The Seven of Ribbons

The woman stands just outside the shoji door leading into the bathroom, which is now closed, denying her entry. A driving rain beats down on her, and she tries to shield her face from the stinging drops. Her body is splattered with mud, as are the ribbons that hang, limp and wet, from her body. In each hand she holds a bedraggled ribbon, weighed down and caked with mud.

Into everyone's life, a little rain must fall. The arrival of this card tells the Querant to prepare for rough weather ahead. The Querant might be advised to try to figure out whether this storm is simply a bad day, or is heralding the onset of the monsoon season, bringing the threat of still more turbulence to come. In extreme cases, it might indicate that it is perhaps time for the Querant to try a different approach entirely--to pick up, figuratively speaking, the sodden ruin of his or her dreams and head to more accommodating climes.

The Seven of Chains

Two women are bound together back to back, wrapped in chains, with a pole between them. Seven chains lead off in different directions, and people we can't see tug and pull on the bound women.

The appearance of this card in a spread signals a time of tension in a relationship, either from within or from without. The chains pulling on the women represent forces such as jealousies, insecurities, squabbles, or gossip, trying to separate the people; these may be forces from inside the relationship (such as internal insecurities) or from other people (such as envy or rumormongering). When it shows up, this card reminds the Querant that it is time to take charge of the forces that are pulling him or her in all these different directions, and to assert control over the things trying to disrupt and divide.

The Seven of Books

The girl stands in front of a huge shelf of books stretching off in all directions. In front of her, seven tomes are carefully locked away behind an iron grate with a large padlock on it, bolted firmly to the shelf. With all the books around her, the seven that she needs are unavailable to her.

This card portends a situation in which someone is deliberately and intentionally keeping the Querant away from the resources that he or she needs. The people who have direct access to those resources have chosen not to provide them to the Querant, so some other strategy is necessary. The Querant can choose to be stopped by this obstacle and blame those that keep him or her from the next achievement, or can seek some other way or some other place to unlock the knowledge that is necessary.

The Seven of Tentacles

All trace of the schoolgirl's earlier pleasure is gone as she becomes the Tentacle Monster's plaything. In this card, the monster has its way! The schoolgirl is now bound by four tentacles, with another in her mouth, a tentacle rubbing against her clit, and a seventh tentacle plunged into her vaginally. She is now right-side up, but this is no reprieve; the monster has turned her over only to make molesting her that much easier. Her eyes are wide open in shock and horror, and the only thing preventing her from screaming is the tentacle in her mouth.

In a reading, this is a card of violation. It signals a situation in which things may not go the Querant's way, or in which the Querant will not reach the desired end. However, day follows night, and even though the Querant may not win all of his or her battles, it is still possible to regroup, recover, and ultimately persevere.