The Nine of Swords illustrates a woman sitting up in her bed closing her face with her hands. She seems to have been woken up from a horrifying nightmare that has left her shaken, frightened and anxious. Nine swords hang on the black wall, representing the negative thoughts that are heavy in her mind. The bottom of the woman’s bed has a carving of one person beating another. And her blanket has flowers and the patterns of astrological symbols.

Upright
Anxiety, worry, fear, depression, nightmares
Reversed
Inner turmoil, deep-seated fears, secrets, releasing worry
Astrology
Libra, Gemini, Aquarius
Element
Air
Nine of Swords

Upright Nine Of Swords

The Nine of Swords hints that clouded thoughts and unpleasant feelings are pulling you down (and keeping you awake at night). You are suffering extremely about a situation, and your pessimistic feelings are getting the better of you, making you very anxious. The more you connect with your worries, the more they will control your life. It becomes a circle where one terrible thought leads to another until they defeat you. Just as the nine swords are piled upon each other on the wall, so too are your pessimistic thoughts.

Be cautious because the anxiety in the Nine of Swords can grow a self-fulfilling process. As you obsess over what may go incorrect, you are more likely to make your worst-case scenario true because you are involuntarily behaving in ways that help your negative beliefs. So, the Nine of Swords invites you to break the loop. Every time a negative thought shows up, replace it with a good one.

The Nine of Swords warns you that much of the anxiety you are encountering is in your head and not certainly an exact representation of what is occurring. You may make things more hurtful for yourself by obsessing over the worst scenarios. 

The Nine of Swords often shows up when trouble, hopelessness, and anxiety are quite actually keeping you up at night. You may not be sleeping properly, or you are experiencing regular nightmares. Your persistent thoughts are stopping you from relaxing. Other people may help you to see the positive perspectives and guide you towards a resolution. You are not able to see at your situation clearly, as you are surrounded by negative thoughts, so having an objective viewpoint will encourage you to find your way out.

Reversed Nine Of Swords

The reversed Nine of Swords notes that you are undergoing deep inner confusion as a consequence of your mindset. Your negative thoughts are taking you in a loop of hopelessness and anxiety that opposes reality; you are getting things to feel much worse than they really are.

The reversed Nine of Swords shows up when you are grasped by fear. You are allowing your fears to prevent your whole potential and it is removing you of your life energy. 

On a more positive sign, the Nine of Swords can come up reversed when you have already worked through this phase of depression and are recovering. You may have come to the understanding that things are not as critical as you thought them to be, and you are starting to rest and calm yourself about what was once a horrible condition.