8 of cups tarot meaning in relationships. Various meanings of the Eight of Cups in the tarot. Original card meanings included with the Rider White Tarot deck

When we're talking about about the 8 Cups Tarot card - its meaning, as a rule, foreshadows changes. The cups in her image are arranged in such a way that it becomes clear that the man went looking for the missing cup, despite the fact that he already had eight of them.

In the article:

8 of Cups Tarot - meaning in readings

The meaning of the 8 Cups Tarot suggests that you are ready to give up everything that is dear and familiar to you. This is probably about a relationship that is causing you harm. Now is the time to decide to break off relationships with friends or lovers who disappoint you.

The 8 of Cups Tarot is a card of transition. You go in search of what you lack to be happy. Perhaps it is not about making changes in life, but about finding meaning or inspiration, as well as spiritual fulfillment in a deep sense. This is also a card of sad farewell - although you are ready to get rid of something, this parting cannot happen completely painlessly. However, this will not stop you; you have already decided to say goodbye to what you have become attached to.

In this case, departure from the usual is voluntary. You leave on your own, you were not expelled. However, there may have been no other choice but to leave. What the future holds is unknown, and this scares you to some extent.

If the Eight of Cups Tarot card is upside down, this communicates that you have decided to temporarily turn your back on the spiritual aspect of life. Now you are more concerned with worldly needs. Good results in material matters, funny company And tasty food- this is what you wish for this moment. Soon you may find a soul mate, or you may have a change of partner.

Eight of Cups Tarot - meaning for self-development

The Eight of Cups Tarot meaning reminds you to open yourself to new possibilities. You must trust the spiritual source that is closest to you. Now you are interested in spiritual quests, you are ready to look for inspiration and even the meaning of life.

The meaning of the 8 of Cups of the Tarot suggests that some habits, patterns, lifestyles and worldview principles will no longer be useful to you. We'll have to get rid of them. In the past, these habits meant a lot to you, giving them up is accompanied by feelings of fear and hopelessness. Leaving the familiar is a difficult step, but it will lead you to freedom.

Often the Eight of Cups Tarot speaks of a transition to the next age group. You feel like you have to give up something, and that comes with growing up. Unlike the Five of Cups, this coming of age is not associated with a sad event, it happens naturally. If fortune telling is carried out for young guy or girls, the card may indicate a gradual abandonment of parental help.

What does the appearance of 8 Tarot Cups promise when fortune telling for work?

Most often, in work layouts, the 8 of Cups Tarot foretells a separation from the previous place of work. at will. Sometimes this is a refusal to be active professional activity. You may decide to devote yourself to your family or retire and enjoy what you have achieved.

Sometimes leaving is the only thing possible solution, for example, if the industry in which you worked is folding and is not generating as much income as in the past. The changes may not be that drastic. For example, your task may be transferred to another person, the project is closed as unpromising. There is a possibility that the company where you work will close.

Your departure is associated with uncertainty about the future; you do not know what consequences to expect now. This feeling is combined with the pain of parting with what you have become accustomed to. Now it is really difficult to say what your future will be like with a new job or without one at all. However, leaving is a necessary step that you have already decided to take.

8 of Cups Tarot - meaning in relationships

The meaning of the 8 Cups Tarot in relationships suggests that the time is coming to part with people who meant a lot to you. You may still love this person, but decisions to break up do not appear without serious reasons.

Now you are standing at a crossroads. In order to go your own way, you need to break with the past that is stopping you. You want freedom, and your partner separates you from it. Perhaps you consider another person a more suitable life partner for yourself, and are ready to make a choice. But maybe the fortuneteller decided to go into the unknown and find new love.

The meaning of the Eight of Cups Tarot in relationships often speaks of separation in a figurative sense. This may be a rejection of old ideas about a partner. The one who seemed like a fairy tale prince turns into ordinary person with its shortcomings. You understand that he is not ideal, you return to reality and abandon old illusions. It is far from certain that this person will seriously disappoint you.

Inverted the card indicates that new relationships will appear in your life. If with ex-lover you broke up less than a month ago, then he may come back to you. For people who are married or have serious intentions regarding their other half, fortune telling promises strong relationships and stability. The Reversed Eight of Cups advises appreciating what you have rather than looking for something new.

What personalities does the Eight of Cups Tarot card represent?

In ancient Tarot books, the 8 of Cups foreshadowed marriage to a fair-haired woman or receiving help from a fair-haired person. Most likely, the person represented by the Eight of Cups has blond hair.

The meaning of the Eight of Cups Tarot card in this case is a person who is in search of something. He may be looking for a suitable life partner, looking for friends in a new city, or sending out a resume in hopes of getting a job. It could also be someone who experienced a breakup or left something in the past that did not suit him.

Inverted The Eight of Cups represents individuals who, in the process of getting rid of unnecessary things, often throw out the child with bathwater. This card can also tell about some woman with a disgusting character and blond hair.

