But I would like to share a story, that has made the 9 Swords one of my favorites:
For a while I was teaching seminars and private classes to students wanting to know how to read cards. And most of these classes were for young people, since I started reading before my teens, I always think kids have a wonderful natural ability with Tarot and divination in general.
I always use the Rider-Waite as a teaching tool to start,(because of the huge amount of symbols and visual info) and then allow the students to move on to another deck they respond to.(often a variant of RW, like Hanson Roberts)
I was teaching my first lesson to a young and very serious girl (11 going on 30!) by having her choose cards at random and then telling me a story about what she saw.
Right away, she clued into the 9 of swords, and proceeded to tell me a story about the figure in the bed.
The figure, she said, was the Mother of a man who was injured in a swordfight. (the picture of the fight was on the bed itself,) and the Mother didn't see it for herself, but she was having psychic dreams and nightmares about it.
This was causing her way too much worry.
"Why is it *too* much worry?" I asked her
"Because she doesn't see that God has her covered, that's why the blanket is there.She doesn't need to worry, because worry just makes you sick."
"What about all the swords?"
"Oh those", she smirked, "That's the ladder so she can climb out of being depressed. It will hurt her hands and feet, because she doesn't like to change. But she has to. Otherwise she will be sick, and never leave the bed."
I was amazed at this 11 years olds incredible insight into the human condition, and thanked her for the story. It might not have been the intention of the artist, but it was a great way to describe the meaning of the card!
About that time was when I discovered that I was just as much a student of the tarot as I was a teacher!
And I have always liked the sybolism on this card since that time.
