robin wood: 9 of swords

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 28 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

jade	28 Jul 2002
i have been working with this deck for a few months now and i just can't seem to 'get' the 9 of swords in this deck. the girl is sitting in bed........and i think that it's supposed to represent nightmares or something. i don't know, it just doesn't work for me. i thought that perhaps you could all assist me in coming up with a better 'fit'. in light, jade ps i just did a search and can't find this card on the net for everyone to see.....perhaps someone else can? edited to add: i never use the LWB so i don't know what robin woods opinion of the card is.....i tend to follow what the card speaks.....but this one just doesn't speak to me :(

Maan	28 Jul 2002
Hi Jade from the robin wood tarot book: ( just some passages that may help you) This cards shows a young women sitting up in bed,clutching the covers, and covering here face with here hand. Behind her, nine swords hand in the air. Or is it the same sword over and over again? This card shows someone having what i refer to as "3 A.M.-sies" when you wake in the deadof the night, sure that everything is going wrong, and there is nothing you can do to stop it; that nothing will ever turn out alright again, that you are cought in a nightmare. Her blanket is covered with stars and planetary and zodiacal signs; but they are not in any kind of order,they are all just a jumble. I did this to show that she has some snece of the universe outside of herself; but not a clear one. She doesn't really understand it,and so she misinterprets much of what she sees. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, as they say. Hope this helps Love and light Maan

Helruna	28 Jul 2002
I don't have the book, but it seems to fit my general understanding of this card. To me, this is too about those times when your head is already full of speculations, doubts, worries and inner turmoils when you wake up in the night, or early morning, and your thoughts simply run wild in your head and you feel as if nothing would ever get better, or that you are completely helpless and everything is so dark and negative. Those thoughts however, are often of only "passing-by" quality, and to me can represent something that is gone within a moment, although it can leave a shallow taste in your mouth and memories. Regarding the "little knowledge", that is an interesting though in connection to this card. It fits what I think. If you only know parts of a picture or situation, you can have the impression that there is no way out, or that this is overwhelming you, while with a little more information and trying to get a more complete picture all the sudden there can be ways popping up where you did not expect them to be. From my own personal experiences I can relate to this feeling, and the short "panic" attacks that I have gotten at times when I was in a very desparate and depressing situation, or I just had my PMS and things went wrong... the "headache" can be serious, depending on the other cards in a spread. If you try to see this card also in the terms of the "Missing card theory", blurring the lines, perhaps the 8 of Swords and 10 of Swords could help you too to get a better understanding of this card. BB, Helruna

Maan	28 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Helruna Regarding the "little knowledge", that is an interesting though in connection to this card. It fits what I think. If you only know parts of a picture or situation, you can have the impression that there is no way out, or that this is overwhelming you, while with a little more information and trying to get a more complete picture all the sudden there can be ways popping up where you did not expect them to be. Wauwie Helruna And that without the book! Isn't this a great deck :)

HOLMES	28 Jul 2002
with the darkness in the background one does get the sense it is in fact night and the swords are mental problems she can not let go they will not let the individual sleep. she is not crying as in other cards but holding her head at the temples area due to the mental pain she is in, the mental anguish. she is clutching her blanket of stars and symbols to her as a symbol of healing and protection... the color blue of the blanket is a nice peaceful color. the otherhalf of the banket is white symbolizing purity and light which is near her. she is dressed in white as well and blonde a throwback to previous pictures of angels yes angels were once conside blond and dressed in long white robes. yet could easily sense this is the girl next door who is having these problems or the older woman like a grandmother .. you can not see her face hence her age is hidden. or it could probaly be a man for there is no female aspects to her hair or her shirt. looking at the moon on the middle of the blanket it reminds me us that we are going through the dark of night at certian times of our lifes but the light is still however dampered it may be. and the stars are there to give us hope and freedom it is a cold night due to the fact the blanket is very heavy. looking at it reversed. she is slowly fall into a pit of dispair which is the mental level of the swords as a rung on a ladder. the blanket of hope and light is keeping her from falling as she hold on the blanket the fact he is keeping his hand on his head and his head down reflects the fact he doesnt want to see the problems he is heading to. looking at it reversed the nine becomes a 6 and mayhap the card was where the problems started. that is when the journey to escape one problems start yet now it seems they catch up to you eventually.

