Image: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain/CC0)
TL;DR: According to A. E. Waite in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), the Nine of Swords is the card of utter desolation, with divinatory meanings including death, failure, miscarriage, delay, deception, disappointment, despair; reversed, imprisonment, doubt, suspicion, well-founded fear, shame. In modern Tarot reading, this card is understood as anxiety, insomnia from looping negative thoughts; reversed, the worry begins to subside. Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: distinguish between well-grounded worry and worry exaggerated by imagination, and consider seeking professional support if the condition persists.
What is the Tarot card 9 of Swords (Nine of Swords)?
Nine of Swords (9 Kiếm) belongs to the Minor Arcana, in the suit of Swords, associated with the element of Air. The Rider-Waite-Smith deck was first printed in 1909, with illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith; the divinatory meanings that A. E. Waite published appeared in the book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), and those divinatory meanings are often different from the meanings commonly assigned to this card by Tarot readers today.
What was Waite's original 1911 text for the Nine of Swords?
Waite describes the image as follows: "One seated on her couch in lamentation, with the swords over her. She is as one who knows no sorrow which is like unto hers. It is a card of utter desolation." That is: a person sitting on her bed weeping, with the swords hanging above her; she is as though no one has a sorrow like her sorrow; this is a card of utter desolation.
Waite lists the Divinatory Meanings for the Nine of Swords: Death, failure, miscarriage, delay, deception, disappointment, despair. The Reversed meaning according to Waite: Imprisonment, suspicion, doubt, reasonable fear, shame.
It should be noted: the meanings Waite gives are quite heavy and somewhat contradictory in tone, and they are not what Tarot readers today usually use for this card.
According to how Tarot is read today, what does the Nine of Swords mean?
According to how Tarot is read today, this card is usually understood as anxiety, sleeplessness from negative thoughts circling in the mind. When reversed, the worry begins to ease, and the querent sees the problem less pessimistically. Common keywords: anxiety, sleeplessness, obsession.
This is also the meaning that the Nhật Nguyệt card-drawing tool uses for the Nine of Swords. These meanings are not the divinatory meanings Waite gave in the 1911 book.
Upright and reversed according to how it is read today
According to how it is read today, when upright, this card is understood as anxiety, sleeplessness, regret, or obsessive thoughts. In a work context, it can be deadline pressure or fear of failure. In love, it can be jealousy, fear of being abandoned, or torment after an argument. Regarding health, it suggests a state of prolonged stress affecting sleep and the nervous system.
When reversed, according to how it is read today, this card is understood as the worry beginning to ease, seeing the problem less pessimistically. Some readers also see in the reversed position a suppression, when the querent does not yet want to face the problem.
Things that should not be asserted from the card
One should not assert that the card can predict the future or foretell a specific disaster. The way it is read today leans toward describing a state of mind that is magnifying the problem, rather than a sentence of fate. Let us see this as a mirror reflecting the inner self.
According to Nhật Nguyệt's understanding
According to Nhật Nguyệt's understanding, the Nine of Swords is the card of sleepless nights, extreme anxiety and inner torment. Most of the suffering that the card evokes comes from the querent's own thoughts, not from a reality that has already happened.
Look closely at the image: the figure sits on the bed weeping, nine swords hang above, darkness surrounds. According to Nhật Nguyệt's understanding, this is the image of a mind wearing itself down, when all external distractions quiet down and a person faces the inner self directly.
This is not a prophecy of an impending disaster, nor is it a sentence of fate.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion for today
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: if this card appears in your spread, try to separate a well-founded worry from a worry magnified by imagination. At work, do not decide hastily under the pressure of a sleepless night. In love, sharing your worry with someone you trust can help reduce its weight more than keeping it inside. Regarding finances, avoid making big decisions when your spirit is tense. Regarding health, if sleeplessness and anxiety persist, seeking professional support is something worth considering.
Quick reference table: Nine of Swords upright and reversed
| Aspect | Content |
|---|---|
| Deck suit | Minor Arcana - Suit of Swords |
| Number | 9 |
| Main keywords | anxiety, sleeplessness, obsession |
| Meaning when upright | Anxiety, sleeplessness from negative thoughts circling in the mind. |
| Meaning when reversed | The worry begins to ease, seeing the problem less pessimistically. |
How do Waite's 1911 divinatory meanings and modern meanings differ?
Waite gives in the book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911) heavy meanings such as death, failure, miscarriage, delay, deception, disappointment, despair; the reversed position is imprisonment, suspicion, doubt, reasonable fear, shame. According to how Tarot is read today, this card is understood more lightly and with a psychological leaning: anxiety, sleeplessness, obsession; the reversed position is the worry gradually easing, less pessimistic.
Below is a table comparing the two ways of reading:
| Card position | Waite 1911 (The Pictorial Key to the Tarot) | How it is read today |
|---|---|---|
| Upright | Death, failure, miscarriage, delay, deception, disappointment, despair | Anxiety, sleeplessness from negative thoughts circling in the mind |
| Reversed | Imprisonment, suspicion, doubt, reasonable fear, shame | The worry begins to ease, seeing the problem less pessimistically |
Overview article on the topic: Basic Tarot: 78 Cards And The Meanings Of The Major/Minor Arcana
