Seven of Wands: tarot card meaning

In A. E. Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910), the Seven of Wands upright means: It is a card of valour, for, on the surface, six are attacking one, who has, however, the vantage position. On the intellectual plane, it signifies discussion, wordy strife; in business: negotiations, war of trade, barter, competition. It is further a card of success, for the combatant is on the top and his enemies may be unable to reach him. Reversed: Perplexity, embarrassments, anxiety. It is also a caution against indecision.

The picture

“A young man on a craggy eminence brandishing a staff; six other staves are raised towards him from below.” A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1910

Upright

It is a card of valour, for, on the surface, six are attacking one, who has, however, the vantage position. On the intellectual plane, it signifies discussion, wordy strife; in business: negotiations, war of trade, barter, competition. It is further a card of success, for the combatant is on the top and his enemies may be unable to reach him.

Waite's additional meanings: A dark child.

Reversed

Perplexity, embarrassments, anxiety. It is also a caution against indecision.

In one line

Valour on high ground: the advantage is yours. (Esbat's own summary of Waite's meaning and picture.)

Where it sits in the deck

The Seven of Wands is the seventh card of the suit of Wands, one of the 56 Minor Arcana. The other Sevens: Seven of Cups, Seven of Swords, Seven of Pentacles.

In Esbat

Esbat deals a card of the day, face down until you turn it, and holds all 78 cards in the 1910 pictures with Waite's meanings, upright and reversed. The Seven of Wands can be shared as a picture. All 78 tarot card meanings.

Sources

Meanings and picture descriptions: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1910), public domain, checked against the Wikisource transcription. Picture: Pamela Colman Smith, 1910, public domain. Like the app, this page records what the book says; it does not promise outcomes.

Last updated October 25, 2026.

Esbat: Tarot & Book of Shadows, on Google Play

A card of the day, face down until you turn it, and all 78 cards in the 1910 pictures with Waite's meanings, upright and reversed. For Android.

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