Fortune-telling of the Tarot occurs with the help of the deck, in which there are 78 cards. All of them have a different design, but at the same time they have a single meaning. These cards reflect the system of symbols of occultism, alchemy, astrology, etc. Historians and esoterics are unanimous in their opinion on the origin of the amazing deck. They believe that the Tarot came to us from ancient cultures and carries the secret wisdom of past generations. In the images depicted on the maps, one can trace the origins of the mystical traditions of India and Egypt, Persia and China, as well as Gypsy nomads.
Prediction Tool
Tarot cards are a kind of mystical system. In the modern world, they serve as one of the most popular predictive tools. Of course, at all times there were people who did not believe what these small pieces of paper with the pictures depicted on them told them about. However, despite this, the Tarot is still considered not only a prediction system. This is a wonderful tool for understanding the world and yourself.
The classic Tarot deck contains 22 Major Arcana and 56 Junior. The sequence of the first of them may be different. It all depends on the school to which the deck belongs. So, the Major Arcana can start with the Jester or end with him. Also, in different schools, some of the cards may differ in their names.
The younger Arcana carry an image of a particular situation. Such pictures are nothing more than a description of the meaning of the map. The Junior Arcana, in turn, has a division into suits. There are only four of them: Cups, Wands, Pentacles and Swords.
How to read Junior Arcana?
These 56 cards are considered indispensable for finding out further developments or determining the relationship of a particular person. In general, when reading the Junior Arcana, the following rules must be observed:
- the loss of numerical cards of all stripes with their meanings will tell about the details of what is happening;
- Arcana from among the “courtiers” have a double meaning, giving their explanation and pointing to a person;
- with its inverted position, the card will have a negative effect on the alignment, or its value will be directly opposite to the direct description.
As for the suit of the Sword, it is attributed to the sphere of power and law, intellect and mind. Often these cards indicate an opponent or envy. In this case, they mean the negative scope of the mind. One of the younger Tarot cards is considered the most difficult. Its name is Eight of Swords. The value of this card can confuse even an experienced and talented fortuneteller. What is the matter here? Indeed, the Eight of Tarot swords is very multifaceted. However, to understand and interpret its meaning is quite real.
Short description
Eight of the Tarot swords symbolizes impending danger, restrictions and barriers, inner blindness and inability to understand one's self. That is why such a card in most schools depicts a person whose eyes and hands are tied. In this case, the character moves along a narrow path around which there is a kind of fence of eight swords. In the background of such a map is a castle. He talks about a person’s past. There is water on the path, indicating the dominance of the subconscious.
However, the Tarot card of Eight of Swords is not as scary as it seems at first glance. Yes, a person’s hands are tied, but the ends of the rope hang completely free. Of course, the blindfold closes his eyes. However, nobody is nearby. This suggests that the bandage can always be untied. Human legs are free. And this confirms that only fear holds him captive. The castle, which is on the sidelines, is considered a symbol of power. However, there is no protection around him, and this may be a symbol of the complete indifference of the outside world to the fate of the person depicted. The main key to the Eight Swords card is the blindfold. As soon as a person breaks up with her, he will be able to see his position clearly and clearly.
In the decks of some schools, this card depicts a man and others a woman. There is no fundamental difference in who we see in this Arcana. However, specialists here also see a special meaning. If a woman is shown on the map, then the fortuneteller has the opportunity to get out of a difficult situation due to his intuition. The male image is psychologically constraining. In this case, a person will have to make more efforts to solve existing life problems.
General interpretation
What is the meaning of the Eight Tarot Swords in the upright position? This card shows that we ourselves are on the path to suppressing some part of our personality. However, you do not need to consider yourself weak and helpless. The one who is being predicted should boldly go forward, since there are no obstacles on his way. Now this person has a feeling that he was captured or trapped.
The Eight of Swords suggests that these are most likely only internal prohibitions or barriers. We set them ourselves, but we seek the cause in the environment. This position is described by the following phrases:
- I would love to become this and that, but ...
- Yes, but ...
- I would be glad to have this and that, but ...