8 of Cups Tarot - meaning in combination with other cards

It is known that the ability to interpret combinations of Tarot cards can significantly clarify the forecast, and sometimes change the usual interpretation of both cards. For example, the 8 of Cups in combination with foretells a business trip. The changes will concern only a short-term change of environment. The combination with, on the contrary, predicts a return home.

If this card comes up with , it promises to follow the idea. It is also possible to travel in the company of like-minded people or even move to a place where you will be better understood. When combined with the Eight of Wands, it means leaving home, leaving your comfort zone, or moving.

When the Eight of Cups appears in a layout, the card demands special attention. The fact is that the meaning of the 8 cups in the Tarot is extremely ambiguous; sometimes interpreters have great difficulties with interpretation. The card represents saying goodbye to the past, leaving with a heavy heart. It shows that now a person is going through a transitional period in life, when priorities and values ​​change. This is the “breakthrough” lasso, which speaks of a sad farewell and oblivion of previous plans.

General value

What recently inspired and motivated has ceased to have great importance. The old plans lost their attractiveness and lost all meaning. The man realized that this is “not life,” and he gives much more than he receives. The Eight of Cups sometimes indicates the abandonment of old ideas, farewell to sorrow, and getting rid of old habits.

There is a “change of power” in the head, the person is ready to embark on a thorny path, guided by some higher considerations. The realization comes that it will no longer be possible to live in the old way. There is a willingness to leave something familiar and dear to the heart for the sake of something new and unknown.

The situation seems hopeless and pushes for change. However, the voluntary decision to move on is made with a heavy heart. The card depicts a person who is oppressed by something. He has a staff in his hands, on which he leans as he follows the rocky shore. Behind it are eight cups, representing past achievements. Red clothing is a symbol that the decision was made voluntarily.

Former attachments and problems are abandoned to the mercy of fate. It is not possible to leave everything as it is, so the person goes on a journey. Maybe he realized that his previous existence was flawed. An eclipse indicates the great importance of the time factor. The map seems to say that the time has come and it’s time to go.

If there are negative arcana nearby, we can talk about a black streak in life, when there is no more strength, the battle is lost and everything is hopeless. The meaning of the 8 of Cups in the Tarot in a positive context: a person leaves his swamp, not wanting to vegetate in it any longer. When something gets off track, you need to have the courage to say goodbye to it so you can focus on what gives life meaning.

Arkan suggests that it is necessary to break ties with your usual surroundings, say goodbye to things dear to your heart and go into voluntary exile, changing your lifestyle.

The Eight of Cups is always a voluntary decision to leave, but it can be accompanied by difficult emotions. It’s not easy to say goodbye to old attachments, because a person’s heart has become attached to them. At the same time, the fear of the unknown weighs heavily. In general, emotionally this card is very difficult. The unpredictability of the future is alarming, but this does not stop.

Inverted position

According to modern tarot readers, the reversed 8 of Cups indicates difficult path, difficult mental state and dissatisfaction. The emotions experienced do not allow one to break off relationships that have long outlived their usefulness, or leave an inert environment where it is impossible to develop and grow.

Sometimes the meaning of the 8 Tarot Cups is so ambiguous that it is difficult to correctly interpret the dropped lasso. For example, in an inverted position, the card may indicate that the departure happened too quickly, and there was no need to rush so much. Perhaps the person hastened to end the relationship and is now suffering because of his action.

The main meanings of the Eight of Cups in the Tarot, if it is in an inverted position:

  • choice worldly life, refusal of spirituality;
  • new love affair;
  • reluctance to move on;
  • satisfaction from a successfully completed task;
  • the black stripe will soon be replaced by a white one;
  • mediocre;
  • reluctance to part with the past;
  • correction, forgiveness.

The Reversed Eight of Cups often represents the refusal of a desired trip or a “journey to nowhere.” Perhaps a person cannot withstand any framework or restrictions, but at the same time he is used to going with the flow, feeling the hopelessness and meaninglessness of his own existence.

Psychological condition

If the layout is made on a person’s personal state, the card indicates determination, but lack of joy. Sometimes it denotes devastation, powerlessness, lethargy and fatigue, and sometimes it speaks of decisive action accompanied by deep sadness. In both cases, there is a feeling of despondency and joylessness, when you have to do everything against your will, stepping on your own throat. This can be compared to the sensations of an alcoholic sobering up after a drinking binge.

According to Crowley, the card means melancholy, idleness and laziness. She represents the hangover after a period of life in which there was much pleasure and indulgence. The man finally came to his senses and realized that this scenario had completely exhausted itself, and it was time to look for new ways. Sometimes the lasso denotes the grief of loss or the search for renewal deep within oneself.

8 of Cups may indicate a contemplative personality, who doesn’t let anyone get close to her, maintains a strict distance in communication. Of course, this behavior is due to the difficult past of a person who has had a difficult negative experience. From the outside, a person may seem timid, indecisive, shy and soft-bodied. But still, this is not the modesty characteristic of all beginners, but, most likely, old unhealed wounds that still bleed.

