Seven of Swords

Stealth, strategy, or something taken without asking. Someone slips away with more than their share. Check whether that someone is you, and who is watching.

deception · stealth · strategy · secrecy

The trick comes to light, or a conscience stirs. Time to return what was taken, or to stop carrying a secret alone.

confession · conscience · getting caught · coming clean

A young man in a red jacket and dark headcloth steps carefully away from a camp of white tents, a patterned green bundle on his back. He hugs a sheaf of swords to his chest and throws a sharp look back over his shoulder. Behind him two swords are left standing upright in the grass, and a small fire burns in a brazier by the tents. A vermilion banner with a round white crest flies above the camp, and a full moon lights the water beyond.

In Rider–Waite–Smith tarot the Seven of Swords shows a man sneaking from a military camp with five swords, leaving two behind. It is read as stealth, deception or clever strategy, depending on the question. The swords left behind are the detail to notice: whoever acts in secret rarely gets away with everything.

Secrets, half-truths, or one person holding something back. Trust grows from what is said in the open.

Watch credit, contracts and who knows what. Protect your own ideas and play fair with everyone else's.

Find one place where you are working around a problem instead of through it. Tell the person it concerns, or put it in writing.

No

Something is hidden or taken sideways; the card leans no until it is brought into the open.

What are you trying to get away with, and what would it cost to be open about it?