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Tarot · Wands

Nine of Wands

Nine of Wands: A man with a bandaged head leans on a staff and glances watchfully to the side, with eight staves standing behind him like a fence.

The picture

A man with a bandaged head leans on a staff and glances watchfully to the side, with eight staves standing behind him like a fence.

The meaning

The man has been through a good deal and is still standing. The tradition reads the Nine of Wands as stamina, vigilance and the last stretch before the goal. It stands for resilience that comes from experience. He has grown wary, but he does not give up.

Reversed

Reversed, it is read as weariness, or a mistrust that wards off more than it needs to.

In love

In love it is read as caution after old hurts, and loyalty that survives a great deal.

At work

At work it stands for perseverance shortly before the finish.

As your card of the day

Perhaps only a small stretch is left today. Keep going, and take a break along the way.

The Nine of Wands stands for experience. By now you know what to watch for; trust that.

Wands belong to fire. The tradition reads them as the cards of drive, ideas and energy.

Picture: Pamela Colman Smith, Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, 1909, public domain (Wikimedia Commons).