The water depicted on the map is simultaneously both a detergent and a “dropper” for a tormented soul. There is enough determination, a person is under the influence of a certain force leading him forward.

This call haunts you and forces you to change everything, leaving your usual places and breaking established connections. Internal excitement gives a lot of energy to move on. This is the lasso of travelers, wanderers and vagabonds.

The card means the courage to give up something that you could previously enjoy with pleasure. A person resorts to self-restraint completely voluntarily. By limiting himself, he thereby demonstrates inner strength and withdrawal into his own world.

In ancient commentaries, the ability to say goodbye is encrypted with the words:

  • about restraint;
  • modesty;
  • shyness;
  • chastity.

We are talking about the images of those people who left the world, showing their non-involvement in it and demonstrating their refusal of their share of the “pie at the celebration of life.” They did not want to give in to temptation. The choice is made in favor of the lonely path of the hermit.

Personal life

The meaning of the 8 of Cups tarot in relationships is usually negative. The map is really heavy, and no matter what scenarios it offers, the same meaning can be traced everywhere - the collapse of an unhappy union. The Arcanum often appears when a relationship is doomed to break and nothing can be done to save it. Tarot readers recommend taking it in personal life readings as a sign that it’s time to break up, because the relationship has long outlived its usefulness. There is no point in clinging to something that no longer exists. It is best to say goodbye by ending communication on a positive note.

It's time for something different, an eclipse symbolizes that the time has come to leave something familiar and good reluctantly. Perhaps this is a “third must go” situation. It is possible that a person cannot openly meet with his other half, and it is time to draw a line under the relationship with an unfree person.

The union usually falls apart even if it was much more intense than marital relations. Here again comes the meaning of leaving something wonderful behind. Sometimes separation is caused by dissatisfaction with one of the partners or the emergence of a feeling of alienation in the couple.

Eight of Cups can mean marriage, if a person has not dared to do this for a long time. From now on he forbids himself random connections and maintains decorum. The card denotes heavy, inert feelings. On the one hand, it expresses sadness over the lost connection, and on the other, it indicates the hopelessness of the relationship.

In a marriage, the lasso denotes dissatisfaction family relations, a certain powerlessness and incompleteness of success. Something very important and meaningful is missing for absolute happiness. In an inverted position, the Eight of Cups signals that a mistake has already been made, and now you need to realize it and decide what to do next. You should learn to appreciate what you have.

The most optimistic interpretation regarding personal relationships is difficulties that can be overcome with tact and patience. This is the same situation when two psychologically strong and self-sufficient individuals get used to each other.

If the card falls on a loved one in the layout, it may indicate a temporary cooling of the other half. It is worth waiting out the unfavorable period.

Professional situation

If the alignment is made to find out about the situation at work, the 8 of Cups indicates poor motivation, despondency, and stagnation in work matters. There is a difficult atmosphere in the workplace, big troubles are brewing, and work is difficult. It is necessary to leave the position; perhaps the situation is completely hopeless or the person has simply outgrown the job.

The card may also indicate bullying from aggressive colleagues, which continues day by day. The situation is especially difficult if 5 swords fall nearby: in this case, leaving is inevitable, and the sooner it is done, the better. It is possible that the difficulties are associated with a change in management.

You need to honestly admit to yourself that it’s time to leave a place where work does not bring the slightest satisfaction. You need to set new goals and change your life. Many authors interpret the card in a positive aspect, believing that it promises the implementation of plans without special effort, getting a new profession or a long-awaited academic leave. Be that as it may, it’s worth thinking about what doesn’t suit you this work, and not be afraid of changes if they are brewing.

Manifestations in combinations

It is also important to pay attention to which cards are placed nearby. The interpretation of the alignment depends on this. The combinations are interpreted as follows:

If such combinations appear during fortune telling, you definitely need to pay attention to them. Such cards do not appear next to each other just like that.

In general, Eight is the number of transformation. There is an opinion that the card describes the need to look for new incentives and get away from a stagnant situation that drags on like a swamp. Ascent to a new stage of development will be successful; the main thing is to find the strength within yourself and make a final decision, realizing the urgent need to escape the temptations of everyday life.

In the traditional Rider-White deck, the 8 of Cups signifies the beginning of a transitional path. If you study the map carefully, you can see a man leaving under the cover of night. In the Aquarius Tarot, the main character is a woman, with eight cups circling around her. She has a confused look, she looks into the distance and seems to be expecting something. This is an illusion that indicates that a person has everything for happiness. Now he needs to learn to see it.

Plot details

The classic plot of the arcana is a man leaving. Eight cups are drawn in the foreground of the card. They are neatly placed on top of each other. They symbolize giving up something important, the desire to leave it behind. The beginning of the path and its starting point is giving up something.

