The Archetype and The Tarot: The Addict and Nine of Swords
Through the Addict and Nine of Swords, this week we’re being called to take a look at our reactions to the threats that come our way. Can we learn how to build true safety from within ourselves?
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The Addict Archetype
Well, the deck isn’t pulling any punches this week. The Addict is one of those archetypes that has a tremendous impact on our lives, sometimes including matters of life and death. Working almost in tandem with the Prostitute archetype (see this post on the Prostitute from October), the Addict is a pattern of power that has to do with the experience of safety. While the Prostitute shows us where we might be willing to sell our integrity for a sense of safety, the Addict is the pattern that helps us define what that sense of safety is (and it will be different for each of us).
Possessing a profound and innate intelligence, the Addict senses when there is a threat (whether real or imagined) and then tells us how to feel safe in the face of this threat. Threats can come in many forms and include things like overwhelm, loneliness, boredom, stress, anxiety, or trauma (both lived and inherited). Whatever the threat is, it awakens the Addict within us to help us return to a sense of safety.
Normally, I write about the archetype in light first, but the Addict calls for a bit of reversal. So this week, I’ll start with the shadow.
The Addict in the shadow senses the threat, or dysregulation, and is unable to generate its own sense of safety. In other words, this one can’t self-regulate. Instead, they tell us what external substance, TV show, food, person, behavior, etc. will make us feel okay again. Because it is in the shadow, this side of the Addict cannot see that, often, the very thing that seems to bring a sense of safety, also brings a cycle of dysregulation along with it. The sense of safety is short-lived, resulting in dependency on the external thing in order to cope with the threats of life.
In the light, the Addict is able to self-regulate when faced with a threat. They know how to build a true foundation of safety rather than getting caught in the cycle of grasping for, or craving, temporary and external safety nets. One of the ways they do this is by utilizing clues from the shadow Addict’s behavior. They are able to see how and why their external addiction of choice helps them feel safe, and can then use this information to build a capacity for experiencing life as it is. The Addict in the light takes that innate intelligence and turns it into wisdom.
Every one of us has this pattern to some degree and every one of us needs to feel safe. There is no shame in that. The Addict here is asking us to put our conscious awareness on the choices we make around safety.
Some questions to consider:
What do you turn to for safety?
What feels more like safety to you: escape or control?
Why do you feel unsafe; how would you define the most prominent threat in your life?
How does the thing you turn to help you feel safe?
What small steps can you take to begin to generate a sense of safety from within?
Nine of Swords
Oh, Swords, you do have some of the most unhappy-looking cards in the deck (and we seem to be getting a lot them this month. We got the 10 of Swords just last week, and the 5 of Swords the week before that.) Here, in the Nine, we see a person sitting up in bed, holding their face in their hands while nine swords hang next to them. Across their lap is a comforter with an alternating pattern of roses and astrological symbols.
The scene on this card probably looks familiar to most of us. Anxiety, worry, nightmares…something is standing in the way of a peaceful night’s sleep. Because this is suit of swords, we know this has to do with our thoughts; and because it is the nine, we know it is the peak or highest level of the suit. In a nutshell, this card is all about mind in excess. It’s what happens when our overthinking, ever-spinning mind takes over and runs the show.
As always, however, I don’t believe the tarot is about foretelling doom and gloom. The solution to an overactive mind is right there in the card. When we’re having a nightmare, the best way out of it is to wake up. I believe when this card comes up, we’re being asked to find a way to wake up; to find a portal out of the nightmare. But this isn’t something we can figure out with our already overworking minds. We have to turn to the heart. I think the roses on the comforter, as symbols of love, are clues to this.
Can we attune to the heart to find an opening out of the mind loops? What joy or pleasure might our hearts lead us to that could break the cycle of the nightmare?
How does this pair work together?
What I see with these two is that the figure in the Nine of Swords is in the midst of a nightmare. But then the Addict comes into the room, turns on the light and sits down on the bed. They pull the person into their arms and softly say, “I will hold you until you feel safe again.”
When we experience a threat or dysregulation this week, can we rest in the arms of the Addict—if even for just a moment—before reaching for that external source of safety? Can we see the Addict as an ally in safety and by pausing with them, might we be taking a step towards self-regulation? As we sit still with the Addict, we give ourselves space to be curious about our safety needs, as well as the gift of increasing self-awareness.
I know that I always encourage everyone to practice self-kindness, but this week it feels especially important to do so. This is not about pushing ourselves beyond our capacities, but rather opening the door to a path of knowing true safety. Please know that you are not alone in this. We are all walking this path together this week. If it feels good to share, I’d love to know how you do with the Addict this week. You can reach out by leaving a comment below or replying to this email.
I love your way of speaking about the addict as someone who self-regulates to find safety. I believe we all have our strategies that support us to cope with the stress and chaos of our internal and external worlds.
I used to turn to things like alcohol, weed, etc. now I turn to creativity, baths, walks and writing. It’s been a positive shift that I feel happy to have welcomed in my life.
Sometimes I turn to a TV show that I can numb myself out to from time to time. Which I fully allow and permit myself to since I’m doing a lot of healing work and sometimes a girl just needs a break 😅⭐️
Each week I read your cards Jenna, sometimes, in my rather limited inexperience of the astrological and spiritual, I struggle to find a resonating factor, but this week…
These two cards are like a slap on the face! The addict as a saviour, a guiding internal force, I need to remember that, I need to remember the internal addict can comfort and restore. This alone induces a calmness to my aura. It’s been so needed! I should have read this on Monday!
Thank you sweet soul…