The Nine of Swords Yes or No: No, Not Decided at Three in the Morning

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Nine of Swords is a no about the state you asked in. Here is how I read it for yes or no questions, upright and reversed, and why the reversal is about the night ending.

If you want the short answer, the Nine of Swords is a no. In a yes or no draw the upright card says the question is being asked from anxiety and that the answer will be distorted by fear until the fear eases. It is a no to deciding now, more than a no to the thing itself, and I would read it as the deck refusing to feed a worry.

This is a card of no as a figure sitting up in bed with their head in their hands. The swords are on the wall. Nothing in the room is actually happening.

Is the Nine of Swords a yes or a no?

Upright, I read the Nine of Swords as a no. Reversed, I read it as unclear, neither a clean yes nor a clean no. My free yes or no tarot draw uses the Major Arcana only, so if you want a quick draw, use that; these Minor Arcana values are the ones I apply when a full deck is in play.

Tina Gong's the Nine of Swords guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with anxiety, hopelessness, trauma and nightmares. Brigit Esselmont's yes or no tarot overview at Biddy Tarot notes that readers assign yes and no values differently, which is true, and it is why I state mine rather than pretend there is one correct table.

Why the upright card reads this way

I read the Nine of Swords as no because the card is about dread rather than danger: the dark room, the sleepless figure, the nine blades hanging above. When a question is drawn in that state, the honest answer is that it cannot be answered well, and that the worry is the thing to address.

The no is not a prediction. The Nine of Swords is one of the least predictive cards in the deck. It describes the night, not the morning, and the morning tends to have a different answer.

The Nine of Swords reversed as yes or no

Reversed, I read the Nine of Swords as unclear. The reversal describes the worst being over, fear releasing, or anxiety hidden rather than resolved. The answer may be coming clear or may be going underground.

If you drew the Nine of Swords reversed, ask whether you have slept and whether the fear has got smaller in daylight. If so, draw again from there. If not, the question can wait and you cannot.

The Nine of Swords yes or no in a love question

In a love question, the Nine of Swords is a no to deciding anything about a relationship while lying awake over it, and usually a card about your own fear rather than the other person's intentions. It is the card of "why have they not replied" at three in the morning. Reversed, it suggests the fear is easing, and asks you to notice that the situation may not have changed, only your sleep.

The Nine of Swords yes or no for work and money

For work and money, the Nine of Swords is a no to the decision made in panic: the resignation at midnight, the sale in a fright, the email sent at four. Reversed, it suggests the worst has passed and the practical question can now be asked calmly.

When a yes or no draw is the wrong tool

The Nine of Swords is the card that says the person asking is in no state to decide. It is a poor card to redraw at night, because it will keep describing the night. A single card answers a single, well-formed question. If the question is really three questions, or is about another person's choices, a yes or no draw will give you a confident answer to the wrong thing. My guide to a one question psychic reading explains how I handle questions that need more than one card.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the exact question you asked, the time of day you asked it, and what you will do tonight other than lie awake. The third note is the one that changes the card.

For comparison, the Moon yes or no and the Ten of Swords yes or no answer differently. The the Nine of Swords card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Nine of Swords as timing and the Nine of Swords as feelings cover the two other questions people most often ask of it. 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.