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The 8 of Cups

The Eight of Cups Minor Arcana card is one of letting go and moving on. It represents the acknowledgment that something we were once emotionally invested is no longer satisfying a need, and it is time to go off in search of what is missing in our life.

When it shows up for us in a reading we may experience bittersweet emotions, on the one hand a sadness that something is coming to an end, on the other a knowing that it is time to move on.

Read on for more significations of the 8 of Cups, including its Astrological and Numerological correspondences, what it means in a reversed position and in a career, love, or general reading:

The 8 of Cups Tarot Card Meaning

An upright Eight of Cups card can typically show up for us when there is something we just know deep down is no longer working, or that we can just feel something is missing— we may not know what exactly, but we can feel a yearning to go out and find it.

After the spiritual introspection and questioning of the Seven where we came to terms with our true values and what is really important to us, in that process we may have realised that something is no longer aligned for us anymore.

In the Seven we were distracted and pulled in many different directions by temptation, perhaps it is then that we realised we had become a shadow of ourselves and it was time to realign with what really mattered.

Here in the Eight we are now going off in search of this missing thing, our quest for meaning.

Eight of Cups Tarot Card Description

In the Pamela Colman Smith rendition, and most other Tarot decks in creation based off of it, we can see a cloaked person setting off in dead of night, surrounded by perilous mountains, going in search of the missing cup.

In the foreground we can see eight cups neatly stacked and all lined up with a space for one that is seemingly missing. It is this cup that we are searching. It is as yet unknown, all we know is that the ones we currently have no longer satiate us.

To the outside world we may look crazy for leaving behind eight perfectly good cups, but we know that we must find the one to complete the whole (and in fact, we will be rewarded for it in the Nine)!

The Moon in the sky appears to be a Lunar Eclipse (or potentially even a Solar Eclipse), an alignment of the Sun and Moon (along the Nodes). Eclipses typically denote times of major change, endings, and new beginnings, their energy can feel unstable or chaotic but big breakthroughs are possible because of them.

We can see that the figure is dressed in red, a colour of power, and they have a staff to assist their quest. But the overall colour is muted, sombre greys. In the dark of night it can be hard to see clearly, we may feel afraid, but we can trust that the Sun always rises eventually. Similarly, if it is a Solar Eclipse, while the blocking of the Sun may seem unnatural or unnerving, it passes.

In the Thoth Tarot deck, this card is called Indolence which is quite a different meaning! Here it is more an implication that it is due to abandonment or neglect that our cups have soured.

The overall colour of the card here is much darker, they are all chipped, and only two are pouring into another two, the flow stopping there.

In this, sometimes we can see how the force of inertia can lead to stagnation, and that we must keep changing and moving forward in order to grow and fluorish.

Numerology of the Eight of Cups

Numerologically the number 8 can be related to manifestation, abundance, and change. Visually, eight is a lemniscate turned upright, infinity connecting as above so below, bringing spirit down into matter.

This also connects it to the Major Arcana card Strength, a reminder of the enormous feats of inner strength it takes to move on from something that is no longer working (that once was)!

Astrology of the Eight of Cups

Astrologically this is a Saturn in Pisces card. Saturn in Pisces is an odd pairing because it is the Planet of reality, walls, and boundaries in the Sign of fantasy, and boundarylessness. Saturn in Pisces can feel illusory or confusing, like we don’t know what’s real and what’s not anymore (hello rise of AI during its 2023-2025 transit)!

With this, we can be reminded that it takes hard work, dedication, and discipline (Saturn) to build a dream (Pisces). It may feel challenging but we must also be active participants in our desires.

Eight of Cups Upright Meanings

Generally, the Eight of Cups upright meaning can include letting go, moving on, a sense of something missing, bittersweetness, releasing something, searching for something new, abandonment issues.

Reversed Eight of Cups Meaning

The Eight of Cups reversed can be a message to not resist letting things go that are past their due by date. It can also represent a coming out of this phase of searching and yearning, an indicator that you are getting closer to that missing cup.

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Eight of Cups in a Relationship Reading

As with any Tarot card, the actual significations of the Eight of Cups in love Tarot readings will depend on the situation at hand, the question asked, the position in the spread it has fallen in, the cards surrounding it, and your own intuition.

Overall, the Eight of Cups here can be a message to openly and honestly acknowledge what’s not working in your relationship anymore, or an admission that something has simply run its course. It can represent a letting go of a habit, way of being, or even the relationships itself if necessary.

Eight of Cups in a Career Reading

Again, the nature of the Eight of Cups in a career Tarot card reading will depend on the context, but in general it can represent acknowledging that something feels like its missing in your career or business, that something that was once working no longer is. It can be a message to go off in search of that missing shiny cup that does satiate a professional hole. Don’t sacrifice happiness for financial security.

So those are some Eight of Cups Tarot card meanings, I hope they’re insightful for you! Let me know in the comments section below if you have anything else to add or any questions.

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