Eight of Cups At A Glance
Keywords: Choices, fantasy, illusion, struggling to see reality, analysis paralysis, procrastination, decision fatigue, needing purpose
Season: Winter
Element: Water (emotions)
Eight of Cups Tarot Card Description
The Eight of Cups is the eighth card in the minor arcana suit of cups. The original card shows a lone person departing from their position in front of 8 golden cups which sit in bare surroundings. Their head is turned away to the path they are about to tread and the rest of their body language shows they are focused only on this forward journey and that they have completely detached physically, mentally and emotionally from the current situation.
This card handles themes of walking away and redirecting our attention to better actions and choices which will enhance our lifestyles and lead to our growth.
Eight of Cups Upright Meaning
The Eight of Cups upright means that we are being asked to move on from a relationship, action, emotion or any situation that no longer serves us. We may have enjoyed these at the time or they may have been a bad habit that caused us suffering.
The important thing to remember is that for one reason or another we have outgrown them and must totally let go if we are to make room for the new things which will serve us better. We may feel some discomfort during this time because this card often deals with themes of getting out of our comfort zone.
When we leave the things we have outgrown and find bigger things which we will grow in to in time we are met with growing room ; a void between where we are and where we wish to be. During times when we leave our comfort zone we glimpse a really good view of just how big that void is and just how much work we have to do to get there and the result can leave us feeling intimidated. In short we may face a sharp learning curve as we adapt to a new way of living.
“If you walked away from a toxic, negative, abusive, one-sided, dead-end low vibrational relationship or friendship - you won.” - Lalah Delia
Eight of Cups Reversed Meaning
When we see the Eight of Cups reversed it is suggesting we are faced with either confusion or a sense of aimlessness about an area of our lives or perhaps our life in its entirety. We may even feel apathetic and unsure of what we want. This card asks us to seek our own meaning. In western society we seem to be expected to know exactly what we want to do to with our lives from the age of young teens but this isn’t natural for most of us.
Our lives will change many times as we live it and we will make new choices everyday. We should forgive ourselves if we don’t have a life plan and practice the act of contentment. We will find what we want by living life and collecting experiences along the way.
“The chains that break you, are the chains that make you. And the chains that make you, are the chains you break.” - Anthony Liccione
Eight of Cups: Yes or No
The 8 of Cups is a no card. Its major arcana equivalent would be the Death card which also discusses themes of letting go. There is no better way to let go than to say no. Giving ourselves time and space to deal with the feelings that can arise. This is the same whether the card is upright or reversed.
Let’s Break Down the Eight of Cups In Our Lives
How the Eight of Cups changes depending on the specific areas of our lives in question.
Eight of Cups In Love
We require a mental check-in or a little soul searching to determine how we feel about our love life. We might be single or in a relationship but we have an action that we keep taking even though it isn’t making us happy. We flirt with the idea of walking away in our minds but now we need to decide once and for all if cutting the cord is best for us.
Reversed when this card comes to us for a love question it can often mean we are holding on to a relationship because we fear being alone. Fear shouldn’t be a reason to stay with someone as it inevitably blocks love. If we are single then it can mean we have commitment issues also caused by fear.
Eight of Cups With Money
We are being asked to prepare financially for a future decision which will affect our money. We must live within in our means and save money for a trip or an impending important change to our lifestyles.
Reversed in money questions or placements it means we are settling for a job or situation for financial security but it doesn’t make us happy. In short we have chosen money over happiness for too long and have built ourselves into a corner of misery. We need a clean break to release us from this cycle.
Eight of Cups At Work
This card indicates we have a desire or need to escape work for a little while. Perhaps this is vacation time, signed off sick or a bit longer like a sabbatical but we are drawn to this repeatedly because our mind needs time to heal, process and catch up. We may be feeling burn out or stress at work which will not go away on its own.
Reversed this card can mean we are settling for a job which we know we are too good for but we fear reaching higher because we don’t want to fail. So we purposefully underachieve to avoid the possibility. The 8 of Cups says we should walk away from fear because we deserve the opportunity to try our hardest and that to self-sabotage is the only guaranteed way to fail.
Eight of Cups With Others
We may be entering a phase of extreme social tiredness. It can creep up on us without us realizing but once we do we may need to recharge using other methods. Though we might feel FOMO (fear of missing out) at the beginning, in time we will feel restored and better able to socialize in a way that doesn’t drain us.
Reversed we are being challenged but this challenge will allow us to grow past our comfort zone. We may have fear and resistance here but we are being asked to set this aside and pursue through the challenge because it will teach us an important lesson which will positively shape our lives.
Eight of Cups With Self
This can suggest we may be bored or feeling stagnated with our life plan and perhaps seeking more excitement in life. If this is the case the universe is guiding us to shake things up a little and try new experiences casually without committing to them for the long term.
Reversed we may be feeling called to find our higher purpose. We feel like there is something missing and we wish to give our lives more meaning. The majority of life can be quite mundane: chores, work and sleep. But there are times between which can feel like pure magic and we are being asked to look out for these moments and try to incorporate more of them into our lives.
Eight of Cups As Feelings
This card feels like having the bravery to bite the bullet and make the decision to walk away. It could be a plethora of things that we are walking away from but the important feeling is that we feel proud of ourselves for finally making the decision.
After a small period of feeling the loss we feel joy, relief and hope as we look towards the future. Our mind frame shifts from one which is stuck in the past mourning to being one that is looking forward with excitement.
