deck: robin wood, rider waite
everything might seem fine on the surface when it’s bright outside. but at night when the lights are off, all of your fears and nightmares come striking back at you. that moment is the nine of swords, simplified. worries, doubts, guilt, and anxieties keeping you up all night. they seem so much larger than life, too; no wonder fear is often called false evidence appearing real. If three of swords is a card that stabs from the outside, nine of swords is our inner anguish. The pain of what we bear inside, of who we are, not necessarily of something that someone else caused directly. if you have ever stayed up all night, unable to sleep, unable to quiet your own mind, you know exactly what nine of swords means. I know as a reader that this card reveals your vulnerable spot, but this can often mean that you need to watch out for stress in that area in case it becomes a major distress. if it appears to you as a warning sign, take it easy and try to remember that there’s only so much you can control. being a compulsive worrier I of all people understand sometimes such thing seems impossible, but when things all work out in the end you sometimes think you could’ve saved yourself from some unnecessary sleepless nights. the fear you carry within this card only appears very real; but remember that what you feel is not who you are.
