Nine
Nine of Swords
Suit of Swords · air
The Nine of Swords is the anguish of the small hours — anxiety, guilt, and dread that loom larger in the mind than in reality. The swords hang on the wall, not in the body; this suffering is mental, and naming the fears aloud begins to drain their power.
The image
A figure sits up in bed in the dark, face buried in hands; nine swords hang on the wall behind, with a carved relief of struggle on the bed's base and a quilt of roses and zodiac signs.
Upright
anxietynightmaresdreadguiltmental anguishsleeplessness
Reversed
release from fearhope returningfacing anxietyasking for helprecovery from despair