9 of Swords reversed/Ill-dignified

[SA12]

Just curious to see how others on here feel about the 9 of Swords. Upright/dignified, it's the "nightmare" card -- driving yourself crazy maybe, worrying incessantly.... so is this the kind of card that might take on a more positive dimension reversed/ill-dignified, or would this make the negative/anxiety energy of the card "worse?"

(for a little context, I saw this come up in a spread ill-dignified next to the 7 of Pentacles, so I surmised 'anguish over a situation or efforts that did not pay off'--but maybe I could have been a little more optimistic...)

 

[starrystarrynight]

When you think about it, many--if not all--of the Swords cards are often seen as more "positive" when ill-dignified or reversed than when dignified or upright.

For the Nine of Swords, when ill-dignified, it's often seen as the nightmarish energy ending--as if the person is finally waking up from the bad dream with more positive thoughts to come; but I think its upright energy sometimes gets a worse rap than it should by a lot of readers because things generally aren't as bad as they seem when the card comes out dignified or upright. It depicts a nightmare--and those are usually worse than the reality they are based upon. At least more current "meanings" provided by a lot of LWBs imply that--even though centuries ago, I believe this was considered the death card even more than the Death trump (and I think in cartomancy the Nine of Spades is still considered to be death--though anyone more knowledgeable on that may correct me if I'm wrong.)

But back to the ill-dignified Nine of Swords...I usually think of it as more positive than the upright Nine. However, with any of the reversed Swords, they can (if the rest of the spread warrants it) signify the prolonged "agony" of their upright energies...maybe because these are "mind" and "thought" cards...and often, the more you think about something negative, the worse it can become in your mind--which then can actualize (psychosomatic illness and the like.)

...I'm rambling. It's late and past my bedtime.

 

[WalesWoman]

Hmm, I always thought that upright the fears were in control of your thinking and things seemed worse than they really are, but reversed the fears are well grounded, and you have good reason for worry, Be Afraid, be very afraid.

 

[starrystarrynight]

I think you're right, WalesWoman...

To be honest, WW, I've seen it described in books both ways...more negative than the upright OR more positive. I think, as always, it depends upon the context in the spread and the gut intuition of the reader.

 

[SA12]

Thank you, Starry and Waleswoman -- I agree with both of you -- I've seen reversed/ill-dignified spins on the 9 (and the 10) of swords as both positive and negative. I've heard the 9 of Swords ill-dignified/rev being described as "reasonable fear" (and not just paranoia) ...but then Starry's take makes total sense too -- you could either be waking up from the nightmare or fixating on it to the point of madness, and for the life of me, I'm not sure what side of the fence I'm on -- maybe I'll post the reading... In the context of some spreads, it's hard to discern which way the energy should be read -- especially if it's a sensitive matter/we know the seeker/or it's ourselves. In that case, it's a fine line to walk between intuition and ego!
Once again, thank you both!

 

[SA12]

When you think about it, many--if not all--of the Swords cards are often seen as more "positive" when ill-dignified or reversed than when dignified or upright.

For the Nine of Swords, when ill-dignified, it's often seen as the nightmarish energy ending--as if the person is finally waking up from the bad dream with more positive thoughts to come; but I think its upright energy sometimes gets a worse rap than it should by a lot of readers because things generally aren't as bad as they seem when the card comes out dignified or upright. It depicts a nightmare--and those are usually worse than the reality they are based upon. At least more current "meanings" provided by a lot of LWBs imply that--even though centuries ago, I believe this was considered the death card even more than the Death trump (and I think in cartomancy the Nine of Spades is still considered to be death--though anyone more knowledgeable on that may correct me if I'm wrong.)

But back to the ill-dignified Nine of Swords...I usually think of it as more positive than the upright Nine. However, with any of the reversed Swords, they can (if the rest of the spread warrants it) signify the prolonged "agony" of their upright energies...maybe because these are "mind" and "thought" cards...and often, the more you think about something negative, the worse it can become in your mind--which then can actualize (psychosomatic illness and the like.)

...I'm rambling. It's late and past my bedtime.

Agreed, Starry! The upright 9 of Swords (and the 10) are both very dramatic -- sometimes I think of the 9 of Swords as one's ego feeding his/her fear until it risks taking on a life of its own. That said, sometimes I see this card in a spread and it makes sense -- the person is experiencing anguish or has a right to be afraid (in that case hopefully other cards would suggest a solution!). If reversing/ill-dignifying the card can block/weaken energy, maybe it is a good thing (instead of just waking up, maybe the nightmares finally stop)-- or maybe it traps you in a mental circle, not unlike the previous 8 of Swords, upright, but worse.

Oh, and yes, 9 of Spades is still the dreaded death/disease card.

 

[SA12]

Hmm, I always thought that upright the fears were in control of your thinking and things seemed worse than they really are, but reversed the fears are well grounded, and you have good reason for worry, Be Afraid, be very afraid.

I've heard this too -- do you by any chance have any reading experiences with the 9 of Swords "in action" as such?