The Nines As “Ripening”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Here is another outtake from Cory Hutcheson’s 54 Devils, this time riffing on his observation that the 9 of Clubs implies a “ripening outcome” that is almost ready to drop its fruit.
The tarot Nines have been described as representing the “fulfillment” of their suit; they have reached a state of completion that might be described as “ripe.” In the same sense, the Tens are “overripe” in that they have stalled and no longer represent growth; theirs is the way of imminent stagnation and decay. While in the best of circumstances we may briefly rejoice in their abundance, we can’t count on it enduring for long; in the worst cases we can only look forward to Poe’s memorable refuge: “surcease of sorrow.” The Ten is a postscript to the Nine’s closing statement, and — whether for good or ill — it often overstays its welcome as the situation awaits renewal in the Ace of the next suit.
The titles of the Thoth cards are more emblematic of this condition than are the prosaic scenes of the Waite-Smith deck. The 9 of Wands is “Strength” to the 10 of Wands’ “Oppression,” which might be defined as “overweening strength misapplied.” The 9 of Cups is “Happiness” to the 10 of Cups’ “Satiety,” or “too much of a good thing” that promotes sloth. The 9 and 10 of Swords and the 9 and 10 of Disks are more consistent in nature; the 9 of Swords is “Cruelty” and the 10 of Swords is “Ruin,” its logical result, while the 9 of Disks is “Gain” and the 10 of Disks is “Wealth,” its more inert consequence that accrues from the active increase. But in all cases the initial state predisposes and cultivates the emergence its successor.
The RWS 9 of Wands shows a man primed for battle, but his innate prowess has largely been blunted and replaced by heroic but desperate bravado. The 10 of Wands looks like post-combat retreat to me, an unfortunate epilogue to the valiant “last stand” of the soldier in the 9 of Wands. The 9 of Cups is bursting at the seams with smug satisfaction, while the 10 of Cups imparts that benevolent largess to a broader (and seemingly more appreciative) gathering. The 9 of Swords looks like the agonizing midnight hour of the “night before” so the 10 of Swords can only be the devastating “ morning after.” The 9 of Pentacles epitomizes private plenitude, which in the 10 of Pentacles expands to embrace a multi-generational household, while perhaps spreading the harvest just a little too thin and replacing individual complacency with domestic apathy.
In qabalistic terms, the Nines bring a return to equilibrium on the Tree of Life. Nine is the number of the Moon while Ten is that of the Earth, and the Full Moon has long been a symbol of triumph over terrestrial darkness, which the pristine High Priestess embodies in her correspondence to the nobler, more mystical aspect of the Lunar orb. The sphere of the Moon is joined to that of the Sun by the Path of Temperance, a mediating influence infused with the grace and moral conviction of Jupiter, the “active ingredient” in Sagittarius, but it is linked to the Earth by the exacting Path of the Universe/World and its correspondence to the stringent toughness of Saturn. The Earth as “10” cannot hope to attain the fluid, magnetic buoyancy of the Moon as exemplified by “9.” The number of evolutionary transcendence is therefore neither Eight nor Ten but rather Nine, the “Third Perfection” of the classical Greek philosophers after Three and Six.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on August 17, 2023.
