58-Nine of Swords – Upright Thoth Deck

Your Chosen Card – Nine of Swords Upright Thoth Deck

When upright, this card represents anguish of mind. Sometimes you feel so bad that you’d like to run off to a sheltered refuge and cloister yourself like a monk or a nun. Worrisome thoughts may be keeping you up at night or having a negative effect on your health. Perhaps you have felt the sting of harsh words from a loved one (warlike Mars in mental Gemini), or you fear an impending split or separation in a relationship. Whatever is troubling you, just remember that matters look bleaker in anticipation and in the darkness of night than when they actually manifest in tangible reality. According to author Amber Jayanti, this card reflects ‘how painful it can be to let go of what you want and accept what is.’ 42

Keywords Upright: The need for acceptance, self-realization, legitimate fear, self-exploration, confronting self-doubt and negative thinking, moving toward resolution, accepting loss, looking at matters realistically, piety, faith, devotion, virginity, integrity, celibacy.

Timing: 10 Gemini–20 Gemini. Tropical, 1 June–10 June. Sidereal, 25 June–5 July.
Astrology: Assertive and warlike Mars in the second decan of airy Gemini, the realm of the Prince of Swords (Fire of Air) and the Lovers (Gemini). Mars is linked to the Tower.
Number Symbolism: 9 – the final single digit, culmination, fruition, attainment.

Crowley/Thoth: Cruelty, despair, suffering, despondency, illness, pain, malice, psychopathy, fanaticism, primitive instincts.

When Nine of Swords is upright you can pretty much take it that life is going well but that’s when life takes us by surprise.  If Nine of Swords is unclear it may help to choose a card from the Major Arcana to provide more insight into what it is Nine of Swords is trying to tell you.  If you had a particular issue in  mind, or want to seek clarification on something else, you can also choose again to get more guidance.

This chosen card is part of your upright card reading for Nine of Swords using cards from the Thoth Tarot Deck. You will find many more tarot pages that will be of great help if you need tarot card meanings. Use the search at the bottom of the page. We have some amazing tarot books for you to browse. Please see below.


Here are some snippets from a few of my favorite books

Complete Book of Tarot
Book Details
Complete Book of Tarot: Card 6, the near future, was the Nine of Swords, sometimes called the nightmare card. It depicts a woman, perhaps a cloistered nun, sitting up in bed at night in a state of worry and preoccupation. The querent said that the possibility of not being able to have children was weighing heavily on his girlfriend’s mind. In addition, her mother’s health has recently concerned her.

Tarot Books

Creative Tarot: My first real engagement with the tarot came when I was in my late twenties. Like many people who take up the cards, I was inspired by a really good reading.

Complete Book of Tarot: Charging money for readings. A tarot reader provides a service and deserves to be paid a reasonable fee for a job well done. It is important to be upfront about the nature of the service you are offering and inform clients what a card reading can and cannot do. It is unethical to use the cards to frighten clients into giving you large sums of money for which you promise to ‘remove a curse’ or ‘cast a spell’ to change their lives. Your job is to empower clients to make their own decisions and to change their own lives. Whatever you say or do as a tarot reader should be, first and foremost, for the benefit of the querent rather than for personal gain.

  • Do get in touch if you looked for Nine of Swords and we don’t have it listed. We would be more than happy to source the information for you. We hope you visit again for more online tarot information!

Tarot Triumphs: What differences are there? One figure represents creative freedom, one is shackled, and one has authority. There are many more differences that you might choose to respond to; we will never see a spread exactly the same way twice, but that is also indicative of the richness of the Tarot Triumph symbols.