The eight of Tarot swords confirms the fact that there is only one obstacle in the way of the self. It indicates to us that all the difficulties, prohibitions and restrictions that are an obstacle to success did not come to us from the outside world. These are our own barriers and fears. The card warns the fortuneteller that he is voluntarily suppressing something in himself. Sometimes we are talking about a temporary refusal or voluntary restriction, which is based on one or another reliable information.
If you compare all the cards included in the suit of Swords, then the Eight is the most difficult and conflicting Arkan. Her very presence in the alignment forces a person to demonstrate his negative attitude towards everyone, even to the fortuneteller. But this does not mean that he has a bad character. The fact is that the Eight Swords card automatically transfers negative energy. This makes a person commit impulsive and rash actions.
And what if the Eight of Swords turned upside down? Such a card is a warning about the likelihood of treachery and betrayal, the inability to soberly assess the situation and rational thinking. However, the main thing that the inverted Eight of Swords speaks of is the end of the time of inaction, which was caused by the helplessness and hopelessness of man. All his failures, like thick ropes, bound the body hand and foot. However, there are positive changes. Problems will recede, and a person should make every effort to solve them. At the same time, he will need faith in himself and in the successful outcome of the situation.
Personal alignment
If the fortuneteller drops the Tarot card of the Eight of Swords, then in front of him is a completely confused person in life who cannot fix the current situation. He rushes from side to side, thinking that he is doing the right thing. However, everything is going completely against him. Such a person is struggling to establish good relations with people, but those, for some reason unknown to him, do not understand him. However, no one can explain why they do not like him. Living in such a situation is difficult, and because of hopelessness, a person becomes aggressive.
What to do in this case to the fortuneteller? He needs to treat the person who came to him with understanding and try to understand the origins of the problem. Often difficulties begin due to the actions of magic. Probably, there was a curse that turns people around from a person or puts him an obstacle on all roads of life. In such cases, you need to pay attention to how the Eight of Swords fell, in combination with which Arkans.
If it is Death or the Devil, then such a curse, most likely, passed to the person from his ancestors. In this case, only faith, a church or a strong magician will help get rid of life's difficulties. When the inverted Eight Swords fall out, one can talk about the likelihood of stagnation, an oppressed state of mind, betrayal and inability to conduct active actions in the past. The appearance of such a card indicates the end of such a period.
Situation
What, in that case, will tell the fortuneteller the Younger Arcan Eight of swords? The value of this card will indicate that in front of you is a person who has fallen into a vicious circle of life. He works, moves towards the intended goal, but in the end he is at the beginning of his path. And this situation repeats itself constantly, leading a person to depression.
What to do in this situation? First of all, you need to calm down and stop panicking. Then you should stop and seriously think about the correctness of the chosen direction. After all, remember Russian folk tales. Their heroes go to the ends of the world, and the desired is very close. To notice it and not to pass by, sometimes ordinary bustle prevents us.
Layout for work and business
When fortune telling about business and finance, the value of the Eight Swords card will clearly indicate that a person suppresses certain aspects of the personality in himself. The work does not allow his talents to be revealed and to show certain qualities of character. The reason for this is often stress or lack of time. They interfere with the plans of the one to whom the alignment is made.
If a person knows that the restrictions are a temporary phenomenon, then he will have to come to terms with this for a while. It will be possible to forget about them only after a certain period, when career advancement is achieved or certain advantages are gained. If the existing restrictions play the role of a constant phenomenon, then it is worth considering. In this case, the card recommends giving yourself more freedom for other activities and relaxation. If this is not possible, then the work should be changed. Otherwise, restrictions will accompany a person throughout his life.
The Eight Swords card indicates a fortuneteller of the negative development or course of the business. This can be significant losses, force majeure circumstances, etc. This Arkan often indicates the appearance of obstacles in professional activity that arose due to the fault of the head or for a number of other reasons. The card of 8 Swords, which appeared in an inverted position, is interpreted as a nuisance that has already occurred and has taken place. However, this problem continues to spoil the big picture. Such an Arcanum can also mean a monotonous and boring period, which is why it is especially difficult for a person.
