8 of Cups

Keywords & phrases

• Walking away
• Letting go
• Releasing the past
• Turning your back
• A journey or departure
• A spiritual path
• Self-discovery
• Beginning of the end

First impressions

There is a calm sadness to the 8 of Cups for me, and also an air of inevitability. What we see is something that must be.

What is happening in the card?

The moon looks on as an individual, a traveller, turns his back and walks away. He wears red robes and carries and staff or walking stick suggesting that he is prepared for a long and perhaps challenging journey.

This melancholic, moonlit scene is set on a rugged shoreline, where the land meets the sea. We see 8 Cups carefully placed, a row of 3 balanced on top of a row of 5. But they are arranged in such a way as to suggest that one is missing from the top. There is a gap.

Something is missing. Is that what our traveller is going in search of, the missing cup?

How can we relate to this card?

We experience the energy of the 8 of Cups in those times where we feel that something is not quite right, or that something is missing.

When our carefully arranged lives are lacking a certain element, a purpose or fulfilment and we know that we must make a change in order to feel whole.

The 8 of Cups may indicate that it is time to walk away from those things that have ceased to serve us or relationships that are no longer healthy for us. This card reminds us that the act of letting go is not the same as giving up, that in fact it is an act of courage.

Taking the first step on this journey, towards self-knowledge and healing, is rarely easy and requires a level of inner strength, self-mastery and compassion.

Message & affirmations

Today, I let go of what no longer serves me and walk a new path with courage, compassion, faith and forgiveness.

My personal experiences of this card

In writing this page I asked myself what these 8 seemingly abandoned cups might represent to me. Could be a relationship, an aspect of my work, my living situation, my outlook on life, bad habits and behaviour patterns, thoughts, past resentments or transgressions to be forgiven, old wounds that need to heal.

And what might I be moving towards?

Events, situations & readings

In a relationship spread:
It may be time to consider how healthy certain relationships are. Are you getting what you need from them? Is it time to let go and walk away? Or rather, walk towards something that will give you the emotional fulfilment that you need and deserve? Where you can be your true self.

In a spiritual/personal development spread:
Indicative of a spiritual journey. It’s time to take the first step on a new path. It will take self-discipline and mastery. It may also require you to release old beliefs and patterns of behaviour even people who can no longer support you on your road. Let them go, with love.

In a work/career/business spread:
Time to walk away from something that is no longer working for you. Find something else or a new way of working that is more aligned with your goals, values and your highest good.

Reversed:
Perhaps suggestive of an inability to move on or to recognise when that time has come. Or an indication that the journey ahead is one that focuses inward.

People & interaction with other cards

With the Strength card, the 8 of Cups suggests that you can call on your inner strength, courage and discipline to make the changes that you need to. When The Star appears in a reading with this card she may offer you hope and a guiding light on your new journey. As would The Hermit. The 8 of Cups also speaks of putting your ego aside so that you might be more open to these guiding energies.

When accompanied by other 8s from the deck the focus is on the mental and physical discipline, dedication and self-mastery required to stick to your path and achieve your goals. 

With the 7 of Cups or The Devil it might well be time to examine some of your less healthy habits and behaviour patterns. This may be addictive behaviours or co-dependant relationships.

Questions, prompts & insights

What things or people are you clinging to that you need to let go? What can you release in order to move forward?

Who do you need to forgive in order to free yourself and move on?

In what area of your life do you need to get out of your own way, release your attachment to a particular outcome, and let events unfold?

Featured decks:
Main image from The Rider Waite Tarot.