Dark Grimoire Tarot - Nine of Swords

[teomat]

A man looks into a mirror and is horrified by the inhuman face looking back at him. A book (probably a grimoire) is on a desk surrounded by burnt-out candles. The mirror also reflects an open window in which clouds are seen billowing.

Is this truly the man's face, or considering a mirror gives a reversed image of reality, is it just an illusion? The image is somewhat ambiguous as we cannot see the man's actual face. This card does seem to reflect the RWS version by suggesting nightmares and anxieties, and perhaps like the RWS, it is mental anguish rather than anything physical.

The grimoire suggests that the horror has emerged from him reading the book. A nasty secret revealed perhaps?

Most of the images in this deck show the monsters as 'outside' entities preying on humans, however this card shows the monster within. It suggests that we look at ourselves first before judging whether someone else is the villain.

[Nydia]

Teomat, I agree with your ideas about this card.

This card came up for me when I was asking about the bad mood I was in. I was mad at myself for being mad at other people during that day. When you mention "the monster within", it reminds me of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which is always an interesting topic to me. I think the card makes sense in that direction.

The LWB says about all the 9's "the experience produced abundance, wholeness, but perhaps isolation and crisis." I think that fits this card. (I haven't compared it to the other 9's, though.) This is "the morning after the night before". The man did something with the book and candles last night and wakes up to what he sees in the mirror. He probably just fell asleep with his clothes on. He looks like he is thinking, "What have I done?" This scene could represent guilt, going too far, and unintended consequences. Maybe one would gain something/get somewhere, but at what cost? This could be a wake-up call that things need to change or get better.

I like the open window and the clouds reflected in the mirror. The man's neck still looks human, so it may be just in his mind, but I know I wouldn't want to see myself like that, even if it wasn't a real physical manifestation.

[teomat]

Originally Posted by Nydia

When you mention "the monster within", it reminds me of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which is always an interesting topic to me. I think the card makes sense in that direction.

Yes! This makes sense to me too.

It also makes me think of self-loathing, or someone who has low self-esteem. Others may seem him as perfectly fine and normal, but inside he feels horrible and unworthy.

[Zezina]

The LWB describes Swords as Demons in this deck. As teomat has noted, the view of this man's face is ambiguous.

An enlarged and clearer view of the image than on the card itself can be seen at: http://www.albideuter.de/html/dg-c-09.html

Here one can discern a layer of cloth held between the man's hand and his face. He is holding the Demon mask to his face and admiring himself as Demon in the mirror.

This explains why he needs to hold both hands against his face until he fixes the mask properly. It also explains the strange parting in his hair - the mask includes its own front hairpiece.

All his study of the grimoire on the bench in front of him has come into abundance and he himself is ready to assume the wholeness of the work of the Demon.

The man (whom we can assume from his appearance is the ubiquitous Howard Lovecraft) is about to venture out as a Demon, because his state of mind has reached the isolation and crisis of the Nines of this deck. He is not horrified by the reflection in his mirror- he is fulfilled by it.

It is night-time, and he has the open window at the ready. As soon as he puts on the Demon cloak he can begin prowling outside as a Demon for the first time, to begin executing the terrible tasks described in the grimoire.

Rather grim, all this!

If it came up in a reading one might need to think about the mental health of the sitter!

*Z*

[Masa]

From the Wikipedia article "Deep One":

"The backstory of 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth' involves a bargain between Deep Ones and humans, in which the aquatic species provides plentiful fishing and gold in the form of strangely formed jewellery. In return, the land-dwellers give human sacrifices and a promise of 'mixing'—the mating of humans with Deep Ones. Although the Deep One hybrid offspring are born with the appearance of a normal human being, the individual will eventually transform into a Deep One, gaining immortality—by default—only when the transformation is complete.

"The transformation usually occurs when the individual reaches middle age. As the hybrid gets older, he or she begins to acquire the so-called 'Innsmouth Look' as he or she takes on more and more attributes of the Deep One race: the ears shrink, the eyes bulge and become unblinking, the head narrows and gradually goes bald, the skin becomes scabrous as it changes into scales, and the neck develops folds which later become gills. When the hybrid becomes too obviously non-human, it is hidden away from outsiders. Eventually, however, the hybrid will be compelled to slip into the sea to live with the Deep Ones in one of their undersea cities."