The nines are the tarot's penultimate cards, one step from completion. The Hermit in the Major Arcana sets the tone as the solitary, reflective sage holding his own light in the dark. The nines are where you find out who you really are when the journey gets long and the finish line is finally in sight.

Nine of Wands: Bruised, but Still Standing

The Nine of Wands is the card of someone who has been tested and hasn't lost themselves in the process. It's a card of endurance, but perhaps more profoundly, integrity. You've taken hits, you've had to defend what you believe in, and you're still recognisably you. This card is about knowing your own values so well that no amount of opposition can talk you out of them. The shadow side is when that same strength curdles into defensiveness, guarding so hard that you stop being able to tell the difference between a threat and an opportunity.

Nine of Cups: The Tarot's Most Delicious Card

The Nine of Cups is the card of genuine satisfaction. This is indulgence, feeling good about yourself and where you are in life, and not apologising for it. The figure sits alone with his cups arranged behind him, savouring what he's built emotionally before he shares any of it. 

Nine of Pentacles: The Reward of Doing It Your Way

The Nine of Pentacles covers similar ground, but in a more earthly register. Where the Cups figure is sitting with emotional satisfaction, the Pentacles figure has built something tangible. She has created material independence and a life that runs on her own terms. Both the Nine of Cups the Nine of Pentacles are about savouring what you've created on your own terms. Just expressed differently.

Nine of Swords: Sleepless Nights and Old Stories

The Nine of Swords is the card of anxiety, rumination and a mind that won't let you rest. The suffering here is real, but it's worth noting that this card lives in the realm of thought, not fact. The fears feel enormous at 3am. In daylight, some of them shrink. Not all of them, but some. This card asks you to look at what you're telling yourself, and whether it's actually true.

The nines are where you almost have it all. The endurance, the satisfaction, the hard won independence, the self knowledge. But there's one more lesson waiting in the tens, and it has everything to do with what happens when you stop keeping it all to yourself.

Jenni McLaughlin is a hand illustrating tarot artist based in Australia. Her illustrated tarot deck, The Falling Card Tarot, and art prints are available in the shop.