Nine of Wands

You have been through it, and you are still standing. The Nine of Wands honors the veteran — cautious, bandaged, alert. One more test remains; you are far stronger than you feel.

Paranoia, exhaustion, or the refusal to let allies approach. The walls that protected you are becoming the walls that isolate you.

✦ The Illustration

A wounded figure with a bandaged brow leans on one wand, eight more standing as a fence behind them; golden stars still hover near the desert sky.

✦ Affirmation

“I have endured more than I thought; one more step is not beyond me.”