Nine of Cups
The Wish Card! Good things are foretold when this card appears! Nines represent nearing the end of a cycle, and in this card, you have mastered the lessons of the previous cards in the suit and are reaping your reward. Whatever the question, this card answers you with a resounding YES. It tells you that all will work out the way that you hope and dream it will, and that the gift presented here is yours for the taking.
Are you hoping and wishing for something? If so, prepare to receive it. If you haven't, then make a wish! Visualize it and really feel what it would feel like when it comes true. It soon will!
This card represents indulgences, fulfillment and satisfaction. It also represents pleasures, those tangible, material and emotional. This card brings abundance. There is a sense of deep happiness, as you have very nearly reached the summit. You have accomplished much, and those accomplishments and rewards sit behind the man in the card, in the Cups, placed high up on a table for all to see like trophies. The cups also contain the fruits of all of your hard work, all that you have earned, and they are to be placed out of harm's way to be protected! There is a sense here of valuing what you have. You have worked hard and earned these rewards, there is nothing wrong with enjoying the moment.
This being the suit of Cups, these rewards are usually emotional in nature. The sense of abundance and satisfaction that you feel is usually in the area of relationships. When it shows up in a spread of any kind, it means that you are well on your way to the favorable outcome you desire, regardless of the nature of the question. It implies that you have worked hard, and have truly earned the abundance you are now receiving. The only caveat, is to be careful that you don't become too smug or lazy, resting on your laurels, or overindulging, however taking time to reward oneself is certainly encouraged.
This card indicates delight and pleasure as well. As advice, it may be telling you to be proud of yourself, and all you have accomplished, and to take a break for yourself! This card signifies life's tangible pleasures, such as good food and drink, physical touch or pleasure, all forms of aesthetic beauty such as the arts, museums, and cinemas. You should take some time out for yourself to just relax and feel content in your accomplishments. Bask in the happiness.
Return to Cups Overview
<Eight of Cups
Ten of Cups>
Nine of Cups Reversed
In the Nine of Cups reversed, we generally see the negative side effects of abundance and reward. You may be overly smug about a job well done, and could be trampling someone else's feelings. Be considerate. Even if you have something to celebrate, than do so modestly if in the presence of someone else who does NOT. While sharing joy and being proud of yourself is perfectly fine, boasting about yourself, and your accomplishments, particularly at someone else's expense, is certainly not.
When this card is reversed, there can be an element of selfishness, where you are more concerned about what "feels good" for you, with little concern for others. While giving yourself a pat on your own back for a job well done is great for your self-esteem, ask yourself if you are doing it so much, that there is no one else even left around to give you a pat as well! Take care not to be so care-less, with others feelings, needs and emotions too.
This card also represents OVERindulgence. There could be gluttony from overindulgence in food, hangovers from an overindulgence of alcohol, or any other number of negative side effects from the over indulgences of life's pleasures, both emotional and physical. If you are doing this, consider this a wakeup call from the Universe. This includes also laziness and being greedy, either physically, or with someone else's time or emotions.
More generally, this card can signify a serious disappointment. Things are not manifesting the way that you want them to. Are you putting in the work? Or, could you be leaning your ladder against the wrong wall? Are you certain this is a path you should pursue? It may be telling you that it is time to walk away from this situation, or at the very least to reassess it. If you still feel the situation has value, then you will need to reconsider how you plan to achieve this dream. Wishful thinking will not be enough.
Lastly, like the old song goes "looking for love in all the wrong places…" can be applied here. While the upright nine speaks of having it all, or having your dreams, wishes, or manifestations come true, in the reverse, you could be using worldly pleasures to dull the pain of the internal ones you are missing and deeply longing for. You may be hurt and attempting to numb the pain, or denied the love you so desire, even in little ways each day, so you barely notice just how unhappy you have become over time. You could be using food, drugs, alcohol, sex or any other indulgences to "fill you up" so to speak. True happiness comes from within. You must truly love yourself for who you are before you can really love another, or they can truly love you.
It may be time to take an honest look at what, or who, you need to let go of in your life. Ask yourself if it is something, or someone, who is bringing you joy and happiness, or only making you feel sad. Don't be afraid to let go. When we let go of that which no longer serves us, we make room for something even greater to enter.
