Nine of Wands
Minor Arcana · Wands · number 9 · Nove di Bastoni
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The Nine of Wands is a man with a bandaged head gripping his staff and waiting: strength in opposition. You are tired, you have already taken a few blows, but if attacked again you will answer, and those who know you know you are a formidable opponent. Waite adds delay, suspension, adjournment: things will not be settled right away. If these days you feel dug into a trench, at work, in a lawsuit, in a difficult relationship, it is no accident. The practical advice: do not abandon your position, but do not waste energy on pointless attacks. Rest when you can, and keep your strength for the decisive moment.
Source: Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) · read the original passage
Reversed
Reversed, the Nine of Wands gives way: obstacles, adversity, a calamity arriving when the defences are already low. If these days every door seems to close, a health problem, a financial setback, a disappointment piled on the others, it is no accident: you resisted for a long time without ever recharging. It is not a sentence, but a sign that this cannot hold. Be careful not to play the lone hero. The practical advice: ask for concrete help from one specific person, a relative, a colleague, a doctor, and allow yourself to lay down the staff for a few days.