Nine of Swords - Additional Notes

Minor Arcana
Written By Quinn

The nine of swords is one of the cards that shows distress. The kind of trouble it brings is always on the mental level, and it's usually (maybe not always) because we're trying to block our emotions from having a voice in the given situation. We always have something that we want to say when this card appears, but we're finding ways to avoid communicating our feelings. Traditionally this card is linked to mental cruelty, yet we often don't see that we've got far more control over the situation than we admit. This card shows up frequently after an argument and represents that stage where we refuse to listen to rhyme or reason. We're stomping around the house in defiance, being angry at one another. We're hurting. The problem here is that we're hurting too much to give way to our deeper feelings. We're being superficial and focusing on what got said to us or maybe what didn't get said out loud. We often carry this on into the night hours, and by the time we get into bed, we're worrying and we're anxious. We can't sleep.

Insomnia will often tag along with the nine of swords, and this is displayed well in the image of the Deviant Moon Tarot. The little daemon creature that bites on the left shoulder represents the external problem that gnaws at us, but we're not even looking at it; we're too busy biting our own hand, probably the same one that feeds us. As soon as we try to lay down, that daemon will become very apparent. We just can't get comfy whilst he's there, and yet we can't face it either. It's doom, for sure. The answers are there within our subconscious, and when we finally hit sleep, we'll get the message. Guilt plays its part here, and you must acknowledge you've done something wrong. The other person may be just as much to blame, but you did wrong too. You could've played the situation differently and not ended up in this place. You just need to learn, love and move forward. There's no irreparable damage here, but there's often an excessive amount of self-importance and a lack of humility that needs to be addressed.

Crowley gave the astrological placement of Mars in Gemini to the Nine of Swords. This suggests that actions are processed through the daily mind. In other words, we overthink the situations that have taken place. We must take a much bigger perspective and look at the whole situation. We're fretting about minor details and overlooking the big picture.   

Using The Energy of Other Cards

The nine of pentacles is where we can find answers. This is a positive card and indicates talent and skill. On a predictive level, it says that we have time for both work and play, and as an antidote to the nine of swords, we maybe need to look at how we're structuring our time. The astrological connection to Venus in Virgo says that careful analysis will also enable us to get the best possible growth from the situation. Still, our values may need to be assessed first. We must discern which bits of information to discard to create order again. Humility is a quality that is associated with Virgo, and paired with Venus it says we need to value it as an asset. 

I can see how drawing on the nine of cups would be an ideal solution because here, we have emotional expansion. The nine of swords is often caused by withholding emotion, so this card can act as a kind of balance. The astrological connection here is Jupiter in Pisces; we need to allow our feelings to be expansive. We have to surrender to love or maybe surrender to what or who it is that we love.  

The nine of wands gave me an interesting perspective as Crowley assigned the Moon in Sagittarius to it, and this is the natural polar opposite of Gemini. This card suggests that inner strength has to be built, and the only way to do this is to rely more on the self. Emotions need more freedom, and we can't usually have freedom without a struggle. This card brings its own difficulties, and here we feel that we just don't have the energy to keep going. The reality is that we continue to move forward despite having low energy and a high level of apathy or discontent.  

 

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