In tarot, the Eight of Swords card is about feeling stuck, or bound to something, but this is usually by virtue of willful blindness and self imposed bondage.
The Eight of Swords card is representative of an energy of feeling stuck or trapped.
It can however, represent a situation where someone is refusing to see that they have brought something upon themselves.
Element: Air (Gemini).
The Eight of Swords is ruled by the planet Jupiter.
This card has different meanings when interpreted upright as it does reversed (upside down, not the same as face down).
| Upright | Reversed |
| Emotional bondage. Feeling bound to a situation or to a person. Feeling trapped or victimized. | Recognition of one's own power or responsibility in things. Recognizing one's own capabilities. |
| (Yes/No?): No | (Yes/No?): Yes |
The overall energy of this card negative, stuck energy.
This card is about bondage, victimization or situations that we impose on ourselves without fully seeing so.
Perhaps it can represent strategic manipulation that causes a person to diminish their own self worth.
Meaning Of The Number 8
Numbers have various associations in numerology.
The number 8, in numerology, is significant, as all numbers are.
The number eight represents (sometimes) the infinity symbol.
Otherwise, the number eight can talk about accomplishment, consolidation, or re-evaluation.
This number can represent shifts.
The number 8 can help to asses benchmarks for future.
Eight of Cups Description
In the original Rider-Waite tarot deck, The Eight of Swords card depicts a woman standing upright, bound and blindfolded.
She has eight swords strategically placed around her, appearing to restrict her movement, aside from the open space behind her.
Because she is blindfolded, she thinks she has no way of escaping. This is only due to the fact that she cannot see.
The background behind her appears barren and gray.
Tip in a reading: When pulling this card, be aware of the overall energy, as well as the surrounding cards to interpret the energy this card contributes.