“The number 7 symbolizes humanity's deep inner-need to find depth, meaning and spiritual connection. When the needs of food, self-expression, material and domestic achievements have been met, the 7 energy turns to the deeper levels of life - to learn, to educate ourselves and to find purpose...”
Everybody talkin' 'bout the seventh sonIn the whole wide world there is only one......I can tell your future, it will come to passI can do things to you make your heart feel gladLook in the sky, predict the rainTell when a woman's got another man......I can talk these words that will sound so sweetThey will even make your little heart skip a beatHeal the sick, raise the deadMake the little girls talk outta their headsI'm the one, oh I'm the oneI'm the one, I'm the oneThe one they call the seventh son~performed by Mose AllisonWriter/s: SYLVESTER STEWARTPublisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
As luck would have it, we are in the 7th month, July, so with a nod towards celebrating Interdependence Day on July 4th, and in acknowledgment of the two eclipses this month (a partial solar eclipse on July 13th and a total lunar eclipse on July 27th), let’s go right into the magical, mystical lucky number 7.Sevens have always been seen as powerful and magical numbers. The heavenly 3 married to the grounded 4 becomes the 7, a bridge between heaven and earth. In Waldorf teacher training we were shown that while the 5 pointed star is the symbol of man, as in Leonardo Da Vinci's depiction of vitruvian man, the number 7 is the depiction of the angel, the two extra points representing the wings. What a beautiful imagination that is. On Summer Solstice weekend, when I was at Paradise Found, I discovered an amazing new deck of tarot cards, the Angel Tarot by Jayne Wallace (LINKED to a youtube video unboxing the deck). In the major arcana of this beautiful deck Jayne offers an angel overlighting each card and the blessings are bountiful!
Rudolf Steiner also looked at the evolution of the human being and the integration of our spiritual and physical bodies in 7 year cycles. The first seven years, from 0-7 are focused on the completion of the birth process, the human being’s physical body and organs continue to grow and evolve in those years and complete the physical incarnation process, then at age 7 the etheric, or rhythmic body is born, this is like spiritual skin close to the physical body. At age 14 the astral or emotional body is born, puberty is a time of adapting and integrating that body and then at 21 the ego or spirit body is born, there are several more bodies that are born one at a time each 7 years after that until the age of 63, when Steiner said we most likely have completed what we intended to do in this lifetime when we chose to incarnate; and after age 63 we can consider coasting toward the end of our lives, along with an offering of our hard won wisdom to those who request us to share.Also in Waldorf teacher training we looked at the rhythms of the year, month, week and day and it was the intricacy of the weekly rhythms and their relation to the heavenly bodies that fascinated me then and stay with me now.I was delighted to learn that each day of the 7 days of the week has a planetary influence, some of them obvious in english, others need another language to clarify their planetary connection, and each of those days and planets are also represented by a color in the rainbow. There are also symbolic grains and body parts among other correlations that can be found with a google or two, and these are the ones that have stuck with me:
- SUN - Sunday - White
- MOON - Monday - Purple
- MARS - Tuesday (Mardi in French) - Red
- MERCURY - Wednesday (Mercredi in French) - Yellow
- JUPITER - Thursday (Jeudi in French) - Orange
- VENUS - Friday (Vendredi in French) - Green
- SATURN - Saturday - Indigo Blue
As a teacher I would bring these influences into each day of the week, and honor the planets and their rhythms in each of the days. I still do this today. I wear a bit of the color on each day, or something that represents that planet to me. I am grateful to those planets and their influence on our world, on my world. I love the idea that these heavenly bodies can influence us and where they are in the realm of the astrological signs when we are born can tell us something about ourselves. As above so below, as within so without.
Seven Bridges Road There are starsIn the Southern skySouthward as you goThere is moonlightAnd moss in the treesDown the Seven Bridges RoadNow I have loved you like a babyLike some lonesome childAnd I have loved you in a tame wayAnd I have loved you wildSometimes there's a part of meHas to turn form here and goRunning like a child from these warm starsDown the Seven Bridges RoadThere are stars in the Southern skyAnd if ever you decideYou should goThere is a taste of time sweetened honeyDown the Seven Bridges Road~Performed by the EaglesSongwriters: Stephen T. Young
The Chariot - Moving Forward - Angel of GuidanceThe 7th card of the major arcana is the Chariot (LINKED to my previous article). In the deck that works with me, the sun and moon tarot, the charioteer steers with the Hanab Ku, also known as the Mayan Butterfly, which represents the Galactic Center. This card is about not only forward movement but also about being guided by the higher realms, by the stars. The symbolism of the dark and light animals pulling the chariot is the capacity to harness both our light and our dark sides and use them in their highest capacities to lead us forward. This feels like the conscious magic of the number 7.
