By Sarah Taylor
The Nine of Pentacles and the Nine of Swords. A woman and a man — the only humans in each of their pictures. Both enclosed in a particular circumstance. Both leaning towards the third card: The Lovers. This reading talks of sequestration and then integration.
While both the Nines are from the minor arcana section of the tarot deck, which deals with our day-to-day lives, The Lovers is a major arcana card, and a pure archetype, or blueprint. This means that it is more focussed on what happens at a soul level than a physical one, and it is concerned with what is both transpersonal and collective.
Given that The Lovers is archetypal, then this idea of integration, too, can be seen as archetypal — it describes an aspect of the evolution of the soul first, which may then play out in a personal experience.
Going back to the first two cards, the Nine of Pentacles corresponds to Venus in Virgo, and the Nine of Swords to Mars in Gemini. Couple this with the fact that they share the same number, and this tells me that we are looking at the different qualities of an equal nature: the duality of feminine and masculine — specifically, the feminine and masculine experience that each figure is facing in the cards.
The Nine of Pentacles came up in the Weekend Tarot Reading of June 30. This repeat appearance is an emphasis — a nudge to return to the matter that it describes to see what has changed since then, and what still asks for our attention. In this case, what is asking for our attention is a sense of the feminine as something that is stifled by her surroundings. The woman has all of the outward appearances of wealth and prosperity, but she is as bound to her place as the falcon is to her hand. Both are denying a part of their natures — a sense of wildness that needs to fly free in order to find its full expression.
In the Nine of Swords, we have the masculine, trapped in a solitary snare of self-injurious thoughts and beliefs. This is fragile territory — unlike the Eight of Swords, where the figure is as yet untouched by the swords, here they have the capacity to wound. This is the wounded masculine, separated from the feminine (as she is from him), and debilitated as a result. Both are restricted in their movements, although it is clear that it is they who are choosing that restriction.
Nevertheless, the medicine for these circumstances is right in front of the figure in the Nine of Swords. It is the blanket that lies over his legs, which is a patchwork of alternating astrological glyphs and roses. It implies a sense of place in the cosmos, a sense of meaning, and of love.
Finally, the figures and the swords draw our eyes right, away from the two Nines and into The Lovers. As we make this physical and metaphorical movement, there is a stripping away of limiting experience and a re-establishment of the essence of archetype — one that is innocent, without shame, and unfettered.
The Lovers card celebrates the (re)union of feminine and masculine under the Sun, which is the light of consciousness. Unlike the preceding cards, the feminine and masculine here are naked, mirroring each other — they are complementary opposites. It is also a union that is divinely blessed: an angel spreads its arms out over them, its wings reaching beyond the limits of the card.
Interestingly, the angel’s hair is composed of both leaf and flame, which adorn the trees behind the woman and the man. Maybe it is their coming together that has brought the angel into being, rather than the other way around. Maybe it is the feminine and masculine who are in an act of creation.
Maybe it is by balancing the feminine and masculine in our lives, and by honouring their expression in a way that creates, rather than restricts our freedom, that we bring heaven to Earth.
Astrology/Elemental correspondences: Nine of Pentacles (Venus in Virgo), Nine of Swords (Mars in Gemini), The Lovers (Gemini)
If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article explains how to use the spread.
Thank you for your comments, all 🙂
Daniel, I use the correspondences from the Golden Dawn system. It’s quite convoluted, but if you want more information, there’s a great book I’ve been recommending a lot recently, called “The Chicken Qabalah” by Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford. It is hilarious, knowledgeable, and insightful.
A wonderful reading Sarah! I am curious about the astrological correspondences and where they are derived from. Who has delineated these links (not just these particular ones, but all in general)?
Thanks!
Your integrative interpretation here transcends the oft-collaborative phenomenon (IMO dysfunctional) and coupling that Carolyn Myss calls “wound mates” or co-misseration. Yet the minor arcana nine indicates a culmination and, in this case, an ending of a way of being, towards purging that which has clipped one’s wings over a very long journey. Bows to that.
Recognizing the coupled act of creation beyond babies and toward the intersection of heaven and earth, free and whole — dancing in an elemental vibrance. Yes! That the feminine can claim a wildness and freedom beyond social expectations/limitations. Yes! That the masculine can hold power without self-destruction. Yes! Thanks for pointing to the possibilities, Sarah! Inspiring.
WOW. Yes. Thank you. Amazing insight. Helpfully confirming the integration process I am experiencing.Still love that little snail. 🙂