The man is dressed in red clothes. It is a symbol of power, action, energy. This color brings healing. He feels the pain of loss, but he is still filled with determination. Traveling will definitely do him good.

Attention:

The green grass around is the color of nature and life itself. This is the embodiment of the future.

Mountains on the lasso can mean not only obstacles, but also new peaks in life. Even if conquering them is not so easy, the result is worth the effort. The main character has to go through a thorny path. On the other hand, this new goal. He clearly understands that achievements will not be simple and easy. You will have to work hard and overcome.

Climbing a slope in itself can symbolize career growth.

The man has a staff in his hands. This is the personification of fortitude and power. This sign is a hidden reference to the suit of wands, which are the embodiment fire element. Therefore, despite all the fears and doubts, the character moves towards a new goal.

Moonlight represents inner world men. If you carefully study the drawing, you will notice that it combines two phases of the luminary: the crescent and the full moon. These are the hidden motives, fears and experiences of the main character.

General meaning of the Eight of Cups

Keywords:

  • Moving.
  • Parting.
  • Leave the past behind.
  • Sobering.
  • Letting go of unhelpful behavior.
  • Aversion from illusions.
  • Burning bridges.
  • Misfortune.
  • Move forward slowly.
  • Gap.
  • There's nothing left here.
  • Care.
  • As above, so below.
  • Abandonment.
  • Change is good.
  • Journey to rejuvenation.

The Eight of Cups is a farewell card. A person parts with his past and enters a transition period. His goals change and life period. The traditional meaning of the lasso is that previous plans are forgotten. What previously attracted and excited the querent is no longer interesting.

The questioner stops liking his favorite activity, it loses its attraction. A person stops living by this, because he understands that he is “eking out an existence.”

Usually what happens concerns work or love affairs. They drain a lot of emotional strength. The querent understands that he gives more than he receives, and this is very draining and exhausting.

The lasso may indicate farewell:

  • with old connections;
  • habits;
  • lifestyle;
  • sorrows.

A person is ready to take the difficult path to achieve the highest goal. To do this, he will have to overcome many obstacles. There is a change in thinking. The querent begins to understand that his current life does not suit him and it is time to exchange old worries for new ones. Despite the fact that during this period they are perceived in a negative way, in the future they will bring only positive changes.

All decisions regarding this map are made on a voluntary basis. However, they are difficult. The situation is perceived as hopeless. It is not for nothing that in old sources, the lasso is literally interpreted as “to go to a monastery.” The character humbly goes into the distance, leaving behind the cups of his joys and victories.

A change of values ​​occurs in the life of the questioner. Some cease to mean anything, while others become important. The man realized the inferiority of his life and it was time to change something. In many sources you can find such an interpretation as “the darkest time of the day is before dawn.” All you have to do is be patient a little and everything will work out.

It is important to understand that, unlike other cards of the suit, the Eight of Cups does not carry banishment. The person leaves of his own free will. And heaviness in the heart appears for two reasons: there is no clarity of the future and you have to part with familiar things.

Personal state

At the personal level, the arcan manifests itself in two ways. It can bring fatigue, emptiness, lethargy and an inability to pull yourself together. On the other hand, the card can describe a determined attitude.

In any case, the Eight of Cups is a state of crisis, filled with suffering and despondency.

The queren becomes depressed and does everything through force. Crowley will be punished for excessive celebrations. A kind of hangover. Going through pain, a person learns to live in a new way.

Arcanum can describe a person who keeps his distance when communicating with people. He was pushed to such behavior by past events, the pain from which had not yet subsided.

This is a card of renunciation of worldly pleasures. If previously the questioner could not pass by glasses of wine, now he voluntarily refuses them. This is a forced limitation of oneself.

The map indicates the following features:

  • life one day at a time;
  • practicality;
  • maintaining distance;
  • understanding social rituals.

In ancient sources there is such an interpretation as avoiding temptations. A person consciously refuses them and prefers hermithood. He has every chance of getting what he wants, but shyness and modesty can paralyze him. For example, if there is a project at work, the querent is afraid to take any steps and therefore risks missing it.

Arcana tip:

The past must be respected, but it's time to move on. We must leave the usual road, it has already expired. Life lessons can only be learned by giving up your usual and comfortable existence. It's time to let go of the old and open up to the new. You can't be modest, it's time to take luck by the tail.

Warning:

You can't run away from life, even though it seems like the most obvious option.

8 of Cups in love and relationships

In relationship matters, the Eight of Cups has many meanings. This is a difficult card and it is united by one scenario: the collapse of an alliance that was doomed from the beginning.

Attention:

If the question is whether it is worth trying to save the relationship, then the answer is clear: no. It's over, it's only going to get worse.

Most often, the lasso acts as an indicator of separation due to relocation or long-distance relationships. Sometimes this is an indicator that the extra one needs to go. For example, secret meetings can manifest themselves this way when one of the partners is married. And no matter how wonderful everything is, the decision will not be in favor of the mistress.

