Eight of Cups Tarot Card Meanings

Eight of Cups Upright Meaning

The Eight of this suit is often used to signify a disappointment, emotional setback, betrayal or injury to the heart. Some Tarot decks illustrate this principle showing a young woman who has just been molested and then cast aside by a stranger passing through her village.

His heartless act has left her vulnerable, with potentially drastic consequences. This is a difficult card, but a realistic one, insofar as it warns against misplaced trust and unguarded vulnerability.

Eight of Cups Reversed Meaning

The Eight of Cups reversed suggests that you may have experienced a terrible event, yet you have somehow not allowed it to ruin your life. You don't indulge in the kind of emotional agony this card generally represents, which may be a sign that you are more resilient than others; you bounce back from setbacks.

Under the circumstances you are doing fine. You are learning to transform disappointments into a will to change. Your resilience converts adversity into positive accomplishment.

Eight of Cups Advice Position

With the Eight of Cups in this position, look inside and recognize the part of you that still nurses an old grudge from a past injury or trauma. For the most part, your forward-looking self has gotten up and moved along. You are getting on with your life. There may still a part of you, however, that holds out and resists the healing. Are you nursing old wounds from painful losses of faith and trust? If so, now may be a good time to scrutinize your current motives.

See if you are still being influenced by the part of yourself that cuts short your enthusiastic, optimistic impulses. Do not deny this pessimistic tendency. Failing to recognize the truth only causes repression that flares up in another part of our psyche. Instead, seek to understand and accept the hesitation and the fear you may feel, and come to terms with them. Then you can put some old emotions in their rightful place--out of the way.

Eight of Cups Love Position

When the Eight of Cups is in this position, you may feel as if you have been exposed or violated. Something that was private, tender and vulnerable has been unveiled. You must decide whether to experience this as an episode of victimization or as the unveiling of some aspect of your nature that adversity helps you see -- perhaps for the first time.

Sometimes this card represents an imbalance that must reveal itself as dysfunctional before intervention can take place. Apparently you are strong enough to gain greater strength and wisdom from this challenging relationship experience. Don't sink into self-pity. It's not easy to pick yourself up, process the experience and come through it stronger and wiser than before -- but you can do it.

Eight of Cups Career Position

When the Eight of Cups is in this position, you have become aware of a violation that was supposed to have remained secret. A moral decision is now in your hands. Should you keep the secret or blow the whistle, risking possible repercussions for yourself and the injured party?

Sometimes you can do something to ease this situation. At other times, however, you cannot. It's a judgment call. Remember that it is appropriate to help your coworker see where his or her strengths lie, even in this unbalanced situation. If you feel, despite the workplace problems, that it's worth the effort to continue there, you might ask yourself, how can I lead coworkers to embrace helping one another? With strength and wisdom you may encourage positive change in your work environment.

Eight of Cups in a Yes or No Card Reading

The Eight of Cups is a card of moving on. If you're looking for simple Yes or No guidance and receive the Eight of Cups, the answer is YES. Make the harder choice and let go of whatever's keeping you stuck.