Nine of Swords
Minor Arcana · Swords · number 9 · Nove di Spade
Upright
The Nine of Swords is a woman sitting up in bed, in the dark, face in her hands, nine swords hanging above her: failure, delay, deception, disappointment, despair. It is the card of sleepless nights. If these days you wake at three with your heart in your throat, over a job, a debt, a diagnosis you are waiting for, it is no accident. But the swords in the picture hang on the wall: they are not striking you. It is anguish, and anguish lies about the future. The practical advice: decide nothing at night. Talk to someone tomorrow, and if the darkness lasts, ask a doctor for help.
Source: Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) · read the original passage
Reversed
Reversed, the Nine of Swords eases the despair but brings imprisonment, suspicion, doubt, a reasonable fear, shame. It is a fear with a reason, and it deserves a hearing. If these days you suspect someone, a partner, a lover, an offer, and feel ashamed of thinking it, it is no accident: Waite says there is a basis for it. Be careful not to turn the doubt into an accusation without checking, but do not silence it for a quiet life either. It is not a sentence. The practical advice: check the facts discreetly, a bank statement, a direct question, and then decide with what you find.