Here’s a secret tip from expert readers! When you look at the Swords cards, first look to see whether the Swords are being “held, hung or hammered”. As the Swords are all about our thoughts, they are drawn to represent three very different states:

Held: If a sword or swords are being held, it is thoughts that we are holding onto.

Hung: If they are up in the air, they are thoughts that are weighing on us, but from outside.

Hammered: If they are hammered into the ground (or a boat, in the 6 of Swords), they are outworn thoughts that are stuck, like old ways of thinking or patterns.

This is a really useful thing to know when you are looking at a lot of Swords in a reading!

So the 9 of Swords shows a lot of “hung” swords, in fact, they are so overwhelming that they have “no point”. So the card shows sorrow, and having to wait until a bad situation passes.

The secret of the card is covered in my “Secrets” section, under “A Quilt of Time”.