Weekly Tarot Pull: The Eight of Cups

You’d think we are still in Pisces season with all the cups we’ve been getting in our random tarot pulls lately (‘cos Pisces is a water sign, and cups are associated with water, and…see what I did there? Yeah; it’s lame. Fine.)

This week’s random pull is the Eight of Cups!

Common keywords associated with this card in its upright position are disappointment, abandonment, withdrawal, and inner journeys.

In its reverse position, some common terms associated with the card are avoidance, escapism, indecision, aimless drifting, and giving up.

For additional detailed information on the card, see Biddy Tarot’s write-up here. 

This is one of those cards that carries a certain melancholic air no matter how it shows up in your spread…mostly, anyways. The Eight of Cups is a card that comes when you need to sit with yourself and really tune in. On the one hand, you could be alone or withdrawn from the world around you. In the other orientation, you’re trying to escape from the situation or giving up altogether.

Since Cups are specifically related to emotions, relationships and creativity, it’s almost certainly a sign you need to evaluate what is going on within and without your state of being. It’s a card that challenges you to assess and decide…do you stay or do you go? Do you confront the pain you’re experiencing, or do you continue to run from it?

There was a certain point in my life where I pulled the Eight of Cups on a routine basis. I knew exactly what it was referring to at the time, and I kind of hated the fact the cards were calling me out on it. I was in a bad spot with a mountain of issues that needed to be sorted out, but I’d been ignoring them for so long, it seemed impossible to solve the puzzle.

After a while, however, the card became almost comforting— a gentle reminder to assess what no longer serves its purpose or what should be changed for your own wellbeing. What do you need to leave behind in order to continue your journey?

This week, I chose three versions of the Eight of Cups from a trio of very different decks to take a broad look at the card in its various permutations.

Out of the three versions I chose, the Star Spinner Tarot’s Eight of Cups is most reminiscent of the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith deck— and there’s little about the Star Spinner Tarot deck that is ever traditional. In the RWS version, a man pauses his journey amidst the mountain pass to reflect on what’s standing in his way.

In the Star Spinner version, a girl atop a boulder in the ocean (inspired by Andersen’s The Little Mermaid) replaces the mountain traveler. A castle looms on the hill beyond as she contemplates the situation around her in the night. I love this version of the Eight of Cups. The expression on the girl’s face so accurately depicts longing and confusion— the disorienting struggle that comes with trying to sort yourself out. 

The Rackham deck takes it one step further. Here, a woman is being pulled downward into the sea by a group along the ocean floor. It’s a more aggressive message: you better figure this out fast because you’re drowning. It’s a gorgeous image and despite being a more active version of the Eight of Cups, it still conveys the same ache I pick up with the Star Spinner version as well as more traditional representations.

However, the Eight of Cups in Madam Clara’s 5-cent Tarot puts an unorthodox spin on the card. As with all the cards in the 5-cent Tarot, the image is in the vein of 19th century circus or fair art using non-human animals and insects. Here, a crab is ducking into a teacup to hide…but still keeps stirring the tea elsewhere. It hasn’t decided what it needs to do or where it should go. It can’t commit to staying or leaving.

While this version doesn’t carry the heaviness of the Eight of Cups in the Star Spinner and Rackham decks, the same message comes through: figure it out, friend.

So, if this card pops up in your own creative readings, plug into that challenge and lean into the emotions that come with deep reflection and deciding what to leave behind.

As for me, the Eight of Cups was part of the journey that led me to this website and pursuing my craft with my whole heart. While I left behind a lot of baggage in the ‘mountain pass,’ it opened the door to clarity and shined a light on the path forward. I highly recommend sitting with the Eight of Cups when it comes around. You never know what you’ll find when you leave the past behind. 

As always, please feel free to tell me your thoughts and share any stories you have of using tarot to inspire your art! Until then, have fun and look for inspiration in every nook and cranny of the world around you.

- Allison