Exploring the Minor Arcana: The Nines
In this series we'll be diving into the world of the Minor Arcana. Each segment will group the cards by number where we can engage in their themes and differences. For all the posts in the installment, click here.
We've almost reached the finish line with the pip cards and, similarly, the nines represent the penultimate step of a journey. For some suits like the cups and pentacles, it's smooth sailing to the end. Others, like the swords and the wands, are more of a challenge. A trial of sorts is necessary to make it to a conclusion.
Nines require deeper thinking and wider vistas. It's a stage where we're synthesizing information, contemplating how far we've come, and realizing the extent to which we've changed. As a number, nine is visionary, conscientious, and universal. It's a point where we look beyond ourselves to the larger meaning and reverberations of our actions.
Let's dive into the details for each suit. Click on each for the full card meaning page.
Explore In-Depth Minor Arcana Meanings
The Nine of Wands shows us how the path of action can leave us bruised and wary. The going has been rough, but not without wisdom and accomplishment. It just doesn't look so rosy quite yet, and this card denotes a resigned restlessness. We know tha we've committed to a journey and we'll see it out, but there's tiredness in our bones and a desire to let go and move on once we've succeeded.
For the Nine of Swords depicts a moment of intense anxiety, sadness, and doubt. We've been overwhelmed by our mind's tendency to think, plan, and fret. We'd like to retreat, but instead of using this space to heal and recover, we dissolve in despair.
The Nine of Cups is a beautiful illustration of the wealth that comes with emotional fulfillment. The figure in this card sits confidently in front of nine cups fanned out behind him. Contentment, generosity, and warmth spring forth naturally when we're able to take care of our emotional needs, feel our feelings, and maintain supportive and loving connections
Finally, the Nine of Pentacles is a very alluring card. Ensconced in a beautiful garden and lounding next to a grapevine with pentacles at its base, the figure in this card is majestic, content, and secure. This card denotes a period of financial and material stability, one that allows us to invite others into our space and share our wealth.
Yearly Forecast: 2018!
The new year is a heady and exciting time. We don't have many opportunities for a clear "before and after" and this is the big moment where we can say "that's all said and done, now it's time for something new."
And lordy could we use something new right now. It's no surprise that two of our three cards are in the suit of pentacles, rules of all things earthy and solid and stabilizing. If there's been any theme to the past year it's been one of upheaval and... well, I don't want to sound dramatic and say calamity, but... you know what I'm talking about.
And at the same time the surprising and destabilizing events of 2017 have offered a helpful and deeply contrasted backdrop to all the sweetness and beauty showing up in our lives. There's a gift in being able to see all the goodness with such intense clarity; however, it's too dramatic to sustain in the long run.
2018 is going to be a year when we work to recalibrate this imbalance, directing ourselves towards the concrete, nitty gritty aspects of life. Think our ability to truly cultivate, nurture, and change our surroundings.
Beautifully, we have the Nine of Pentacles giving us a vision of peace and plenty. We have much more than we were able to see amid the wildness of the past year. Now our gifts are emerging and we can see and enjoy the places, people, and practices that enrich our lives.
What's more we've developed an extremely useful skill. Our passion and sense of justice is now reigned inso that it can channel its powerful ability to effect change. Consider the falcon held by the sumptuously dressed figure in the Nine of Pentacles. Once swirling through the clouds, hunting and screeching (I'm thinking about all the time I've spent bemoaning and complaining about political events), it's now been trained to harness its skills, guided by a higher power so that it can achieve important objectives with precision.
What part of ourselves, now that it's had the time to vent its animal needs and frustrations, has returned to us and is ready to help us on our journey?
The Nine of Pentacles directs us to appreciate and tend to our gardens. What do we need to do to make our lives blossom? Having a life that offers both protection and expansion is key. 2018 will be giving us plenty of opportunities to grow ourselves a lush life. Now is not a time to turn away from joy and satisfaction - it's deeper in meaning than we might initially think. This year is a time to plumb the depths of happiness and explore the bravery that comes from caring for oneself.
There's a public role in all this, too. The Four of Pentacles shows us feeling empowered and stable in our lives. While we might not know it, our actions are inspiring others and the way we choose to live our lives is providing new and exciting blueprints for others to follow.
We have just enough to care for our basic needs and a sense of satisfaction for having earned it. At the same time, we may be using this accomplishment to limit ourselves out of fear. While we can all enjoy our state of being content, it's also important to think big. Staying safe limits our contact with the rest of the world and cuts us off from sustaining relationships and our own potential.