The Tower - Transformation - Angel of EnlightenmentOn the other side is the Tower, (LINKED to my previous article) the 16th card which adds up to 7. This is the unconscious movement of the number 7. Tower moments are those moments where our higher selves, our unconscious takes the lead and helps our personality to let go of something it’s been holding on to tightly out of fear or safety, but knows that we have needed to let go of it for a long time now. Sudden change in job, home, and relationship along with car accidents and natural disasters have their basis in the tower. This is release, letting go, opening our hands for what we really want to hold close to ourselves rather than what we have been gripping tightly because we just don't know how to let go. Our personality doesn’t always like the ways our higher self chooses to help us let go, but in hindsight it is always perfect.
The Seven of Swords reminds us that it is our responsibility to guard ourselves against negative thinking, situations and people. We must be vigilant about the thoughts that enter our minds and maintain our position as harbormaster, only letting in the ships of thoughts that serve us. At first we can ask those unhelpful thoughts to leave at once, and eventually we just let them pass on by. It does not serve us to be the victims of the thoughts that randomly enter our mind, nor does it serve us to stay in negative situations or allow others to mistreat or malign us. Instead, we shift our thoughts, raise our vibration and find the way to turn the futile into the fruitful. At first when we attempt this, it does feel futile, like we have no power, but the more we practice re-framing the situation, empowering ourselves to speak up and turning towards the good, the easier it gets; its a muscle that must be exercised regularly. It can be too easy to let it atrophy and become despondent. Take charge, wield your inner chariot and move forward.When this card makes its way into a reading, take notice of the thoughts in your head and the people and situations around you. Do all that you can to re-align with what is in your best interest; seek support from positive people and protect yourself from the negative.
In the Seven of Cups, the swimmers have become lost in each other and in lust. This card looks at the choices we make, and the things we turn to in order to avoid emotional pain. We all do this; some of us use sex, drugs, alcohol, television, reading, food, control, spirituality and any number of things, I’ve even known at least one person I was convinced was using 12 step programs, to avoid emotional pain. Who likes to feel that stuff!Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how one views it) the only way past the pain is all the way through it. So at some point, if we are lucky, no matter what we do we aren’t able numb the pain anymore and we just have to feel it. Once we become aware that we are just trying to escape, we can lovingly take ourselves up with divine compassion, and just stop, breathe, and feel it, allowing ourselves to express what we have been attempting to stuff down. When we do this, we feel and we heal. The seven of cups asks us to observe, acknowledge and even honor where we are avoiding our pain and make another choice.
In the Seven of Wands a young woman has the upper ground and the others have stopped and are just waiting to see what she will do. They have surrendered the competition; she is the winner. This card lets us know that we have come out of the situation victoriously and with valor, even if we haven’t performed as well as we should or if our victory is imperfect. We trust ourselves, and have faith in our capacities to move through confrontation. We have stood our ground, we know what we stand for is right for us, even if others don’t see it that way.When this card appears in the reading, we know that we are winning, that our faith, persistence and conviction have paid off.
At first, when we read the word on the top of the Seven of Pentacles from the sun and moon tarot deck we fear the worst, but the meaning of the card is to LET GO OF OUR FEAR OF FAILURE and just keep moving forward, one step at a time. This card reminds us that there is no such thing as failure, there is only learning.
Before the cool done run outI'll be giving it my best-estAnd nothing's going to stop me but divine interventionI reckon it's again my turn,To win some or learn some~Jason Mraz - I’m Yours
When we look back at our lives we can see how often that thing we “failed” at was actually the very thing we needed to learn, in that exact way, in order to become successful. I wonder if we weren’t so afraid of failure how much more we might be accomplishing and learning and succeeding at?So, dear ones, let’s all embrace the energy of Lucky Number 7 this month and watch and appreciate how our lives transform as we move forward, whether consciously with the Chariot or unconsciously with the Tower. Let’s shift our thoughts and re-frame our lives for success while we accept and love ourselves, unconditionally. Let's feel all our feelings as we transform what we have been afraid feel our way through, standing up for what we know is right and trusting ourselves as we move forward with courage past our fears of failure. I’ll meet you out there, and we’ll do a victory dance together. I bet there will even be fireworks!So much love and even more gratitude,Kristine MariePS: I’ll be here, at Paradise Found, on the Fourth Saturday of this 7th month, July 28th, I’d LOVE to see you!
