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Tarot Card Meanings:
Nine of Swords

What is "Nine of Swords" in Tarot?

The Nine of Swords represents anxiety, fear, and mental anguish. This card signifies sleepless nights, worry, and the overwhelming burden of negative thoughts or guilt.

What are the key symbols in the "Nine of Swords" tarot card?

  • Figure sitting up in bed: Represents anxiety, worry, and mental distress.
  • Hands covering face: Indicates overwhelming fear, guilt, or sorrow.
  • Nine swords hanging on the wall: Symbolize the weight of negative thoughts, fears, and unresolved issues.
  • Dark background: Reflects the sense of despair, loneliness, and inner turmoil.
  • Quilt with roses and symbols: Suggests the contrast between external comfort and internal anguish.

These symbols are based on the Rider-Waite Smith tarot. Symbols may differ in other decks! 

nine of swords from the rider waite smith tarot
Nine of Swords as depicted in the Rider-Waite Smith Tarot by A.E. White, illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith

Nine of Swords Tarot Card Meaning

Nine of Swords Keywords: Anxiety, fear, mental anguish, guilt, worry, sleepless nights, overwhelming thoughts, inner turmoil.

The Nine of Swords in the tarot signifies intense anxiety and mental anguish, often reflecting the burden of overwhelming thoughts and fears. This card represents sleepless nights, where worries and guilt consume your mind, creating a sense of inner turmoil and distress. It highlights the power of negative thinking and the impact it can have on your emotional well-being. The Nine of Swords urges you to confront these fears and anxieties, recognizing that they may be exaggerated or unfounded, and to seek ways to alleviate your mental stress and find peace.

Nine of Swords Reversed Tarot Card Meaning

Nine of Swords Reversed Keywords: Release of anxiety, overcoming fear, relief, end of mental anguish, healing, finding hope, recovery.

When the Nine of Swords appears reversed in a tarot reading, it signifies the release of anxiety and the beginning of overcoming fear and mental anguish. This card suggests that the intense worry and distress you’ve been experiencing are starting to subside, offering a sense of relief and hope. It reflects the process of healing from past traumas and the ability to move forward with a clearer mind and a lighter heart. The reversed Nine of Swords encourages you to embrace this newfound sense of peace, letting go of lingering fears and allowing yourself to recover from the emotional turmoil that has weighed you down.

El Tarocchi Insight

Nine of Swords reminds you that your fears make the situation scarier than it is.

As someone who has pulled this card for myself more times than I can count, the Nine of Swords is one I know intimately. I even call it an “old friend”! Anxious thoughts and overthinking have been constant challenges in my own life, and what over 20 years of tarot practice has taught me is that the fear is almost always louder than the actual situation is.
What I remind tarot clients when this card appears is the same thing I remind myself: your anxious thoughts are not facts. The worst-case scenario you keep replaying is not a set-in-stone prediction! The most useful thing you can do when overwhelmed by these thoughts is to find a way to get out of your own head. Talk to someone, do something fun, touch grass… anything to pull you out of that darkness and help you realize that things aren’t as bad as all that.

Gallery: Nine of Swords in Various Tarot Decks

A photo of the Nine of Swords card from the Original Rider Waite Smith Tarot and the After Tarot
Nine of Swords from After Tarot (right)
by Corrine Kenner, Pietro Alligo, and
Giulia Francesca Massaglia
a photo of nine of swords from the true black tarot, hush tarot, and children of litha tarot
Nine of Swords from True Black Tarot, Hush Tarot, and Children of Litha Tarot