Seven of Wands Theory

Good day All.

I have always had a really hard time reading and connecting with the Seven of Wands and it's standard definition. The Smith-Rider-Waite deck has an image of a person holding a wand on an embankment. Below the embankment are 6 other wands.

This traditionally has been read as the person fighting off a foe(s). My theory is: This person is actually trying to figure out where to best place his last wand to stop the embankment from crumbling.

They are at the top of an embankment with water between their feet. They are not looking at the other wands but off to the right. They are wearing 2 different shoes, which says to me that they didn't have time to find the correct shoes.

Wands are all about momentum and action. They are the fire suit.

7's are all about assessment and knowledge.

We don't see any foe, and the person isn't looking at this "enemy". Their stance is as if they were going to drive the stake into the ground.

I know that AE Waite's original guide book has the fighters definition for the card. However the more that I look at it the more I disagree with this assessment of Pamela Coleman Smiths art.

What is your assessment? Do you have alternative readings of other cards?