With which card should the inverted Eight Tarot Swords have a combination so that this alignment indicates a way out of the crisis? Confidence can give the appearance of such a card along with Arkan Sud. Approximately the same interpretation can be given when the Eight swords appear in combination with the Star. Only in this case will the exit from the impasse be systematic, and it must be implemented gradually, step by step.
Relationship
The direct position of the Eight of Swords indicates strong pressure from one of the partners. Moreover, there is the possibility of physical violence, major quarrels or scandals. What else does the Eight of Tarot swords mean in a relationship? This card can describe situations when one of the partners hides one or another side of his personality from the other. In such cases, Arkan recommends a change of position as soon as possible. After all, any pressure on the human person will necessarily lead to the breakdown of relations.
Map Eight of swords can mean a state of loneliness, that is, when there is no partner at all. In this case, she points out the inner stiffness and unwillingness to open her soul to another person, sharing with him all the sorrows and joys. In such cases, the card advises to remove this internal barrier. After this, the meeting will certainly come.
The inverted Eight of swords in a relationship means experience and anxiety, depression, as well as betrayal in the past. However, all these states are far from hopeless. The importance of the Eight Swords in relations in such cases indicates attempts at reconciliation and the possibility of dialogue with a partner. At the same time, a person should understand that his situation is not as critical as it might seem at first glance.
Health alignment
When divining the state of the human body, the Eight Swords card indicates weakness, illness, possible onset of paralysis or other restrictions caused by injuries or pathologies. This Arkan speaks of the possibility of chronic ailments. They bring a person into such a state that he cannot be free. For example, the emergence of dependence on insulin. As for the inverted position of the card, it warns patients about long-term treatment, which in the end will not bring any result.
Eight of swords and consciousness
The appearance of this card during fortune telling can characterize a person’s moral state in one word - locked up. This Arkan testifies that the questioner himself goes to the suppression of one of the sides of his personality. As a rule, these are psychological barriers and boundaries set by a person. We often try to find the cause of this condition anywhere, without looking into our consciousness.
Often this card indicates the tyranny of the mind, which does not allow to give vent to feelings. In this case, all the emotions of a person are subject to tight control. Sometimes the Eight of Swords falls to those people who have already fully realized the existence of an internal framework and are trying to eliminate them as soon as possible. To them, the tarot card recommends continuing to work in the same direction.
Personality characteristic
The Arcana of 8 Swords indicates a weak person who does not know how to fend for himself. This is an indecisive person who is not able to develop due to his own illusions. Such a person does not have enough willpower in order to get out of psychological captivity. In addition, the card represents people with disabilities. They may be deaf, blind, etc. Also, this person may be in prison or limited by his partner. But in any case, he has a feeling of being driven into a corner or walking in an endless circle.
But all these ideas about a person are changed by an inverted map of 8 Swords. It characterizes a person who broke free and was able to get rid of all restrictions. There are many options in this case. This may be a person who has been released from prison, severed ties that bound and limit him, etc.
Combination with other cards
8 Swords together with other Arkans can tell us about the nature of the restrictions that the object of fortune telling has. For example, in combination with the Two of Cups, this Arkan points to promises. It is they who bind the person. 8 Swords with Three Cups speaks of alcohol addiction and a person’s desire to spend time idly. If Six Cups fell out with this card, then we can safely say that the object of fortune-telling lives on with its past and cannot find the strength to change this situation. Eight cups predict the departure from restrictions.
What does the combination of 8 Swords with Wands mean? With the Four - on the restrictions created by any regulation or contract. With the Five predicts constant conflicts when going beyond the existing framework. A good combination is the fall of the Eight of swords with the Ace of Wands. It testifies to the insight of the object of fortune-telling and understanding of the framework into which he drove himself.
If the card has fallen with the Two of swords, then it indicates restraint of emotions, and with the Four - to imprisonment. In general, the Junior Arcanum of 8 Swords always speaks of the restrictions that are created by fortunetellers or imposed by someone from his environment. The card that has fallen in the situation warns against actions or prompts them. It all depends on the position of this Arcana and the interpretation of those nearby.