Starfish	28 Jul 2002
Helruna! Awesome interpretation and without the book!! Reading the interpretations and descriptions about this card tells me that I'm in a 9 of Swords :T9S kind of loop. I've woken up the past 3 nights around 2:30-3:00 a.m. just the way the woman on the card does. Disoriented and unsure, scared and anxious. Hmmmmm.... :THERM Starfish

jade	28 Jul 2002
aah, thanks everyone. this helps me alot. in light, jade :D

HudsonGray	28 Jul 2002
Yeah, breaking it down to one word--it's a stress card. Lotsa worries, lotsa heavy things coming at you, only you to deal with it & no way to get a good handle on the situation. The 3am wake-ups sure don't help.

jade	28 Jul 2002
that was more than one word heehee thanks, that will assist me greatly. i can remember that! aaah, i can read with that deck now.............i hate it when i don't understand/click with a card. in light, jade

mooncat2	28 Jul 2002
Nines are about completion, too. Its time to let go of whatever is causing the 'nightmares'. Dreams and nightmares are the means by which subconscious issues that need to be confronted and released are brought to the surface. Out of the dark into the light of day.

jade	28 Jul 2002
moon, that's what i felt too........that 9 is completion and i just couldn't figure out what was being completed with this card. :D jade

Helruna	28 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by HOLMES looking at it reversed. she is slowly fall into a pit of dispair which is the mental level of the swords as a rung on a ladder. the blanket of hope and light is keeping her from falling as she hold on the blanket the fact he is keeping his hand on his head and his head down reflects the fact he doesnt want to see the problems he is heading to. looking at it reversed the nine becomes a 6 and mayhap the card was where the problems started. that is when the journey to escape one problems start yet now it seems they catch up to you eventually. I have to disagree with you a little bit here, in all respect, of course. I do not see the picture reversed as you do. Reversed, the Swords would fall off the wall, relieving her/him from whatever is weighting heavy on their mind and soul. also, to me, it would look like she would sink into the bed (if not fall out) and the worries start ceasing. The 6 you are referring to as a kind of "escape" is a bit negative interpreted in my taste. Of course, it can mean it. No problem here. But I see it, however, slightly different. You could interpret it as well as a "have to go" situation, where you start to realise, or circumstances simply force you to in one way or another to lave and make a change, and with the 7 and 8 in between, you start realising what really binds, blocks and keeps you from being happy - the "old mental traps", the mental blocks, the mindgames perhaps even too - and although you might have realised them in 8, now it is hard to live with the truth and to replace the "old structure" and mental thought structures with something new. Or we realise simply what is going on/wrong, but yet we are not fully aware of how we are able to change it. I think we all know the time of spiritual growth, that also can inhabit a time where we feel lost and disorientated, when we found out about a negative thought or trait, and now to replace it, the mere "change", can be a little bit of rough at times too. But, the 10 also promises that there is already a "new dawn" at grasp and in sight, if we hang on in there and don't let our doubts and fears, second thoughts and mindgames from others distract too much. Just a few thoughts. BB, Helruna

Kyrielle	31 Jul 2002
I would recommend getting the book to the Robin Wood Tarot. She stresses the idea that if what she says doesn't make sense to you, feel free to go with your own feelings. She points out lots of little symbolic details she put into the drawings, leading you to take out your copy of the deck and peer at it closely to see it in a new way. The book really increased my understanding of how the deck works, and now, despite the similarity of the pictures to the RWS, I would think twice before calling it a RWS clone. -- Kyrielle

Rhiannon	31 Jul 2002
I relate the 9 of Swords (in any deck) with Insomnia. Which could include all the stress and worries that everyone else has mentioned. So, I guess I got the "one word" description then? LOL R :)

The robin wood: 9 of swords thread was originally posted on 28 Jul 2002 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.