Nine of Wands

A single great arrow, its head the sun and its feather the moon, is flanked by eight smaller arrows; the whole is steady and vertical.

Yesod, Foundation, in Atziluth, the world of emanation. Foundation, the sphere of the Moon: the astral, the image, the pattern on which the material world is built, and also stability, because Yesod gathers the forces above it into one channel. The Nines are Yesod in the four worlds and are the element at full strength before its final crystallisation.

Yesod in the world of Fire: the element gathered into one channel, stable and full. The Moon in the second decan of Sagittarius gives the arrow its foundation and its reflected light.

The Moon in the second decan of Sagittarius (10°–20°, about Dec 3–12). The Moon is reflection, tides, the fluctuating soul, memory and instinct. On the Tree it is Yesod, the Foundation; among the trumps it is the Priestess, who veils the light rather than shining it.

Sagittarius is mutable Fire: the archer, the arrow of aspiration, the long view. Jupiter rules it. Its trump is Art. The trump of Sagittarius is Art.

This decan is ruled by the Knight of Wands, whose arc runs from 21° Scorpio to 20° Sagittarius. The two Shem angels of the decan are Hahasiah and Imamiah.

Stability: the forces above gathered into one channel, the foundation, the image. Yesod. The Nines are the element at full strength; the Hermit is trump IX.

Intuition as a settled conviction; the direction has become character. The Wands are usually read as the intuition function in Jung's typology, an interpretive convention rather than a text of Jung's.

Rider-Waite calls the suit Wands, Rods or Staves. Its small cards carry scenes; the Thoth small cards carry the suit emblems arranged geometrically, with the keyword printed at the bottom and the colours of their Sephirah and decan. The Golden Dawn title (Lord of Great Strength) is shared by both traditions.

The Moon at its best gives nurturing, empathy, intuition, emotional intelligence, belonging. At its worst: moodiness, clinging to the past, emotional reactivity, dependency, smothering.

Sagittarius (“I see / I seek”) brings optimism, honesty, adventure, wisdom, humour, faith, generosity. Its shadow is preachiness, tactlessness, restlessness, overpromising, dogmatism, fear of commitment.

Together: Moon has no essential dignity or debility in Sagittarius. Dignity explains part of the title and the Sephirah explains the rest: a planet at home in its sign can still sit in a hard sphere, and a weak planet can be carried by a strong one.

The Sun crosses this decan around Dec 3–12, so it is the decan card of anyone born then; their court card is the Knight of Wands. Find a birthday.