Nine of Wands: Resilience and Courage
If looks could kill, those eight wands standing behind the man in the Nine of Wands card would be laying flat on their backs. The guy looks pissed! I don’t know what they did to him (potentially bonked him on the head), but he is not happy about it.
I do like this card though and I like that I picked it on this Friday. It’s been a week that I just can’t wait to be over and done with, but just like the man in the card I must persevere and keep holding on to hope for brighter days.
What you see: A man with a bandaged head stands holding a wand in front of a fence made of 8 other wands of differing sizes.
What it means: The man appears to have been injured in a previous fight; he seems ready to fight again by the way he looks at the wands behind him.
The story: The Nine of Wands represents resilience and persistence; having the hope and determination to keep fighting even after life has thrown many obstacles and challenges in the way that may have weakened you.
Reversed meaning: Reversed, the card represents giving up or a struggle to keep fighting and to persist on.
Reflection: This card has a lot of emotional depth in it, probably the most emotion I’ve seen in a figure’s face in the Tarot so far. It doesn’t mean the emotions are easy to ready but you can see determination, hope, irritation, courage, intimidation, stubbornness and even anger in the eyebrows and the set of the mouth. The card has a lot of energy and passion in it, despite the very mellow blue background.
My research sources:
A Complete Guide to the Tarot, Eden Gray, 1970
Tarot Card Meanings, Biddy Tarot
Card Meanings, Labyrinthos
Root Lock Radio: A Tarot Podcast
