The Gospel of Matthew preserves one of the fiercest moments in the ministry of Yeshua. Chapter 23 resounds with seven cries of judgement, the ouai hurled against the hypocrisy of the religious guides of his time. These “woes” are words of fire that expose, wound and cleanse. They cut into the heart of falsehood with a sword of the Spirit, stripping away pretence and revealing the face of the Holy. When this passage is read beside the Seven of Wands in the Tarot, a correspondence emerges that is more than accidental or superficial. The card of fiery resistance mirrors the prophetic stance of Christ himself. Both unveil the same archetype: the solitary figure who stands against a multitude, armed only with the fire of truth, refusing compromise, sustained by a force that exceeds the human.
I. The Cry of the Prophet
The sevenfold cry in Matthew 23 culminates a long line of prophetic tradition. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all knew the fire of denunciation. In Yeshua the prophetic fire burns with its fullest intensity, tearing away the religious façade that blocked the Kingdom. The “woe” is a magical word of reversal: it collapses the structures built on pride, greed and false devotion. To speak such a word is to release the lightning of Geburah, the sphere of severity, where divine justice does not negotiate but cuts.
The Seven of Wands stands in the same current. It shows a lone figure holding position, standing on higher ground against assailants from below. The image carries the tension of one against many, the prophet against the multitude, the Christ before scribes and Pharisees. Yet the fire in his hands is stronger than the crowd. The card belongs astrologically to Mars in Leo, Netzach of Atziluth. It is the flame of endurance, the will that holds position when the current presses hard. Netzach in fire becomes fierce constancy, the beauty of victory against struggle. Mars brings the Geburah cut of combat, Leo gives the solar heart, and Netzach seals the image with persistence that outlasts opposition. This is why the Seven of Wands shines as the courage that asserts truth even when outnumbered.
II. Mars in Leo and the Sword of Geburah
Mars brings struggle, the heat of battle, the sharpness of decision. Leo brings solar dignity, radiance, the regal stance holding the centre. Together they describe the assertion of the heart’s fire against corruption. This is why the card resists reduction to petty quarrels; it belongs to the sphere of cosmic judgement.
The force of Geburah, fifth sefirah of the Tree, is the essence of divine severity, the cutting flame that does not destroy for cruelty but for purification. In the Gospel woes the same force is at work. The hypocrites exalt the gold of the temple above the temple itself, the gift above the altar, the exterior above the interior. Yeshua answers with the sword of Geburah: “Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?”.
This alignment is protected in the angelic order. The card falls under the guardianship of the Seraphim Mahasiah and Iehahel, Angels five and six in the sequence, flames so close to the Throne that their wings burn with vision. They are living pillars of the heavenly court, surrounding the soul that dares to confront falsehood. Their proximity seals the archetype: the combat is sheltered under the fire of the Seraphim.
III. The Seven Woes and the Seven Flames
Seven is the number of planetary totality, the cycle of fullness. To hurl seven woes is to strike every sphere of human corruption. To stand in the Seven of Wands is to hold that same totality in fire. Each woe of Christ is an act of unveiling: the blocked gate, the devoured houses, the blind guides, the false offerings, the tithe without justice, the polished exterior, the whitened tombs. Each exposes a mask and tears it away. The card embodies the same process at the personal and cosmic scale. The lone figure resists entire structures of illusion. The staff he wields is the axis of fire, the rod of truth that does not bend.
On this Monday, day of the Moon and of Gabriel who carries the Divine Word, the Seven of Wands takes on a special hue. The Gospel woes were spoken with fire, but always under the light of mercy. So too the card today urges a stance of steadfast courage that does not yield to falsehood, whilst receiving the lunar gift of reflection. The prophet stands alone, but the Moon keeps vigil and the angel announces strength.
Fiat Lux.