Nine of Cups in 6 decks
The same card as 6 decks draw it, five and a half centuries apart. What stays the same is the card’s core; what changes is where a reading can find something new. The meanings are written for the Rider–Waite–Smith picture; the descriptions here are of each deck’s own. Not in Oswald Wirth, which has no Nine of Cups card.
Side by side
Choose any two decks and read the pictures against each other.
Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
A stout, well-dressed man sits on a bench with his arms folded and a satisfied smile. Behind him, nine cups are arranged in a neat arc on a high draped shelf, displayed like trophies. He faces the viewer squarely, pleased with himself and with his collection.
Lequart, Paris, 19th century
Nine yellow goblets stand in three rows of three. Long yellow and green leaves sweep across between the rows, and two red leaves hang among the bottom cups. The numeral VIIII is printed at both sides.
Marseille number cards are read through their number and suit; the written meaning here gives the scene the Rider-Waite-Smith card adds.
Rider–Waite–Smith
Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
A stout, well-dressed man sits on a bench with his arms folded and a satisfied smile. Behind him, nine cups are arranged in a neat arc on a high draped shelf, displayed like trophies. He faces the viewer squarely, pleased with himself and with his collection.
Tarot de Marseille
Lequart, Paris, 19th century
Nine yellow goblets stand in three rows of three. Long yellow and green leaves sweep across between the rows, and two red leaves hang among the bottom cups. The numeral VIIII is printed at both sides.
Marseille number cards are read through their number and suit; the written meaning here gives the scene the Rider-Waite-Smith card adds.
Tarot de Viéville
Jacques Viéville, c. 1650
Nine cups stand in three rows of three. A yellow T-shaped bar crosses near the top, grey leaves on thin stems twine between the rows, and grey star-like flowers sit at the sides.
Viéville number cards show only their suit symbols; read them through number and suit, with the written meaning as a guide.
Visconti-Sforza
Bonifacio Bembo, c. 1450
Nine gold goblets with blue bands stand in three neat rows of three. Small blue and red flowers and green leaf sprigs sit between the rows. A thin green vine runs up each side inside the red border.
In the Visconti-Sforza deck the number cards show only their suit symbols, and the trumps are unnamed and unnumbered.
Sola Busca
c. 1491
A bearded man with a long green scaly tail like a sea creature rises from the water, his back to us, clutching round lidded jars. More jars, tied with red ribbons, fill the space around him. The numeral 9 is at the right.
Soimoi
Mike Koz, 2025
A man with a topknot and moustache sits cross-legged in a red kimono in a night garden, eyes closed and hands on his knees. Nine dark lacquer cups stand in two rows on a low wooden board before him. A lit stone lantern glows at left, cherry blossom hangs above, and two tanuki figures in straw hats stand at right.