Man, the Seven of Swords in a love outcome. That’s a card that’s always made me scratch my head, right? Because when you first look at it, all you see is this dude sneaking away with five swords, leaving two behind. And your gut reaction is, “Uh oh, someone’s being sneaky, someone’s running off with something they shouldn’t.” Is it deception? A lot of times, yeah, it totally feels like it.
I remember one time I was doing a spread, not for me, but for a buddy who was super invested in this new person he was seeing. Everything was butterflies and rainbows on the surface, you know? They were always out, always laughing, posting stuff online. Seemed like the real deal. But my friend, he had this nagging feeling, like something wasn’t quite adding up. He asked me to pull some cards for him about how things would play out. And there it was, smack dab in the middle of the “outcome” position: the Seven of Swords.
My first thought, and I told him this straight up, was “Dude, somebody’s not being totally honest here.” I didn’t want to sugarcoat it. I just laid it out. I’ve been around the block enough times to know when a card’s practically screaming a warning. But it’s not always a blatant lie, you know? Sometimes it’s more subtle. It’s about what’s not being said, what’s being skirted around, or even what someone is trying to get away with.
He was a bit bummed, naturally. Nobody wants to hear that. But I told him, look, this isn’t a death sentence for the relationship. It’s a heads-up. It means you gotta open your eyes, pay a little more attention. So, we started going through all the little things he’d noticed that felt off. He’d mentioned how this person would always have a “reason” why they couldn’t meet up on certain nights. Or how they’d be super vague about their past, just brushing it off with a laugh. At the time, he just thought they were busy or private. But when that Seven of Swords popped up, it made him rethink everything.
Digging a Little Deeper
So, what did we do? Well, it wasn’t about spying or anything shady like that. It was about being smart. I told him to just keep observing, you know? To listen to his gut more, rather than trying to rationalize away every strange feeling. And he started doing that. He started noticing how this person would sometimes slip up, mention a detail that didn’t quite fit with something else they’d said before. Little things, like a different name for a town they supposedly grew up in, or a vague story about where they were last weekend that never quite solidified.
It was like watching someone slowly pull away layers of a bad painting. And piece by piece, he started to see it. This person wasn’t just “private,” they were actively avoiding giving clear answers. They weren’t just “busy,” they had another life they were keeping very separate. And it wasn’t about some grand, dramatic deception, like a secret spouse or something. It was more about keeping their options open, or just not wanting to fully commit or be completely transparent about who they really were or what they really wanted.
Eventually, he confronted them, not in an accusatory way, but just asking direct questions about some of these inconsistencies. And the person just… evaporated. Like smoke. Suddenly, they were too busy for everything. The calls stopped, the texts became sparse, and then nothing. Just silence. And that’s when he really got it. The Seven of Swords wasn’t just about someone telling a bald-faced lie, it was about someone taking what they wanted (the attention, the easy companionship) and then slipping away when things got too real, when they faced the possibility of being called out.
It was a tough lesson for him, sure. But it was also incredibly clarifying. He realized that the “deception” wasn’t always a malicious, calculated plot. Sometimes, it’s just someone operating on the fringes, trying to avoid consequences, trying to keep their options open, or simply not wanting to deal with the truth of a situation. They take what they can without fully investing, and then they bail out when the pressure’s on.
So, when I see that card now in a love context, I don’t immediately jump to “they’re cheating!” Though sometimes that’s exactly what it means. Instead, I think about self-preservation, about someone trying to get away with something, or avoid a tough conversation. It’s about strategic retreat, about taking shortcuts, about not being fully present or completely honest. It’s a call to be smart, to use your own discernment, and to trust that gut feeling when something just doesn’t feel right. Because often, it isn’t.
