The Nine of Swords as Advice: Do Not Trust the Three O'Clock Version

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Nine of Swords as advice asks you not to believe the night. Here is how, and what the reversal says.

If you want the short answer, the Nine of Swords as advice says: do not trust the three o'clock version. Anxiety is making things look worse than they are; get support and decide in daylight.

What the Nine of Swords advises upright

Tina Gong's the Nine of Swords guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with anxiety, hopelessness, trauma and nightmares. In an advice position I read those meanings as an instruction: the attitude or action the card is asking of you, rather than a description of what will happen. The Minor Arcana overview at Biddy Tarot is a useful second reference.

Upright, the Nine of Swords advises managing the worry: talk to someone, write the fears down, look after your sleep, and if it has gone on for weeks, see a doctor.

What the Nine of Swords is not asking you to do

The Nine is not asking you to ignore real problems, only to stop catastrophising them.

The Nine of Swords reversed as advice

Reversed, the Nine of Swords as advice says the worst is passing. Let it. A reversed card in an advice position is usually pointing at the habit that is getting in your way, not at a punishment.

The Nine of Swords as advice in love

In love, the Nine of Swords advises checking anxious stories against facts before acting.

The Nine of Swords as advice for work and money

For work and money, it advises not making decisions in panic. Advice from a card is reflection. For decisions with legal, medical or financial weight, take it to someone qualified as well.

One step to take this week

Write tonight's worries on paper before bed, and read them again in the morning.

For comparison, the Moon as advice and the Eight of Swords as advice ask different things of you. The the Nine of Swords card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Nine of Swords as a yes or no, the Nine of Swords as feelings and the Nine of Swords as timing cover the other questions people most often ask of it. You can draw a card for yourself with the free daily tarot tool. For a personal interpretation, my guide to an online psychic reading explains how readings work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.