Sometimes it’s just the partners’ alienation and dissatisfaction.

Sometimes a map acts as an indicator of a forced decision. Where the querent says goodbye to a wild lifestyle and gets married. This is a decision out of a sense of duty, it has to be done. He is not particularly enthusiastic, but does everything with honor.

The Eight of Cups is a heavy lasso for marriage. In most cases, it predicts his hopelessness. This is disappointment in the family, in the new way of life.

But the card also has an optimistic meaning. It can symbolize getting used to each other, a time of getting used to. You just need to get through this period and everything will be fine.

When dealing with a partner’s feelings, the lasso indicates a cooling-off period. Not the best best time to solve love issues. This applies to single people.


Work issues

Not the most favorable card in the professional sphere. A person is depressed and tormented by a lack of motivation. There is a non-working mood and a difficult atmosphere in the team. There is complete stagnation in business and a feeling of quagmire.

Attention:

The querent does everything through his strength and does not want to change anything. On the other hand, he comes to the realization that his current position is not suitable for him, he has outgrown it and is ready to move on. He needs to change something in his life, even if he doesn’t have the strength to do it.

In some scenarios, it is an indicator of bullying, intrigue, and gossip. The team resembles a ball of snakes that grapple and bite each other. They are trying to squeeze a competitor out of business and force him to resign. Sometimes it’s a change of leadership and the associated wars.

The questioner must understand that his hopes were not justified and it’s time to part with them. It's time to find new goals and set out to achieve them. The enterprise turned out to be hopeless, even despite all the expected profits.

In some situations, the querent needs to understand that the issue he is discussing is unimportant. In the course of action, its low value will be revealed and the person will have the opportunity to switch to other problems.

Some tarot readers prefer to interpret the Eight of Cups as a positive omen. The questioner will achieve what he wants. Colleagues, friends and relatives will help him with this.

The lasso indicates a change of profession or activity.

But most often the card means leaving work. This is not always a negative event. Sometimes it is associated with age, work, and worries about family. A person experiences pain due to a forced separation from his usual way of life, but at the same time he is worried about the lack of a clear idea of ​​​​the future.

IN financial matters the card also portends farewell to expensive real estate or an unprofitable enterprise. They may be expensive in memory but have zero profit. Therefore, a person sells them from his hands.

Financially, there is a crisis, grasping at past remnants of a luxurious lifestyle.

Reversed position

Key phrases:

  • Happiness.
  • Joy.
  • A loss.
  • You don't know which path to choose.
  • It's impossible to get out of a bad situation.


IN reverse position the card loses its negative manifestations. Tarot readers interpret the card as a harbinger of success, joy, and happiness. This concerns an event that has already happened or will only happen.

The querent will have every chance of receiving a gift or he will give it to someone himself. Moreover, we are not talking about trinkets, but about serious things. In this position, the lasso acquires the desire not to simple success, but associated with material goods.

Attention:

For example, he needs a lot of money for charity.

Finding new sphere activities. In love, feelings for a new partner. Despite the fact that the emotional intensity from the old ones has not yet passed completely, they are more than received by the new person.

However, some tarot readers believe that not everything is so smooth. The Eight of Cups blocks energy and does not allow you to move on. Unsatisfied desires and emotions prevent a person from moving.

To some extent, this is an indicator that the querent made a mistake and left something that should not have been left. He did not appreciate the opportunities given to him.

The questioner prefers to go with the flow and not think about anything. But this does not bring him relief, only a loss of strength and a feeling of hopelessness.

Card combinations


For correct interpretation All cards are important in the layout. So if the Jester falls in the neighborhood, then it strengthens the desire of the 8 of Cups to move and change place of residence. Next to the Magician, a person develops a new way of thinking.

But the neighborhood with the Priestess is not so rosy. An effort bad habits and a passionate desire for base pleasures.

Next to the Priest, the lasso enhances the aspect of thinking about our lives, thinking about who we are and where we are. According to these two cards, a person is in search of himself and the meaning of life.

The Empress is the desire to strive for your dreams. She gives the questioner all the strength to do this. The power in the tarot suggests turning your gaze inward and engaging in self-improvement.

The hermit strengthens the desire to renounce everything worldly and lead an ascetic lifestyle. He is voluntarily ready to limit himself. When adjacent to the Hanged Man, the need arises for refusal or sacrifice for the benefit of loved ones.

But next to the Devil, the querent will have a hard time. He will be tempted, teased by worldly weaknesses (lust, drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc.).

Combinations with the suit of cups do not bode well. At 2, non-reciprocal feelings pass through, and next to a 4, the questioner runs the risk of being rejected. Next to the five, he will be disappointed in the relationship. The Ace of Cups is a relatively neutral card, since it only conveys the desire to find love. The number nine indicates the search for happiness.

