Wheel of Change Tarot ~ The Nines

After ages, it seems, of not even getting to take my cards out, I absolutely cycloned through the Nines! Complex, but ultimately very satisfying, they left me wanting to resolve the tiny bit of desire for each suit again with the Tens . . .

\m/ Kat

Nine of Disks

This card is about the interaction between one person and the world around him or her. The Earth is used as an analogy for the person’s body, by which the creator attempts to inspire some compassion in the viewer for the Earth and its plight. The layers depicted call to mind the structure of the human body, and are a call to pay more attention to the workings of the physical shell in which one lives. The fiery core is, of course, the heart and the source of body heat. The body cools towards its extremities, just as the Earth does. The skin, the surface of the body which is in contact with the world around us, is represented by the crust of the earth, where all life occurs. This tells us that the majority of our experience occurs in the very small space at the boundary between ourselves and the world. The skin is where the senses are, and the image says to pay attention to the physical senses.

The meteors and comet represent incoming influences – some are tiny and disappear, and are happening all the time, just like the sensory input that we all deal with every day. The comet, however, lasts longer and is more enduring. Comets were portents of great power in ancient times, and this one represents a more ongoing influence, powerful and unforgettable, yet eventually moving away from the physical proximity to this person, as represented by the Earth. The aurora, light patterns made by solar particles attracted to the magnetic poles of the Earth, represents the magic that happens when two people’s “atmosphere” meets to give off “sparks”. The satellite represents a source of knowledge and information – distant yet constant. It is disconnected from the person’s body.

As the number Nine in the Suit of Earth, this card speaks of one’s contact with the physical world around them. It might urge a concerted effort toward integration with one or another facet of one’s physical existence, such as food or other humans or fresh air. The idea of layers, too, might speak eloquently in a reading, as Genetti describes. Because human experience is “layered”, this card might exhort some synthesis of those layers, a bringing-together of experience and wisdom to create a more balanced situation.

\m/ Kat

Nine of Wands

Here Genetti uses the Aboriginal Dreamtime to illustrate the concept of “integration” in the Suit of Fire. She refers to the Dreamtime as

Genetti said:

. . . the connective power of the universe, which keeps the natural world in balance

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In the discussion I did for the Princess of Wands, I spoke about monocots, and their suitability as a symbol for Wands. Here, too, we see a recognisable monocot – the palm tree. The Princess draws down the power of Fire to help her village – the Nine draws down the same power for the viewer to round out experience and inspiration. The Wands in the card are didgeridus (an instrument whose sound I personally cannot stand), richly adorned with fire-coloured paintings, the pigments for which were made from ground rocks. This card marries Earth and Fire inextricably. It proclaims the Earth as the source of magic – for creative inspiration and spiritual enlightenment both.

The termite mound rears up (inexplicably, in the middle of a riverbed . . . bad ecology, that ) to remind us of the transformative power of the suit of Wands. The termite colonies do in Australia what fungi and bacteria do in other, wetter, countries, by aiding the decomposition of dead and dying plant matter. They hollow out great trees and consequently create homes for wildlife, where young marsupials and parrots are reared to adolescence. Their homes are great mounds made of dirt, chewed wood and termite spit, glued together to form an impermeable, impenetrable fortress. In northern parts of the country, these great mounds are magnetically aligned to make greatest use of the Sun’s Fiery power. Within the mound, darkness reigns, and the white termites inspired the Aborigines to tell of the stars of the Dreamtime, bound within cocoons of Earth. The card then is cyclic and endlessly self-repeating, a feedback loop of returning connections.

As an Australian, this card holds great significance for me. It brings to mind the tangle of feelings I have for my land. I share with the Aboriginals, all unacknowledged, a deep spiritual link to my country. It is a land of Fire and Earth, and little else. Life perseveres through the grace of the Fire within, in the face of remarkable adversity and extreme conditions. So when I see this card, I think of home. I think of the link I feel so strongly to my land and the spiritual home it represents. It challenges me, too, to face those parts of me that I dislike, and to transform or integrate them, as necessary, because of the political implications in our society of Aboriginal symbolism. It is a fraught subject, and one with which I struggle mightily. The card makes me think also of not being “allowed” to feel the way I do, to be told that it is wrong or culturally inappropriate, as many Aboriginals deny the right of white Australians to feel a spiritual link with this country in our own way; and of struggling to overcome prejudice within myself to see the value in something.

\m/ Kat

Nine of Cups

Here Genetti takes an immersive perspective to the idea of integration . We’re literally asked to dive into our own subconscious, feelings and collective unconscious to help to discover the hidden motivations and patterns that affect our actions so fundamentally. It is important to note that the vessels, as symbols of priceless commodities, represent also the deterioration or dissipation of those things in the present environment, and hence warn of the possibility of finding something we don’t like when we go diving. In this way the card is linked to the Six of Wands, where we see the effects and consequences of releasing pent-up poisons from our inner being.

The anchor in the picture is a very interesting symbol. It could be what holds us fast in the storms and currents of our emotions, when we are in danger of being carried to oblivion by depression or sadness, or getting over-excited with ecstasy. In this case, the anchor links us to the common thread of equanimity that got our ancestors through history to give life to ourselves. But what if the anchor were taken to mean something that holds us back, prevents us from continuing our journey? In this case, the amphorae etc would represent emotional attachments and attitudes that we need to explore and change, so as to heal our soul for forward movement.

Because I have a strong fear of the water, particularly the ocean, this card is a very uncomfortable one for me. I feel a strong urge to deny its message when it appears, despite its inviting tone. It suggests that there is something meaningful to the present situation in my own memories. Funnily enough, I am loathe to explore my memories as well, to the point that I remember very very little of my entire life. I remember the sequence, but not usually the emotional subtitles, as it were. This card tries to remind me to use the information those subtitles offer to make the most of the current situation, to find the answers in it.

\m/ Kat

Nine of Swords

In contrast to the complication of the Nine of Wands and the discomfort of the Nine of Cups, this card strikes me as very uplifting. If we consider it as “integration” in the Suit of Air, we see that it bespeaks the use of oen’s intellectual capabilities to better the world. Here, again, Genetti is making a political statement – in this case, it’s one that I wholeheartedly agree with. Long has the intellect been decried as the enemy of sustainability, because of the great leaps made in the fields of science applicable to human survivability and “quality of life”. But science has the potential to contribute sophisticated and beautiful answers to the problems it generated in its early incarnation.

The depiction of a sustainable energy source brings in the idea of planning for consequences and living within limitations. For someone such as I, who is so disheartened by the ongoing rape and pillage of the only planet we have to live on, this is an image of hope and possibility. The whole feel of the card is of optimism and improvement. The human race has pursued intellectual superiority for some time now, and having reached the boundary where our internal creativity meets the limitations of the external environment, we need to begin to creatively solve problems. In short, we need to employ the credo: “Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should”. The card shows a sign of progress and improvement, of leaving behind old ways and reaching forward with the mind to new horizons.

\m/ Kat