Nine of Swords

Nine of Swords from the Rider-Waite Tarot deck

The Nine of Swords is the ninth card in the suit of Swords. It usually stands for death, failure, delay, deception, disappointment, and despair. A priest. A bad omen. Intolerance.

General description

In the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, Pamela Colman Smith depicts the Nine of Swords as a woman sitting upright on her bed holding her head in her hands in a state of lamentation. The swords are hanging over her. She knows no sorrow like hers. It is a card of utter desolation.

Divinatory meaning

From the essence of this card arises inquisition and every sort of intolerance, religious intolerance above all, because the materialistic mind thinks itself in possession of the only expression of Truth, and condemns every other. So this card may also indicate all sorts of hard judgment, rigid attitudes of mind, orthodoxy. For this indeed is the meaning of materialism in religion and ethics. When the material expression of truth and ideals is at its height, it reaches the value of rite and ritual or religious ceremony, which at its best stands in relation to dogmatism as the jewel to simple stones or dry sand.

If reversed, the card can mean: Imprisonment, suspicion, doubt, reasonable fear, and shame.