Everything is a little different with the suit of wands. The king promises a meeting with influential people, which will help on the path of finding your “I”. The Queen indicates the appearance of a friend who will help with business. Next to the knight, a situation arises when a person challenges himself and strives to win.

The Ace of Wands is a favorable card, as it gives a chance to gain new love or work. Dreams of travel and planning for the future pass through the deuce. However, the presence of 5 wands in the layout promises conflicts and stress. Eight indicates that they will concern close people and relatives. The appearance of seven is most favorable, as it predicts overcoming all obstacles. You should not be afraid of trials, as they promise happiness in the future.

Eight of Cups and Obstacles

The 8 of Cups can cause abandonment issues, which should be examined carefully as they may hinder new relationships. Perhaps when you were a child, your parents instilled in you a program that you were not good enough or that you had fears related to separation.

You have lost faith in human compassion. The suit of cups reminds us that all is not lost. Don't lose faith in people.

As obstacles, the 8 of Cups says that you spend too much time refusing to see goodness and goodness in your life.

You may have great friends and a wonderful family, but you don't appreciate it and want better. You cannot see the joy that people have already given you.

In a romantic context, the card shows a person who is running away from a relationship because of their fears.

Today our conversation will be very interesting - we have come to the 8 of Cups of the Tarot, the meaning of which sometimes causes bewilderment among novice interpreters. It would seem that what is so difficult about this map? In fact, all the difficulties arise due to several variations in the interpretation of this numerical Arcana, so sometimes it is not immediately clear in what key it should be read in the layout.

General description of the card, plot and meaning in the layout

In the image of the card in the most popular Rider-Waite deck, we see a man who, at night, under the glow of the moon, walks away from the cups standing in the foreground. A river flows from the foreground to the background, and in the distance one can see forested hills, which, apparently, is what our wanderer is striving for. What is this? Escape or voluntary departure? Why leave if the cups are completely intact and not broken, as in the Five of Cups? It is through these apparent contradictions that the meaning of the 8 Cups Tarot card is revealed. On the one hand, this is a voluntary departure from what a person has (full cups), submission to fate, and on the other hand, this is lethargy, despondency, idleness, which can be revealed as “it seems like everything is there, but everything is tired, tired , so we need to hit the road.” The second name of the card is the Lord of Lost Success or the Lord of Rejected Prosperity.

Key words and ideas of the card in the layout

Key phrases that reflect the symbolic field of the Arcana always help to understand the map more deeply. So, the meaning of the Eight of Cups Tarot may well be:

  • Voluntary leaving or giving up something
  • Global review of your own life
  • Forgetting previous plans
  • Parting with current attachments, people, previous way of life

Meaning of the card in the upright position

According to tradition, the Eight Cups of Tarot has the following meaning: it is an awareness of the incorrectness of one’s current way of life and a departure from everything that a person has attached his heart to. This is a rather painful process, although voluntary. The interpretation of the Arcana can be described in a simple way life situation: a person leads a rather idle lifestyle, constantly attends some parties, entertainment events, meets with friends, but at one fine moment comes to the conclusion that all this is a road to nowhere. And then he deletes the phone numbers of all his current friends, moves to another address, changes his job or hobby, stops drinking alcohol, in a word - parting with what was cozy and familiar to him. The night and eclipse in the picture seem to emphasize that the state lived under this card is dark time souls.

Another mantic meaning of the 8 Cups of the Tarot is a kind of conscious choice, giving up one thing for the sake of something else. In this case, in a literal sense, it can be anything: giving up a relationship for the sake of a career, or vice versa, giving up an old company for the sake of searching true meaning life, leaving everyday life for a new hobby. The most important thing is that a person leaves his home voluntarily, simply because he himself decided so. No one is forcing him to do this; no upsets or tragedies, as in the Five of Cups, happen here. There just comes a time when you need to gather your strength and move on, freeing yourself from past attachments that keep a person in place.

The meaning of the card in an inverted position

The meaning of the reversed Eight of Cups Tarot is more pessimistic. In the old days this card had quite positive interpretation, but modern tarot readers still prefer to interpret the Arcanum as the impossibility of leaving what needs to be left, or vice versa - as a hasty departure from what should not have been left, as an incorrect prioritization. If, under the influence of a direct card, a person is clearly moving towards a bright future, although at first it is very difficult for him to part with the past, then under the reverse card he either does not appreciate what has been given to him, so he leaves it to the mercy of fate, or does not leave at all, realizing that he does not will be able to bear this separation.

The meaning of the card in layouts for love and relationships

It is incredibly interesting to analyze the meaning of the Eight of Cups Tarot in relationships, since the card is sometimes played from a very unexpected side. Let's do this.

Straight position

So, the direct 8 of Cups Tarot meaning in a relationship can take on quite different meanings, but at the same time its essence always remains difficult. On the one hand, it can act as a sign that it is better to end the relationship; there is no point in staying together. On the other hand, it sometimes involves moments such as the separation of people who love each other due to a move, a change of place of residence, or a sudden change in the interests of one of the partners.

