MINOR ARCANA
Nine of Swords Tarot Meanings
The Nine of Swords is one of the cards that when it comes up, people shrink back in fear. It looks depressing, there’s no doubt about that but there’s a lot that the Nine of Swords offers us, including a good hard look at where the source of our suffering is actually coming from.
We often blame external sources for our pain and discomfort, but there are a lot of times where the blame should be placed within ourselves. It can sometimes be the way we are approaching or reacting to something that causes us the most suffering and not actually the thing itself, that’s the energy the Nine of Swords orbits in.
Nine of Swords Upright Meanings
The Nine of Swords can be a heavy one, as it’s often situated in deep confusion and lack of clarity. I sometimes think of it as stepping foot in a dark room and then having to wait for a little for your eyes to adjust so you can see properly. You’ll be able to make out key things in the dark, but you’ll need to investigate in order to be completely aware of what is going on around you. Some of the key meanings of the Nine of Swords are:
Anxiety
Worry
Obsession
Regret
Subconscious
The root of the Nine of Swords is our subconscious or shadow selves. It works in the dark and we have to be very active when it comes to working through this card, simply observing its symptoms is not enough to get you through to the other side.
Nine of Swords Reversed Meanings
In the reversed position, the Nine of Swords is completely flipped on its head and it quickly becomes a card of immense healing. All those negative or hard-to-handle aspects of the upright position are resolved and it becomes a symbol of hope and peace moving forwards. Some of the main reversed meanings of the Nine of Swords are:
Recovery
Letting go
Peace of mind
Acceptance
Alignment
In reverse we are able to see things as they are, we can accept the things we can’t change and let go of the things we’ve been holding onto. On the other side of the Nine of Swords reversed is complete peace and tranquillity.
Reading Nine of Swords in a Tarot Spread
It’s important with the Nine of Swords, not to jump to any conclusions before you’ve grasped the context of the card. Usually, when the Nine of Swords pops up it is indicating a need to assess your own mental state and mindset. To analyse the way you are perceiving the situation and to stop focusing on the external world. If we were to oversimplify it, then it would be seen as a need to find a more optimistic outlook and focus on the positives instead of the negatives.
Nine of Swords as An Invitation
As an invitation, the Nine of Swords asks us to try and look through the darkness to find the light. It is a chance to view things in a more realistic light in order to determine whether we are the cause of our own suffering and misery. It can also be an invitation to delve down into the subconscious realms to try and find the root cause of your current problem.
For Nine of Swords, this invitation could be the following:
An invitation to do some deep meditation in order to better understand where your negative thoughts or feelings are coming from
An invitation to let go of the things that are no longer serving you and doing more harm than good
An invitation to accept that which you have no control over
An invitation to find peace within the torment of regret
Nine of Swords as Sage Advice
The Nine of Swords offers us advice within the realm of self-awareness and taking responsibility for our own state of mind. It is a hard lesson to learn but it is one of the most important, especially when we are transitioning from teen to adult.
Some advice Nine of Swords may offer is:
The world isn’t against you and we can often move through a bad situation by simply changing our focus or the way we are approaching the situation
Holding on to past pain or regrets only cause more suffering
The subconscious can have a huge impact on the way we feel. It can often be the cause of your anxiety, worry or obsessions
Nine of Swords as a Lesson
The lessons that the Nine of Swords teaches us are in line with the advice listed above. There is a lot to learn about how much impact our mind and mindset has on other areas of our lives and how it can make or break us in the most crucial of moments.
Some lessons that Nine of Swords may offer you are:
The things we ignore or repress often come back to us in our dreams and in our anxious feelings, so it’s better to deal with them head-on rather than run away
Dwelling on the past stops you from ever being present
All things must pass and it’s important that when you feel like you’re completely lost and alone, you fight even harder to find the light in everything you do
Acceptance, ownership and accountability are the best ways to maintain a healthy mental state
Nine of Swords as a Redirection
As a redirection, the Nine of Swords tells us to look inwards for answers rather than trying to find them outside of ourselves. It tells us that what we seek is not found in others, but it is solely found in our subconscious and intuitive feeling.
As a redirection, Nine of Swords could symbolise a need to:
Take responsibility for your own mental wellbeing and put things into action to start taking better care of your mind, body and soul
Identify when your own bad habits and behaviours are causing distress
Dive down into the deepest depths of the subconscious in order to find the real answers to your problems
Swords
The Swords refer to our realms of communication, intellect and beliefs. It’s an energy that firmly sits in the mental and throat spaces, helping us to verbalise thoughts and ideas as well as create and change our thoughts.
For the Nine of Swords, we see how too much mental activity can be a bad thing. It can lead to overwhelm, anxiety and often keeps us up at night.
Air
Like all Sword cards, the Nine of Swords corresponds with the element of air. When thinking about this in the context of the Nine of Swords, I often think about the idea of taking in too much air. It brings to mind images of hyperventilation, that panic that causes our bodies to start grasping for air.
The Nine of Swords perfectly sums up this feeling. We now have too much air energy and things become incomprehensible.
Nines
In numerology the number nine tends to refer to abundance. Often we hear that and we apply a positive context to it, but you can have too much of something. Even too much of a good thing.
In the Nine of Swords, we have an abundance of mental activity or even too much communication happening. It becomes hard to properly process all the information being thrown at us and our minds start to malfunction.
