Nine of Wands

Upright

A figure bandaged at the head leans on a wand, eight wands behind in a tight fence. The Nine of Wands is the late round of a long fight. You're tired and you're not done. The card doesn't tell you to rest — it tells you to lean. Use what's holding you up. You've been through more than you give yourself credit for. The last bit is the last bit. You're closer than the soreness says.

Reversed

The figure has stopped leaning and started crouching, or the fence has fallen in. The Nine of Wands reversed is burnout, the paranoia of someone who's been guarded too long, the energy spent watching for threats that may not be coming. Sometimes it's the giving up right before the final stretch. The card asks for honest assessment. Are the wands actually walls, or have you been building them around nothing?