IX of Swords

Keywords:
anxiety, worry, fear, mental struggles, nightmares, regrets, up all night

Reversed:
relief, moving on, easing of anxiety, seeing through fears, balance, calm, steady

Associated Major Card: The Moon

Astrological Association: Air, Mars in Gemini

This an intense card. The IX of Swords is a card of anxiety, despair, nightmares, and regret. The Swords suit represents mental processes, the realm of the mind and thoughts.  The number nine is a culmination, an apex of the mental realm, where we find all our greatest fears and triggers are surrounding us and we have to figure out how to deal.

The thing about the human mind is that it exaggerates fears and worries so that we take quick note of them and act to protect ourselves. Our brains developed in a very different world that we find ourselves inhabiting now. We used to have to sense danger in the rustle of nearby grass, ready to run from a lion or other predator using our instincts. Now, we still have those instincts to sense for danger, and even when we don’t find any, we still imagine dangers in our environments and create worry and fear inside ourselves that is unwarranted.

When you draw the IX of Swords, a time of worry and anxiety stretches before you if you keep going down the path you're currently treading. The IX of Swords represents the instinctual, but also asks you to evolve. Notice when you are blowing smalls fears and worries out of proportion and figure out ways to cope with that instinct. You don’t have to do that, even though it’s natural. It’s also natural you to use your higher orders of intelligence and circumvent negative behaviors that may have served you on the savannah but now harm your peace of mind in the city or townscape.

Ask yourself: Are your thoughts themselves the real threat?  Are they vicious, looping, repetitive, a steady weight upon you? Are the thoughts resting so painfully on your chest real or imagined? Are you conjuring up nightmares or is there substance here?

Reversed:
It’s time to let go of your worries. They aren’t real. Holding onto them will only keep you stuck and confused. Even if you don’t know where you are going next, that is normal and part of how life unfolds. Trust that you are on the right path without needing to know where the path leads. As long as you can put aside your fear long enough to take the next step you are guided to take by your head and your heart, things will be okay.