self. The brain is indoctrinated by those who rule definition, so the definition that has been pounded into your head, as "pleasure/pain training", (brain washing) will not let you stand in your Power. On the contrary, you must kneel and bow your head to weakness and fear as your "mental master". This need to appease those who you think can hurt you, is a violation of your Soul's "state of Mind", as you must compromise action with reaction.

  Throughout my Qabalistic/Tantric training, I have always told my reactive survival based brain, "If you wish to speak to me, you must stand, for I'll not kneel to your weakness", for I am the Soul, who is action and not a enslaved-thought processed policy of appeasement. Hence, it is the Policy of the "Will to be", that is our Soul that is the necessary mental state needed to "above all things, know thyself".

Therefore, it is futile, to use the brain's cultural software, when seeking your memory as a "Higher Self"; you must use Declaration, I AM.....rather than "I wish or I want".

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