Nine of Wands Tarot Card Meaning

energy for attainment

Welcome to Tarot Alley! Sometimes Tarot Alley uses affiliate links, which means we might receive a commission on the sale of some items. This has NO additional cost to you. Visit the policies page to learn more.

Tarot Alley uses the Rider Waite type of deck for our meanings, symbols, interpretations, etc.

When determining the Nine of Wands tarot card meaning, you should consider that it’s a Wands card and a Nine. The Suit of Wands represents energy and inspiration. Nines represent attainment, fullness, and readiness.

In this way, we can determine that the Nine of Wands represents the energy needed for attainment. We will do all we can and then we will let go feeling satisfied.

Take a look at the Rider-Waite Nine of Wands displayed to the left (or above).

What is your first impression?

What happened to the figure? How does he feel? What will he do next?

Why is he holding one wand? How did the rest get lined up behind him?

There’s no right or wrong answer here, just your interpretation.

Astrology: Moon in Sagittarius
Element: Fire
Numerology: 9

Common Symbols

• A Battered Figure: the figure on the card commonly looks like it’s been beaten in a fight to represent persistence.
• Eight Wands: eight of the nine wands are usually separate in the background to represent action and outer work.

Keywords & Concepts

The Nine of Wands for Personal Growth

Affirmation: When the going gets tough, I stay the course.

The well-known phrase goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” But our affirmation is different because not everyone or everything deserves your total dedication.

Sometimes the best thing you can do is not keep fighting, even when things get difficult. Sometimes you just need to step back and keep plodding along slowly but surely.

Learn the difference between those times.

Ask Yourself:

• How do you cope when things get really tough?
• When you get low, what encourages you to go on?
• At what point should you be able to let this situation go?

Interpreting the Nine of Wands

Generally, the Nine of Wands represents the energy needed for attainment. This is a time of fulfillment of your promises and obligations, even when they seem to drag on.

It’s not going to be easy. It may feel like things are moving in slow motion but the Nine of Wands knows you can drag yourself across the finish line!

The Reversed Nine of Wands

How you read reversals is a personal choice. You can ignore reversals and read them as if the card is upright (this is what I often choose to do) or you can interpret reversals as variations of what they would mean upright. There are 3 common ways to read reversals: as a negative interpretation, as an opposite interpretation, or as a block on the upright interpretation. Check out How to Read Reversals for more information.

Typically, a reversed Nine of Wands represents giving up. Things have gotten hard and instead of doing the best you can, you’re abandoning it. Examples include:

• Making yourself a martyr
• Abandoning your post
• Giving up at the first sign of difficulty
• Something is preventing you from fulfilling your obligation
• A failure to be dependable
• Refusing to let something go

Examples of the Nine of Wands

Specific Interpretations

Specific situations are the general interpretation (from above) used for a specific situation (love, career, etc). There is no need to memorize these (or even look them up) if you understand the general interpretation. However, here are some basic interpretations for some specific situations:

the Nine of Wands Tarot Card Meaning