Nine of Wands

UPRIGHT

A bandaged figure leans on his staff, eight more staves lined up behind him like a palisade. The Nine of Wands is resilience after long contention — the strength that remains when the obvious strength is gone, the vigilance of the one who has been hurt and is still standing watch. The card honors what it costs to keep guarding.

REVERSED

Reversed, the Nine of Wands is paranoia, or the defenses kept up long after the threat has passed. The card can name a person unable to lay down the staff even in safety, or one whose wounds have begun to define them. The remedy is the slow, careful permission to rest.

Return to the full deck, or draw the cards and see Nine of Wands in context.