The Nine of Wands Yes or No: Yes, One More Push

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Nine of Wands is a tired yes from the last fence. Here is how I read it for yes or no questions, upright and reversed, and why the reversal is about exhaustion.

If you want the short answer, the Nine of Wands is a yes. In a yes or no draw the upright card says you are nearly through and the thing you are asking about will succeed if you keep standing for one more test. It is a yes with a bandage on it, and it is a real yes.

This is a card of yes as the last fence. The figure is wounded, wary and still upright. Eight wands stand behind him. One more is all there is.

Is the Nine of Wands a yes or a no?

Upright, I read the Nine of Wands as a yes. 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 Wands guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with resilience, persistence, boundaries and the final test. 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 Wands as yes because the card is about having survived most of a struggle: the bandaged head, the fence of wands, the watchful stance. When a question is about whether to keep going, whether the effort will pay off, whether you can get through, the Nine says yes, and says the finish is closer than it feels.

The yes asks for endurance rather than force. The Nine of Wands does not need you to win a fight. It needs you not to lower the wand before the last challenge has passed.

The Nine of Wands reversed as yes or no

Reversed, I read the Nine of Wands as unclear. The reversal describes exhaustion, paranoia, or giving up at the last fence. The yes is still available and the person may not have the strength left to collect it.

If you drew the Nine of Wands reversed, ask whether you are close to quitting something that is nearly done, or whether the defending has become the whole of your life. The first needs rest and one more push. The second needs a different question.

The Nine of Wands yes or no in a love question

In a love question, the Nine of Wands is a yes to a relationship that has survived a lot and has one more hard conversation ahead, and a yes to staying guarded while someone earns your trust. Reversed, it describes being so defended that nothing gets through, and asks whether the walls are still protecting anything.

The Nine of Wands yes or no for work and money

For work and money, the Nine of Wands is a yes to finishing the long project, passing the last hurdle, getting through the final stage of a dispute. Reversed, it suggests burnout and asks whether the last push can be made with the energy you have.

When a yes or no draw is the wrong tool

The Nine of Wands answers questions about endurance. It is a poor card for questions about whether to start something, which it answers as though you were already near the end. 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 one remaining test as plainly as you can name it, and what rest you can take before it. The second note is the yes. The third keeps you standing for it.

For comparison, the Seven of Wands yes or no and Strength yes or no answer differently. The the Nine of Wands card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Nine of Wands as timing and the Nine of Wands 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.