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Introduction

The Nine of Swords is a card of anxiety, overthinking, and mental distress.

It often appears when someone is:

• caught in repetitive thoughts
• worrying about outcomes that haven’t happened
• or replaying situations in a way that intensifies their emotional impact

This card is not about external events alone.

It is about how those events are processed internally.

It can feel overwhelming, even isolating.

In these exercises, you’ll work with situations where your client is not just facing a problem — but a mental and emotional response that is amplifying that problem.

Your role as a reader is to help them:
👉 recognize what is happening internally
👉 separate thought from reality
👉 and find a way back to a more grounded perspective

Exercise 1

📝 Fictional client email:

Hi,

I don’t really know how to explain this properly, but I feel like my thoughts are getting out of control.

There’s a situation in my life that I can’t stop thinking about.

Nothing has actually happened yet — that’s the strange part.

But I keep imagining different outcomes, different scenarios, and most of them aren’t good.

It’s like my mind keeps going to the worst possible version of things.

I try to distract myself, but it always comes back.

At night it’s the worst.

I replay conversations, think about what I said or didn’t say, what it might have meant, what could happen next.

And the more I think about it, the more real it starts to feel.

I don’t even know anymore if I’m reacting to something that’s actually there… or something I’ve created in my head.

So I guess my question is: how much of this is real, and how much of this is just me overthinking?

– Tanja

💬 Let’s look at what’s happening here:

Tanja is not reacting to a clear event.

She’s reacting to possibility amplified by thought.

The Nine of Swords often appears when:
👉 the mind fills in gaps
👉 and those imagined outcomes begin to feel real

As a reader, your role is not to dismiss her fear.

It’s to help her understand:
👉 where the intensity is coming from
👉 and what part of it is actually grounded

🎯 Your Exercise:

For this reading, you draw The Nine of Swords.

Write your response to Tanja as if you were answering her professionally.

• Acknowledge the intensity of her thoughts
• Help her understand what is happening mentally
• Gently separate reality from imagined outcomes

When you’re ready, compare your answer to mine.

Exercise 1.2

Now we deepen Tanja’s situation.

This time, the cards are:

The Nine of Swords + The Moon + The Eight of Swords

Explore:

• Where does her anxiety come from?
• How does uncertainty feed her thoughts?
• Why does she feel unable to break out of this pattern?

Write your answer, then compare it to mine.

Exercise 2

📧 Fictional Client Email — Martin

Hi,

I’ve been dealing with something that’s been affecting me more than I expected, and I don’t really know how to handle it.

I made a mistake recently. Nothing huge, but enough that I keep thinking about it.

At the time, I didn’t think it was that serious.

But afterwards, I started replaying it in my head.

What I said, how it might have come across, how the other person reacted.

And now it feels much bigger than it probably was.

I keep thinking that maybe I’ve damaged something, or that it will come back later in a way I can’t control.

Logically, I know it might not be that serious.

But I can’t seem to stop thinking about it.

So I guess my question is: am I making this into something bigger than it actually is?

– Martin

💬 Looking at the Bigger Picture

Martin is not dealing with the mistake itself.

He’s dealing with what his mind is doing with it.

The Nine of Swords often appears when:
👉 something small becomes magnified internally
👉 through repetition and interpretation

As a reader, your role is to help him understand:
👉 how that process works
👉 and where it disconnects from reality

🎯 Your Exercise:

You draw The Nine of Swords for Martin.

Write a response that:

• acknowledges his concern without reinforcing it
• helps him understand how the situation is being amplified
• brings him back to a more grounded perspective

Then compare it to my answer.

Exercise 2.2

Now we expand Martin’s reading:

The Nine of Swords + The Judgment card + The Page of Cups

Explore:

• What kind of self-judgment is present here?
• How can he reframe what happened?
• What kind of emotional response helps him move forward?

Write your answer, then compare it.

Closing the Nine of Swords Exercises

The Nine of Swords reminds us that the mind can create intensity that feels as real as any external event.

These exercises show how often people come to tarot not because something has happened — but because they are struggling with what they think might happen.

As a reader, your role is to help them find the line between those two.

If you’d like to receive a reading like this for your own situation — one that helps you navigate overwhelming thoughts with clarity — you’re welcome to book a personal session at www.empowering-spirit.com.

And if this course is helping you grow, you can also support it through the tip jar in the sidebar (desktop) or footer (mobile).

Thank you for practicing with me.

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