Eight of Cups
Eight of Cups, minor arcana. walking away, disillusion, seeking more, leaving.
A cloaked figure with a staff walks away from eight stacked cups toward a mountain at night. He has chosen to leave something that no longer satisfies.
Upright
- walking away
- disillusion
- seeking more
- leaving
A cloaked figure with a staff walks away from eight stacked cups toward a mountain at night. He has chosen to leave something that no longer satisfies.
Reversed
- aimless drifting
- fear of leaving
- avoidance
- returning
Staying put in spite of unhappiness, or leaving with no direction. Reversed, the card asks whether the move is a search or an escape.
Not every reader uses reversals. Many treat a reversed card as the same theme, blocked, delayed or turned inward.
Astrology and numerology
In the Golden Dawn scheme that most modern decks follow, each numbered minor card from two to ten is given a planet in a sign. For Eight of Cups it is Saturn in Pisces. The suit's element, water, comes from Cups.
Its number reduces to 8, which numerology associates with power, authority, material success. See every card that reduces to 8.
Yes or no
In yes or no tarot, Eight of Cups counts as a no when upright, and as a yes when reversed. This follows a common convention and not a rule from the deck's makers.
Tarot is a tradition of symbolism. This page says what readers traditionally associate with the card. It does not predict anything and it is not advice.