Card of the week: 8 of Cups

“Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.” ~ Sylvia Plath

One of the positive aspects from the energy of the 3 of Swords is the ability to confront the demon sitting on the precipice between the void and the light. After we have engaged and acknowledged this outline, this hyperbolic despair, we can start to understand which way he is going to lean. This allows us to see understand how tall the obstacle is, and what strength we will need to move up or away. This is the 8 of Cups.

The 8 of cups speaks to the emotional aftermath, the chronic battle between the mind and the heart. There is a change in emotions with this card. Much like the previous energies, there is something wrong that must be addressed. The 8 of Cups takes this farther. We must accept now what is no longer working or helping us. We must strengthen the persistence to find our singular equation.

This energy, on the surface, speaks to the flight instinct. It could be this impulse, which goes into the shadow sense of this card. But the energy goes much deeper than that. It is not just the need to run, and leave no trace of ourselves for the dark hunter close behind. It is the need to find closure even though the door is made of glass. We can only grow if we consciously understand what link we are breaking and why.

The light in this card is the unseen veil of freedom. The freedom either from, or for something else. When we remove ourselves from emotions withering down to dust, we are free to drink from a new stream, settle in a new place, and build a new hearth to house our fires. It may seem like we are lost, but we are now in a space where we can leave, and the offender cannot follow.

There may be some stigma in this. Sometimes it feels like we are destined, by ourselves or others, to trudge and pain ourselves into a certain and similar future. In this space, we must hold our hearts in a cramped space, away from the changing scenery. If we are told to walk when we have wings, we must weigh our small spirits against this.

This balancing act can bring in the shadow 8 of Cups. One trauma or pain that is intolerable does not mean that all are. To be human we will face disappointments and struggles. We cannot turn away from them all. The 8 of cups serves as a reminder that we must not forget the battles that we have won, or have yet to conquer. We cannot run from every obstacle because we literally will have no where to go.

For this week, we have to be cognizant of the climbs we face, and the ones we don’t. We owe it to ourselves to remove situations and people that will never be on our side. But we must not trivialize the ones that are by consistent absence. Carry all the swords that you are willing to fall on, leave the ones you wouldn’t. Drink from the cups that hold your reflection, and move away from those that shatter in your hands.

 

**Thank you for reading. Please let me know how this card makes an impact in your life. If you would like a personal tarot card reading, please email me at teaandtombstones@gmail.com. Follow if you like what you read, and stay wild.**