We're emerging into a better awareness of our skills and resources. Interestingly, there's a part of us that hasn't come onto our radars, a hidden talent or gift, if you will. What's more, this part of ourselves is clearly visible to those around us. Maybe we just haven't found a name for it yet and maybe we're afraid fo express an integral part of ourselves. Is there something we haven't dared acknowledge yet, a dream, skill, or trait we're somehow convinced we can't embody?
This exciting new aspect will shine through no matter what we do to hide it. Look to friends and family to illuminate this hidden talent. It will be key in our expansion this year and seriously change our self-perception and abilities for the better.
All these pentacles shows us how important feeling stable is right now. Yet this energy can be stodgy and limting on its own. Luckily we have the Seven of Swords to lighten the mood, directing us towards adopting a sense of play and trickery to balance out our earthy selves in 2018.
Pentacles are often motivated by the desire to be safe. Sometimes, however, in erecting boundaries and limits we block out things that can help us grow and that enlarge our worlds helpfully. The Seven of Swords reminds us not to take our desire for safety too seriously. We don't know everything and embracing an intellectual openmindedness along with a somewhat naughty sense of play will jazz up our lives and keep us from becoming too ponderous and conservative in our actions.
This card also ushers in an exciting air of experimentation. Maybe some things can be simpler than they seem and maybe we don't need as many structures and trappings of power as we may think. Shaking up our own established routines and views will bring the verve and energy necessary to push boundaries and expand into places we can't even envision.
So relax, spread out and enjoy your riches, let your light shine outwards so others can see you, and don't take it all too seriously. Expanding into this year will be joyous, profound, and revolutionary. We're replacing reaction with mindfully channeled power, want with fulfilled wishes, and old ideas with playful innovation.
I can't wait to travel this path with all of you - Happy New Years!
Weekly Forecast: July 17-23
If this week has a theme it's moving from the cosmic to the practical.
We start out with the magnificant expansiveness of Ricardo Cavolo's interpretation of Temperance. The illustration does a wonderful job of opening up our ideas of balance to include all sorts of bright and beautiful possibilities. Here, balance is not about exact equality - making each side of the scale precisely the same - but the freedom that comes with living in the moment. Picture a gymnast walking across a balance beam, their ankles and feet making slight adjustments as they continue across with utter focus.
And then they launch into a stunning backflip.
That's where we are this week. Feeling a renewed sense of confidence and clarity that's fueling our ambition and desire for exploration. We're capable of great things always, but this week brings us a unique sense of alignment where our talents are free-flowing and at their best.
It's fitting then that we get a visit from the Knight of Cups, the idealistic go-getter of the tarot world. This card tells us that we're inspired by a deeper concept instead of just the action itself. External motivations like approval, success, and acceptance are all fine and dandy, but we have our eyes set on something with more meaning right now.
Is it an important cause? A beautiful insight we received when practicing the calm, centeredness of Temperance? A spiritual awakening? Identifying this seed and getting to know it will be very helpful in channeling all our energy in the days to come. Take the time to explore further so that you can charge ahead with a clear sense of direction.
If the Knights have a flaw it's one of short-sightedness, and for the Knight of Cups this comes with an idealistic twist. Ever the romantic, this card has a complicated relationship with reality. Having one's eyes to the stars can be a beautiful thing, but when you forget (or refuse to) look at the ground, things can get rocky.
There may be a tendency in the days to come to willfully or innocently avoid considering "what's on the ground," - other people, relationships, responsibilities, etc. If any cards can strike a balance between the powerful forces of idealism and practicality it's Temeprance and the Knight of Cups. A creative, beautiful, and responsible solution is ours for the taking if we put our minds to it.
And it looks like that's exctly where we're heading. The Nine of Pentacles shows us entering into a period of bountiful stability. This is where the practical really comes into focus. It looks like balance, a wider perspective, and a hanful of energetic idealism was what we needed to see a vibrant sense of well-being in our material lives. Following our hearts can lead in a materially satisfying direction if only we believe in ourselves.
Whether it's an idea coming into fruition or a literal windfall, the end of the week holds great potential for abundance and good fortune. We'll be feeling lucky and well-off and just getting started on our journey. After all, the Knight of Cups is just about to leap from his cup. Where will his energy take us next?
Before we find out, it's a wonderful time to sit back and bask in what we have at our fingertips, enjoing our lives and sharing it with our close friends and family.
We’re using a different deck than normal this week, for no other reason that that it was the closest to my morning writing spot - nestled in bed under a crisp, white duvet. Our cards have a similar energy, a focus on finding comfort and rest in difficult situations. Because, as you’ve likely noticed, The Tower is starting things off this week. What’s crumbling or has crumbled recently? What is making you tired?