Often the card appears in situations of a love triangle, when one of the spouses, or vice versa, a lover or mistress is forced to leave, admit that the love affair must end. The meaning of the Eight of Cups Tarot in love can change depending on the surrounding cards, so the tarot reader needs to be very careful when interpreting it. So, when fortune telling for the same love triangle, Arkan can report that a man has decided to leave his wife or, on the contrary, has decided to break up with his mistress, with whom he has maintained a relationship for more than one year. Absolutely the same can be said about a woman: perhaps this is the voluntary departure of a mistress who realized that her chosen one will never leave his legal wife. In a word, there are many variations of reading the Arcana!

But the Eight of Cups will not always be interpreted as leaving. Sometimes it’s just a desire for such a departure due to a relationship crisis, being stuck in one place, disappointment, longing for the past, a feeling that something is missing.

Inverted position

The reverse 8 of Cups Tarot meaning in a relationship usually takes on the following: it is a conscious desire to leave, which does not happen at the last moment, or leaving behind something that is not what should be. For example, a man leaves his mistress and returns to his wife, although the love between them has passed a long time ago, or, on the contrary, he really wants to leave the family, but at the last moment decides to stay. Arkan can also show a crisis in relationships, an awareness that they have reached a dead end, but at the same time the inability to gain strength to change something.

The meaning of the 8 of Cups in matters of health

What could be the meaning of the Eight of Cups Tarot in health? At first, it can be difficult to understand how one can connect the night care of the man in the Arcana drawing with the area of ​​a person’s well-being.

Straight position

A direct card will clearly indicate that the person is very tired and needs rest. He needs to break up with him for a while normal life to gain strength and recover. Another meaning of the Arcana is insomnia, sleepwalking, various shapes“escaping reality” through alcohol, drugs, excess food, or even collecting random sexual encounters.

Inverted position

A reverse card will describe the same thing as a direct one, but at the same time it will emphasize the impossibility of resting or stopping an unhealthy lifestyle.

The meaning of the card in layouts for psychological state and personality analysis

Let's understand the possible meanings of the Eight of Cups of the Tarot if we are faced with the task of describing a person and what is going on in his soul. It will be a little difficult, but we can do it.

Straight position

Almost always, a direct card will characterize a person who tries to keep his distance from the people around him in everything. This cannot be said that this will necessarily be an unsociable type, rather, just a person who is much more comfortable alone with himself than in the company of someone else. Sometimes this map is used by avid travelers and vagabonds.

The psychological aspect of the Arcanum in most cases reports a state of quiet depression, when a person does not feel joy from life and is tired of everything. However, sometimes the 8 of Cups may show a desire to take one’s own life, but in order to make such a diagnosis, you need to carefully study all the adjacent cards and the entire layout.

Inverted position

The reverse card can be used to describe a person who is not happy communicating with others, but at the same time he is unable to completely disengage from meeting people. On a psychological level, Arkan in some cases speaks of a failed suicide attempt or thoughts of suicide that were not destined to become a reality. For example, a person changed his mind at the last moment.

The meaning of the card when fortune telling about finances and work

Let us describe the meaning of the Eight of Cups Tarot in work. What does this far from joyful numerical Arcana bring us?

Straight position

A tense atmosphere in the work team, a desire to quit or move to another job, lack of motivation, actions that are carried out contrary to a person’s wishes, the need to say goodbye to current activities, sometimes - academic leave or going on maternity leave. If we are talking about finances - a crisis, the end of a period of abundance, the beginning of a new business that has not yet brought such financial success, like the previous lesson.

Inverted position

Often under this card there is bullying of a person in a team, when he seems to not want to leave, but circumstances push him to do so. Sometimes - leaving a position, which was a mistake. On the financial plane - an attempt to cling to something that brings material income, but does not bring moral satisfaction.

We cannot ignore the topic of combining the card in question with others. We start, as usual, with the Trumps - the Major Arcana of the Tarot deck.

  • : Craving for wandering, lack of any attachments
  • : The meaning of the 8 Tarot Cups in combination with the Magician is the conscious formation of one’s own life path
  • : Seek true knowledge, follow the voice of intuition
  • : Leave in search of a woman
  • : Search new job
  • : Search for the meaning of life, take the path spiritual development
  • : Looking for new love
  • Chariot: Long trip, journey
  • : Self improvement
  • : To withdraw from the world, for example to a monastery or pilgrimage
  • : Change your residential address
  • : Search for truth
  • Hanged Man: Sacrifice yourself, your desires
  • Death: Parting with the Past
  • Moderation: Trying to find a “golden mean”
  • Devil: Go to great lengths, take a slippery slope
  • Tower: Path of Self-Destruction
  • Star: Pursue your dreams
  • Moon: Go into the unknown
  • Sun: Finding your true calling
  • Court: Seize the opportunity
  • World: Go far

The meaning of the 8 of Cups when combined with the Minor Arcana

Our article will be incomplete if we do not reflect in it the possible interpretations of the card if it happens to be adjacent to the Minor Arcana.

