top of page
8 of Cups
The number 8 represents a vertical perfection. It speaks to us of both fullness and emptiness.
With the cups, the eight aspires to achieve a perfect balance of our feelings. Indeed, these vessels are meant to be filled with a continuous flow so that once full, their contents can overflow harmoniously... without depleting us.
On the Eight of Cups, the plant structure appears to differentiate between elements. Four cups are clearly surrounded with care, while the other four, at the edges of the card, seem isolated or even excluded. Perhaps they are simply stable, autonomous, and disengaged... Could the plant then be a metaphor for our emotions? Do they divide to better rule?
At the center, a blue flower imbued with active and receptive energy spins from its core: a red bud symbolizing our vivid animal consciousness. Simultaneously a svastika and a mandala, this floral wheel focuses our attention on its meditative and sacred function. For Tibetan Buddhists, it represents the Dharma: the law, the path, the ideal. Its rotation is a pulsation, oscillating between the heart and its periphery. Its centrifugal and centripetal alternation creates the balance of our dualities. Like Buddha and his disciple Zhu Bajie, we can be enlightened and compassionate... or insatiable and envious.
Based on "Seated Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara," China, 11th century.
Synthesis
Type
Family
Element
Consciousness
Numerology
Phase
Minor
Cups
Emotions
8
Culmination
The plusses
Interpretation
The lessers
#Emotional Balance
#Fulfilling Relationships
#Search for Meaning
#Altruistic Commitment
#Relational Harmony
#Satisfaction of Emotional Needs
#Altruism
#Emotional Withdrawal
#Reintroduction of Harmony
The Eight of Cups reveals a paroxysmal state in the emotional and relational spheres.
In its positive aspect, this card reflects the ultimate balance of an emotionally fulfilled being. It evokes a life of emotional and sentimental fulfillment, happy and thriving relationships... in a word: happiness. From this perspective, the individual can dedicate themselves to the pursuit of meaning. The Eight of Cups may then signal a sincere interest in a charitable project, a humanitarian mission, or a societal commitment. It indicates that we are ready to dedicate ourselves to others.
However, the shadow side of the Eight of Cups presents a completely different aspect. Here, detachment stems from an insatiable appetite. It leads to intentional and malicious emotional abuses, inflicted and experienced... sometimes even consented to. The abusive Eight of Cups transforms into an emotional vampire. It feeds on the dependencies it creates and deliberately maintains in a vicious, parasitic, or self-destructive cycle. This card warns us against the dangers of yielding power to our emotions, highlighting their potential for irresponsibility.
In the context of a reading, the Eight of Cups can indicate a conflict between satisfying our selfish emotional needs and our altruistic aspirations. It invites us to withdraw from emotional turmoil to find a deeper meaning in our life and relationships. It implies the possibility of leaving behind certain emotions or relationships that no longer serve us, to reintroduce harmony and reciprocity.
#Insatiable Detachment
#Emotional Abuse
#Emotional Vampire
#Unhealthy Dependencies
#Vicious Cycle
#Emotional Inconsistency
#Selfish Need Satisfaction
#Emotional Conflict
#Scruffiness
Families
Pentacles
Pentacles
Cups
Wands
Wands
Swords
Swords
Majors
Majors
bottom of page