Nine of Swords — Cruelty is a card of the Minor Arcana, suit of Swords in the Thoth Tarot. In a reading it speaks of cruelty, anguish, obsession and fear. In the Golden Dawn system it corresponds to the sephirah Yesod, the element Air and Mars in Gemini in astrology.
cruelty · anguish · obsession · fear · mental suffering
What does Nine of Swords mean?
Fears are ruling the mind: recognise how much is real and how much is produced by anxiety, and ask for help if needed.
Everyday meaning
Anguish, worries, sleepless nights, cruelty suffered or inflicted. It points to mental suffering, guilt, fears that magnify problems.
Psychological meaning
The mind turning against itself: obsessive thoughts, merciless self-criticism, wounds that reopen from being thought over again and again.
Initiatic meaning
Air in Yesod, the Foundation, with Mars in Gemini in the second decan: Martial violence hits a fragmented mind. Cruelty is the intellect descended into the instinctual regions, where reason, deprived of light, becomes fanaticism and torment.
The shadow side
Ill-dignified, it signals deliberate cruelty, fanaticism, vengeance, despair.
Nine of Swords reversed
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading:
The anguish begins to dissolve; or it is smothered and turns into resentment or cruelty toward others.
Nine of Swords in love, work and spirit
In love
Jealousy, guilt, cutting words; a need for dialogue and mutual kindness.
At work and career
Stress, harsh conflicts, a hostile atmosphere; it matters not to take work to bed.
In spiritual practice
Crossing the night of the mind with the discipline of awareness.
Kabbalah, astrology and the Hebrew letter of Nine of Swords
Yesod · Air · Mars in Gemini
Crowley on Nine of Swords
In the Thoth deck nine swords of differing lengths, jagged and rusted, drip blood and poison downward: the intellect degraded into cruel instinct.
Frequently asked questions
What does Nine of Swords mean in the Thoth Tarot?
Fears are ruling the mind: recognise how much is real and how much is produced by anxiety, and ask for help if needed.
What does Nine of Swords mean in love?
Jealousy, guilt, cutting words; a need for dialogue and mutual kindness.
What does Nine of Swords mean for work and career?
Stress, harsh conflicts, a hostile atmosphere; it matters not to take work to bed.
What does Nine of Swords mean reversed?
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading: The anguish begins to dissolve; or it is smothered and turns into resentment or cruelty toward others.
What are the Kabbalah and astrology correspondences of Nine of Swords?
In the Golden Dawn system Nine of Swords corresponds to the sephirah Yesod, the element Air and Mars in Gemini in astrology.
