Nine of Swords Keywords: Worry, Anxiety, Grief, Despair, Loss of Sleep

Nine of Swords Tarot Card Description

Nine evenly spaced swords, set against a black backdrop, dominate this card. A person sits up in bed with their head in their hands. We see two fencers, one fallen and one victorious, carved into the side of the ornate bed. The colourful blanket is covered in a patchwork of roses and astrological symbols.

What the Nine of Swords Means in a Tarot Reading

This is a time when worry, grief, and sadness keep you up at night. You may be grieving the loss of something or someone that was very dear to you. You’re worried that you could have done something more to prevent the loss. These thoughts are haunting you, but the Nine of Swords is telling you that what happened was ‘written in the stars’. Eventually you’ll come to realise that nothing you could have done would have changed the outcome.

There will be times when the Nine of Swords moment will come out of the blue. You won’t be aware that there’s any problem until someone reveals news that will shock you. This grief will overwhelm you. It’s the grief of lost innocence; the mourning of life before the shock. You’re trying to make sense of what happened. You don’t know how to move forward. You feel isolated. You’re alone with your thoughts and your worries.

I’d love to tell you that it’ll all be fine in the morning, but the truth is that we don’t know when this time will pass – notice that the tips of the swords extend beyond the edge of the card. However, these feelings won’t last indefinitely. They’ll gradually ease and fade as you come to terms with what has happened and as you unpack your feelings surrounding the whole experience. Just as worries seem less in the light of day and eventually we rise to face a new dawn, you’ll also find your way out of this darkness. 

Nine of Swords Love and Relationships Tarot Meaning

We all go through these Nine of Swords times in our relationships and, while sometimes it feels impossible, we all work our way through them one way or another.

This is when you may have done something you regret, and the guilt is keeping you awake at night. Or perhaps you’ve found out something that has hurt you so deeply that you feel as though your heart is breaking in two. It’s possible that, if you don’t already know, the specifics of what has happened, or what is about to happen, will be revealed by other cards in the reading. Love is painful at times, and this is one of those times.

The grief will pass and when it does, you’ll be stronger and wiser from the experience.

Nine of Swords Career Tarot Meaning

Something is keeping you up at night. Perhaps stress in your workplace is overwhelming you. Or you may have done something that you regret, and you feel deep sadness as a result. Whatever has happened, it is having a very serious impact on you and is taking a toll on you mentally and physically. You’ll need to take some action to remedy this. Perhaps you can make amends for mistakes you may have made, or you may be able to reverse a bad decision.

If it’s the case that your work environment is causing you to feel this way, then you’ll need to do something to remedy this. When you’ve come to terms with what the problem is, then you’ll know better what steps to take. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll need to look for a new job, although that may indeed be that case. Your problem is front and centre now and you’ll need to deal with it if you’re to move past it.