Nine of Wands tarot card meaning: upright, reversed and symbols

The Nine of Wands shows a tired guard with a bandage around his head, leaning on his staff and glancing over his shoulder. Behind him, eight more wands stand like a fence. He has been through a fight and he is still on watch.

The card is about resilience, persistence and the last stretch of a long effort. Here is what the Nine of Wands means upright and reversed, what is in the 1909 picture and how to use it in a reading.

Here is the Nine of Wands at a glance.

The Golden Dawn named the Nine of Wands the Lord of Great Strength and gave it the Moon in Sagittarius, the middle decan of the sign, on Yesod, the ninth sephira, the foundation. The Moon’s changeability within a fire sign suits strength that rises and falls but keeps returning, which is what the bandaged guard shows.

Later tradition The Golden Dawn also gave each decan two of the 72 Goetic spirits, one for the day and one for the night. For the second decan of Sagittarius, and so for the Nine of Wands, they are Bune (spirit 26, day) and Volac (spirit 62, night). Their pages read the old entries as history; see the spirit directory for all 72.

The card: what Pamela Colman Smith drew

Waite wrote: “The figure leans upon his staff and has an expectant look, as if awaiting an enemy. Behind are eight other staves, erect, in orderly disposition, like a palisade.” Smith added the bandaged head, which is the detail most readers remember.

The bandaged head. He has been hurt. The card does not pretend that persistence is painless. It shows someone who has learned from earlier blows and keeps going anyway.

The wary look. He looks to the side as if expecting another attack. Caution has become a habit. That can protect you, and it can also keep you braced long after the danger has passed.

The palisade of wands. Eight wands stand behind him like a fence. He has built defenses and boundaries. He is not alone with nothing. He is guarding something he made.

Upright meaning

Upright, the Nine of Wands is resilience. The guard has been through a fight, his head is bandaged and he leans on his staff, but he is still standing and still watching. The card appears when you are near the end of a long effort and tired enough to wonder whether you can keep going.

It answers that you can. You have more strength than you feel. The fence of wands behind him is what he has already built and defended, and it is still standing. The card asks you to hold on a little longer, to protect your boundaries and to trust the experience you have gained.

There is also caution in the Nine of Wands. He looks over his shoulder because he has learned to expect trouble. That watchfulness is useful, but it should not become constant suspicion.

Reversed meaning

Reversed, the Nine of Wands may mean the guard finally puts down his staff. That can be exhaustion, giving up just before the end, or burnout after carrying too much for too long. It can also be stubbornness: holding a position long after it stopped making sense.

Ask whether you need rest or a new strategy. A reversed Nine often asks you to let someone else take a watch. Strength is not the same as never asking for help.

In love, work and spirituality

In love. Upright: Protecting your heart after past hurt, but staying in the relationship. Reversed: Guardedness that keeps a partner out, or fatigue from repeated conflict.

At work. Upright: Nearly finished with a hard project. Persist, but take care of your health. Reversed: Burnout, or refusing to delegate.

With money. Upright: Getting through a tight period. Your reserves will last. Reversed: Fear of further losses making every decision defensive.

In spiritual practice. Upright: A practice that has carried you through hard times. Reversed: Spiritual fatigue. Rest is part of the path.

As feelings. Wary but committed. They care but are protecting themselves.

As a person. A seasoned survivor, loyal and tough, with a few scars to show for it.

As advice. Keep going, and guard your strength.

Reading the Nine of Wands: positions and yes or no

In the past position: A long struggle made you strong, and also wary. In the present position: You are near the end of a hard stretch. Keep going, carefully.

In the future position: One more test of stamina is ahead, and you can meet it. As advice: Guard your energy and ask for one kind of help.

In modern yes or no readings, the Nine of Wands is a maybe. You may get there, but it will take stamina.

What the Nine means, and the history behind the card

Nine is nearly the end of the cycle, and in Wands it is the last test of endurance. The Golden Dawn’s title, Great Strength, describes not force but the capacity to keep standing.

Here is how the Nine looks across the four suits:

• Nine of Wands (this card): resilience, persistence, last stand
• Nine of Cups: satisfaction, contentment, emotional fulfillment
• Nine of Swords: anxiety, worry, fear
• Nine of Pentacles: self-sufficiency, luxury, abundance

When A. E. Waite published The Pictorial Key to the Tarot in 1910, he listed these divinatory meanings for the Nine of Wands: “The card signifies strength in opposition. If attacked, the person will meet an onslaught boldly; and his build shows that he may prove a formidable antagonist. With this main significance there are all its possible adjuncts, delay, suspension, adjournment.”

Reversed, he gave: “Obstacles, adversity, calamity.”

Common questions

Is the Nine of Wands a yes or no card? It is a maybe. Success is possible, but it depends on your persistence.

What does the Nine of Wands mean in love? Guardedness after past hurt. It asks whether your walls protect you or keep love out.

What is the difference between the Nine and the Ten of Wands? The Nine is endurance after a fight, a last stand. The Ten is an overload of duties, too much to carry alone.

Try this

Try this small spread for the Nine of Wands. Use it when you are tired but not done.

Affirmation: I persist with wisdom and protect the strength I have left.

Reversed affirmation: I release stubborn last stands that only drain me.

If you keep a tarot journal, take one of these questions to it: What am I still guarding, and does it still need guarding? Which old wound is shaping how I act now? What would help me finish this last stretch?

What next

Cards that sit close to this one are Seven of Wands (the active defense that comes before this watch), Ten of Wands (the next card, when the load becomes too heavy) and Strength (the Major Arcana card of patient inner strength).

The Nine of Wands is part of the lesson Wands in my free Tarot for Beginners course. To see the whole suit on one page, go to the suit of Wands. To keep walking the suit, read the card before it, Eight of Wands or the card after it, Ten of Wands, or go back to all the card meanings.

For the suits and numbers in one place, see The Minor Arcana: suits and numbers made simple. For every card with keywords, affirmations and examples, see my book The Novice’s Guide to Tarot. If you would like a printable cheat sheet for all 78 cards, my 45-page Tarot Workbook is on Etsy.

Sources

• A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1910), Part III, sections 1 and 2.
• Pamela Colman Smith and A. E. Waite, the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot (London: Rider, 1909).
• Nicolas Conver, Tarot de Marseille (Marseille, 1760).
• Lauri Mukkala, The Novice’s Guide to Tarot, entry for the Nine of Wands.
• Aleister Crowley, 777 (London: Walter Scott, 1909), columns of the decans, the Minor Arcana and the court cards.
• Israel Regardie, ed., The Golden Dawn (Chicago: Aries Press, 1937 to 1940), “Book T”, titles and attributions of the small cards and the court.