With the suit of Staves

  • : Look for yourself
  • : Decide on plans for life
  • : Go on a business trip
  • : Come back home
  • : Clarification of relationships before leaving
  • : The meaning of the Eight of Cups Tarot with the Six of Wands is to leave in the company of like-minded people
  • Seven: Leave, defending your point of view
  • Eight: Run away from home
  • Nine: The Final Test
  • Ten: Be at your best
  • : Go away to study or go in search of inspiration
  • : Spontaneous departure
  • : Leave for a woman
  • King: Go to a significant person

With the suit of Cups

  • : Search for solace and love
  • : Seek reciprocity
  • : Go on a visit
  • : Decline invitation
  • : A path full of disappointments
  • : Restore old connections
  • : Hallucinations, alcoholic, drug delirium
  • Nine: The Search for Happiness
  • Ten: Seek harmony in relationships
  • Page: Agree to the invitation

Straight position

The Eight of Cups is despondency, stagnation, depression. This Arcanum clearly indicates the need for change, that current situation things are not happy at all. If a person gets such a card in a reading, he probably feels like he’s broke.

The Eight of Cups suggests: farewell to the past has begun, but the person does not seem to understand this yet. The best interpretation Arcana – parting with boring and not the best habits, old sorrow, meaningless connections.

Together with the Chariot, the Eight of Wands speaks of the need to change your plans, and with the Wheel of Fortune - that you may have to change your place of residence.

Inverted position

In the case of the inverted Eight of Cups, the tarot reader should immediately think about gifts, very pleasant expected events, about the desire to help someone. This Arcanum is not devoid of material aspirations, but any of them is somehow “tied” to a high goal - charity, the desire to give someone a pleasant surprise, etc. However, the Eight of Cups inverted is often associated with losses.

If the inverted Eight of Cups is paired with the Chariot, then this means that changes will inevitably arise in already approved and unconditional plans. In combination with the Sun, such a card indicates that good deeds will be done by a modest person who does not strive for publicity.

Love and relationships

Straight position

For personal life, the Eight of Cups is interpreted as a lack of determination to decide something, as dying feelings, as the hopelessness of relationships. In essence, this Arcanum signifies change. But the problem is that these changes are not associated with positive dynamics and acquisition (love, new pleasant sensations, etc.), but with the loss of something significant in life.

At the event level, such an Eight symbolizes separation for reasons beyond a person’s control (moving, long business trip, etc.)

In addition, the Eight of Cups is the emergence of new relationships, which occurs without enthusiastic hopes and sinking hearts, but simply because the way it was before is no longer possible.

With the Jester, the Eight of Cups means that a person is not able to focus on the same relationships for a long time and is constantly looking for novelty. And together with the Hermit, this Arcanum indicates serious, but so far unsuccessful searches.

Inverted position

The Reversed Eight of Cups characterizes giving up something pleasant for the sake of a partner. For example, a person was planning to go on a trip, but is forced to postpone it or completely forget about it.

In addition, Arkan points out the futility of the chosen course of action. In this case, we are talking about a path to nowhere, about a relationship that has no future.

Always pay attention when in relationship readings the reversed Eight of Cups appears with the Hermit or the Devil. The first of the combinations speaks of a person’s inability to establish harmonious relationships, about an internal barrier that dooms one to loneliness. The second is that bad habits play a fatal role in a person’s personal life.

Career

Straight position

In this context, the Eight of Cups denotes stagnation in business, unfulfilled expectations, and an incorrect approach to leadership responsibilities. In addition, such an Arcanum also means a difficult atmosphere in the work team or a lack of energy.

If the card characterizes a person, then this should be understood as the fact that he has no interest in his activities and no motivation to do something well.

In some cases, the Eight of Cups can be interpreted as the fact that what is planned has absolutely no future in a person’s life, that it has no meaning for him.

With the Eight of Wands, this Arcanum means that the current business (work, project, etc.) already has one “foot” in the past, with the Magician - that someone is deliberately pushing a person to part with his business, with the Chariot - a refusal to do so , what is still being planned, is being planned.

Inverted position

Inverted, the Eight of Cups symbolizes the difficulties that a person encounters on the way to his goal, when performing his work duties, etc. It may mean that you will have to pay off debts unexpectedly quickly (or at the most inopportune moment).

The other side of this card is a failed business trip or business trip. But in a certain context, such an Eight can speak of marking time, aimlessness of efforts.

In combination with Strength, such an Arcanum is interpreted as an unwillingness to fight strong obstacles, and with the Hermit - as an indication that it is time to stop sacrificing one’s interests.

Don't leave anything to chance. And don't try to just go with the flow of life. Be sure to try to thoroughly understand each ambiguous situation. This is for you the only way avoid fatal mistakes and troubles.



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