Nine of Spades—Upright. This is justly regarded to be the most unfortunate card in the pack, as it portends maladies, malignant diseases, family dissensions, defeat in enterprises, constant disappointment, and even death. The primary significations of this card, when in its natural position, are a priest, mourning and disappointment.
The secondary significations, derived from these sources, are:
From the priest: Pastor; church; church services; ritual; sanctity; piety; devotion; religious ceremonies; celibacy.
From mourning: Regret; desolation; affliction; sadness; sorrow; calamity; grief; heart-pain; funeral; burial; tomb; grave; church-yard; loss of relatives; wailing.
From disappointment: Obstacles; hindrance; delay; disadvantage; contrarieties; misfortunes; suffering.
Nine of Spades—Reversed. When this card appears in the oracle reversed its evil influence is augmented two-fold, although its primary significations are modestly expressed as failure, abandonment and delay. The secondary significations are of the most disastrous character.
The synonyms employed for these terms, in this instance, are:
Misery; indigence; famine; necessity; need; poverty; adversity; misfortune; deep affliction; disagreements; correction; chastisement; punishment; reverses; disgrace; imprisonment; detention; arrest; captivity.
But when this card, reversed, comes before the consultant and the eight of spades, in the same oracle, it signifies mortality, with the following synonyms:
Death; decease; last sigh; end; finish; extinction; annihilation; destruction; utter ruin; abjection; humiliation; prostration; depression; alteration; poisoning; corruption; putrefaction; paralysis; lethargy.