The number 7 in many cultures is a sacred number (think of the 7 chakras) and is the number of divine and earthly harmony, of fate and transformation.  Swords are associated with reason, thought, logic, will, courage, verbal skill, matters pertaining to the mind and survival in the world and the element of air.  This card can sometimes refer to a hidden agenda, someone who is being sneaky or underhanded about an issue.

"You're experimenting with your beliefs and attitudes.  As you stretch and expand them, you notice how certain beliefs operate in your life and you experiment with changing them or adjusting them to see what new results you get.  You may be listening to a variety of internal voice." - Gail Fairfield

On the Halloween Tarot 7 of Bats, the Radish Man is sneaking away from an encampment with a bag full of bats.  Is he releasing them into the wild?  Is he reclaiming bats that were originally his?  Is he trying to steal bats that done belong to him?  Who can be sure.  The bats don't seem very disturbed and his foolish grin makes it difficult to see him as an evil figure.

The creature sneaking into the room on the Dark Grimoire 7 of Swords is a completely different matter.  His dress is nothing special or different but his face inspires uneasiness and maybe even fear.  His orange eyes glow in the dim light and his face is distorted somehow, almost mummified or reptilian.  Why is he sneaking into the sleeping man's room?  Why did the sleeping man feel the need to keep a gun near his bedside atop a manuscript?  What interest does this creature have in the book?  Did the sleeping man take a book that didn't belong to him and now its original owner is reclaiming it?  Or is the creeping figure seeking personal glory and knowledge and taking the book from its rightful owner?  

It's difficult to tell what is going on in these cards.  Traditionally the 7 of Swords can represent someone behavior in a sneaky or underhanded manner.  That might be the case or it might not.  Without knowing the back story, we can only use our imagination.  Knowing a bit about H.P. Lovecraft's stories and mythos, I would have to see the Dark Grimoire image representing some otherworldly creature who has been unleashed by the sleeping man.  He has used the book without realizing its repercussions or the danger.  Now the creature is coming back to get his pound of flesh.  Lovecraftian stories often contain an element of humans playing with forces they do not understand and suffering as a result.  

And how ironic that the figure on the Halloween 7 of Bats is gathering bats.  How often do we use the expressions that someone is "batty" to indicate she is not in her right mind or her perceptions are not to be trusted.  The Radish Man has collected an entire bag full of false perceptions.  Where will this lead?  Will he be able to weed through the false impressions and find a true one?

Perhaps that is the answer to the question - I walk in truth by considering all ideas and perceptions and working to see which are false or don't make sense and which do.  This may be my opportunity to reclaim my ideas and beliefs and decide which ones will help me move forward.  Perhaps its time to look at my own hidden agendas - how have my beliefs and ideas kept me stuck in the same position?  How have they held me back.  Maybe my option is to understand that the thief is not an external creature but inside me.  It is my own self-doubts and inner critic robbing me of my confidence and belief in myself.  It's time to kick that inner critic out and fill myself with more positive perceptions and beliefs.  I may be bats but they're my bats and it's time to reclaim them!

Or maybe these images are showing my internal fears; my worries that someone will sneak in and steal what is mine.  That is a concept that I haven't full explored before.  This card is about my internal fears and worries rather than reality.  Is anyone really sneaking into my room or is that creature just a figment of my imagination; a night gaunt I've dreamt up in my unconscious?  If so, then it's time to wake up and take back what he is trying to get from me.  Either way, it's about reclaiming my legacy.