Ten of Swords
Card Description
The Nine of Swords depicts a woman that is sitting on her bed while she holds her head in her hands. It appears as though the woman has just awakened from a very bad nightmare. She seems to be upset, anxious and fearful. Nine swords are hanging on her wall, and a carving that depicts a person defeated by another can be found in her bed. The quilt has been decorated with various astrological symbols and roses. Here we see the same woman in that we saw earlier in the Eight of Swords - and perhaps, she was finally released, but haunted by the nightmares of the suffering she endured while she was left and deserted.
Nine of Swords Keywords
| Upright Keywords | Reversed Keywords |
| fear, anxiety, negativity, breaking point, despair, nightmares, isolation | recovery, learning to cope, facing life, finding help, shame, guilt, mental health issues |
Upright Nine of Swords Meaning
The Nine of Swords is often associated with fear and anxiety, about all the things that worry you and keep you up at night. Sometimes this card can be associated with trauma - one which may be shameful for you to confide with others about, and all the psychological responses that come from experiencing that trauma.
When we are never released from the entrapment depicted in the Eight of Swords, we escalate into the Nine of Swords, where we are plagued by nightmares. The suit of swords is one that is concerned with the mind, with logic, with intelligence, and with communication, but somehow the Nine of Swords was caught on the destructive end of the mind, the one which turns inward on itself, multiplies and festers. Questions are plaguing you, and you find yourself reciting all the possibilities - all the things that can happen to you. You are haunted by what could be.
There is a sense of repetition within this card, that some event which has troubled you before, and one which you managed to either repress or run away from, is coming back again. Sharing your grief does at least provide an outlet for your pain and may release you from carrying this burden alone. Is there anyone that you can feel comfortable speaking to?
In cases where it is less about trauma and more about general anxiety, analyze yourself and think if this is a feeling that is within your control or if there are other factors that contribute to your anxiety. Concentrate on the matters which you can control, and learn to ask for help.
Nine of Swords Reversal Meaning
To come across the Nine of Swords reversed still signals something similar to the upright version - that you may find yourself being terrorized by nightmares, by anxiety and stress. Some trauma from your past is coming back, and you find the grief of unresolved issues overwhelming.
But here we also see hope, at least there is the desire to leave this nightmare. You must understand that this suffering will not cease until you yourself put in the effort to leave it. There is much work that you must do to drag yourself towards release. But just as you have a ways out, you must understand that you can still fall deeper into despair. Your job is to avoid that outcome, if you push forward you may find yourself out, but if you do not, you may find yourself sinking deeper.
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