The Eight of Cups

The Eight of Cups comes after the choices and changes of the seven in the suit of Cups. All of the eights in the Minor Arcana foretell of having one’s dedication and capacity for impartial judgement examined. There is contentment in the realm of romance as is shown by the stacked cups illustrated in the card, but the individual shown is walking away from them. This is merely a message that there is a need for spirituality in one’s life in order for him to truly enjoy his personal relationships.

The eights show making up for uncertainty and bad or right choices from the preceding situation with the sevens. The Eight of Cups will then show the querent as he goes off to really think on his choices and reflect on what is most important in life and his relationships. There is also a call to come to terms with one’s mortality and find the divine again for themselves, so there is an addition of the divine to the querent’s partnership or marriage.

When more than one eight appears in a tarot spread, there is extra information available to the querent. Pairs of eights show that timing is everything and that it is important to focus on details regarding their spouses likes, dislikes, habits, and hobbies while three of them imply IQ testing or, in this circumstance, relationship quizzes and perhaps couples therapy before making a decision about the marriage. Having four eights in a spread indicates taking a very serious look at the road the querent has travelled and what one has done well and what one has failed at so far. The Eight of Cups may show That the querent is seriously considering his relationship from beginning to the present for answers about himself.

The Eight of Cups in an Upright Position

When the Eight of Cups appears upright in a tarot layout, it signifies the querent’s search for other things to provide satisfaction that do not involve love and relationships. These pursuits may have to do with one’s career, spirituality, or the arts. The querent is not abandoning his lover, but he must take time to look at other parts of his life that do not concern anyone but himself. The querent may also be putting to bed all relationships that do not serve him any good purpose. This will mean that friends and family members who are in the querent’s life but do not add anything to it will eventually fade into the background and take a lessened priority in his life. There may have been disappointment in some of the querent’ s relationships that are causing him introspection as well. The querent may also decide out of the blue to change the way he lives his life and may take up hobbies that help him to come into better harmony with his higher self. The querent’s relationships may reach greater depths or the querent may feel a need to move on. There may also be a move in the cards for the couple or its individual parts.

The meaning of all Minor Arcana cards can be modified by the cards that surround it. Court cards from the Minor Arcana (Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings) all represent people. They have corresponding physical characteristics as well as their own astrological correspondences. The querent in the Eight of Cups is shown to be abandoning relationships that serve him no purpose anymore. The court cards around this card will indicate who these people are, and help to identify those who hadn’t occurred to him, but are becoming emotionally or spiritually draining. It is also important to remember that any Major Arcana cards that fall near the Eight of Cups will help to enhance the interpretation. The World shows things are going well and that there is nothing to change while the presence of the High Priestess will indicate happiness stemming from connection to the divine female principle.

The Eight of Cups in a Reversed Position

The reversed position of each card of the Minor Arcana is really as it states: an inversion of the card’s meaning. If the Eight of Cups is reversed, we find all eight cups to have been emptied and the individual is descending downwards to the underworld. This could signify that the reversed Eight of Cups heralds a profound loss in love that causes extremely deep depression. The querent may feel that he will never love or live again after this loss due to the person’s importance in his life. The querent may have lost one he believed to be his soul mate, and there is a feeling of never being the same ever again. The querent may also be seeking dark spirituality such as demonic beliefs or could be attempting to abandon a lover in secret. Hence the journey during the night. The querent may also have been the one who was abandoned by their lover, and perhaps the querent has been widowed or is the one who will leave first.

There may be an abandonment of one’s faith or the querent could abandon his family and children in search of himself. There could be addiction in the mix that is creating conditions that make the querent think that his loved ones would be better off without him. There is also an indication that the emotion that has been emptied from the eight cups is gone forever, meaning such a  mistake was made that there is no going back in love. This may end up being for the better, and the Eight of Cups is showing what may be necessary in order for the querent to right himself and steady his course in life. The querent may also have hit rock bottom.

Key Terms

  • Spiritual Learning
  • Soul searching
  • Abandonment
  • Being abandoned
  • Losses
  • Lost love
  • Abandonment issues that need healing
  • Couples therapy
  • Change of address
  • Break ups
  • Permanent changes in romantic relationships
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