Truth Will Out

From the Delta Enduring Tarot, the Seven of Moths (Swords); from the Southernisms Oracle, 'Cotton:'

          That little red fox's face is so sweet, until you catch it sneaking out of the chicken coop with one of your hens in its mouth. Egan's illustration brings to mind another southern saying: 'fox in the hen house.' The Seven of Moths/Swords is about trust naively given and deception, whether it is through omitting the truth or flat-out lies. Sometimes we want to believe something so badly that we can't see the truth even in the light of day. As Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact." Other times we rationalize and normalize our actions when our integrity slips, thinking we deserve something or pointing out that other people do it too. Which brings up the Southernism: 'Sitting in high cotton.' Normally this would mean enjoying abundance (originally from a good return on one's cotton crop). But paired with this particular tarot card, it seems more like a smug belief that we've justifiably outsmarted another and got some pleasure out of it (like cheating on one's taxes). Yet deceivers would do well to heed a line from Shakespeare: "at the length truth will out."