TAROTEight of Swords
Upright
Helplessness through inability to think
Trapped in a cage created by your own self-defeating thoughts.
Failure to act through fear of failure.
Thinking only of the negative or playing the victim.
Intuition
The woman appears trapped but could easily escape. A sword handle is near her hands and could easily be used to cut the ropes that bind her (although it looks likely she could easily wriggle out of the rope in any case!). She is trapped by her preconceptions and not her situation.
Reversed
Freeing yourself from self-limitation or fear.
Overturning failure by realizing you have the power to succeed.
Regaining lost confidence.
Ceasing to trap yourself in the past by realizing you did all that anyone could have done in the same situation.
Astrologia
Strong on communication, open-mindedness, and creativity. Very good in social situations and can have a broad network. Can be prone to scattered thinking and difficulty in committing to a single way forward in either ideas or relationships, causing them to become trapped through indecision.
Eight of Swords
The Eight of Swords represents thoughts of being trapped, although you are trapped by your own mind and self-imposed limitations. No matter how negatively your mind paints the situation, you always have options.
No matter how negatively your mind paints the situation, in reality you always have options.
The card shows this perfectly. If the woman removed her blindfold, she would see the safety of a castle on a hill behind her.
Grey clouds gather, yet the sun shines through them; the horizon beyond is a clear sky.
She takes no action because she believes herself to be trapped, yet she remains entirely free to escape to safety if she so chooses. She is trapped only by her own mind.
Aporia
Aporia is the personification of want, difficulty, and helplessness.
She rarely appears in mythology, but one notable occurrence involves Heracles (Roman: Hercules). She appears as a small red apple in front of him in a narrow pass. Wary of stepping over it, Heracles strikes it with his club. Aporia grows larger with every strike until she becomes so large as to block his way.
The Goddess Athena stops him, advising that helplessness stays small as long as you ignore it. The more you acknowledge it, the larger it gets.
Wise words.
Description and Symbology
The image depicts a woman with her head bowed and her body bound. This symbolizes a confined, limited mind. Looking closer, we see she could easily escape if she chose to. That is the point: she is trapped because she refuses to attempt escape.
She stands behind a cage made of swords. Because Swords represent ideas and intellect, they prove the woman created her own prison through negative thoughts and fear.
This illustrates the power of the mind. Limiting thoughts trap us in limiting behaviors and habits. We fall victim to the fear of the unknown, inertia (where there is no obstacle other than our reticence to move), and a lack of self-belief. The bonds tying us are weak, but we refuse to try because we are certain we cannot escape.
If she could think differently, she would realize escape is not just possible, but a definitive reality.
The cage of swords
Swords represent thoughts and ideas. The woman’s thoughts are self-defeating. They form a cage around her of her own making.
The woman’s clothes
The woman’s clothes are red and represent passions and emotion, yet she does not fight to escape. Like her thoughts, the woman’s emotions are self-defeating. She fears the worst that can happen but fails to consider the best case of escape and freedom.
The woman’s intuition
It is obvious that freedom is possible, but the water (representing intuition in Tarot) does not touch the woman. She is not using her intuition.
The bindings
The woman is blindfolded, limiting her vision. She is also tied by rope. Both could easily be removed (there are cutting swords within reach for one thing, and she could easily wriggle out of the ropes in any case) but she chooses not to. She is transfixed to the spot by her fears and lack of confidence or victim mentality.
The way to safety
Behind the woman we see a castle on a hill. If she were to look around she would see how close safety and help are. Although there are dark clouds, we see the sun shining through them and a clear horizon in the distance.
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
You are causing problems in a relationship through self-defeating behavior that you need to let go.
You may be playing the victim or overemphasizing the negative. You may be living in the past and not moving past old wounds or incidents.
There is a path forward that means opening your eyes to the new reality; safety and growth are nearby. You only have to move towards them and accept that all fighters have scars. Some use them as symbols of failure, but most use them as the medals of victory or simply the cost of moving forward.
There will soon be an epiphany or change in your circumstances that brings about a better relationship.
This will involve letting go of the past or seeing past injuries and arguments as simply the collateral of moving forward in life.
We all have problems, but they are often weighted less than our successes and ability to solve them (if we put our mind to it).
Sometimes a problem does not define a relationship. It is how you deal with it that matters.
You are stuck in a rut because you are not considering all your options or are focusing on failure.
A bad appraisal or lack of movement assumes you are trapped in the same desk or are defined by your current position. You are not a tree. You are free to move, blossom when you want and not tied to someone else’s seasons!
Look to other opportunities and alternative plans because there are more than you think out there.
You are stuck in a rut, but new opportunities will either come your way or your mind-set will change to consider them.
This will not be a gift given to you. You will need to open your eyes to the reality that change is not always without risk, but that the risk outweighs the gains you will make by finally moving forward on your own path.
You may be suffering in silence, avoiding or underplaying obvious symptoms, or simply hoping it will all go away if you ignore it.
This will only make things worse or cause worry. Better to get it addressed.
A previously hidden health condition will be revealed, or your response to a known health condition will take a turn for the better.
You are using deeply held spiritual beliefs as a reason for inaction or turning a blind eye. This may be forgiveness as facilitation and ignoring wrongdoing or justification for your own actions.
You could also be holding beliefs that do not really feel right to you but allow you to fit into a wider group.
Whatever the process, you are holding your own development back.
A set of beliefs or concepts will soon be seen in a different light.
This may mean moving away from an older self to one that better matches your real situation and promotes future growth,
It may involve discarding an older mind-set that has had its time.
Whatever the process, the changes will be positive overall and cause a better understanding.
Timidity or playing far too safe are reducing your options by leaving your money in the safest accounts that also give the least growth.
Being prudent is one thing, but not without balancing risk with reward.
It may be a good idea to look at a more balanced approach, perhaps with some expert advice.
You will see new options and strategies for investment and finance. This may come about through a change of thought rather than new opportunities. You will be more confident in yourself and less negative.
No, through indecision and negative thoughts.
Yes, through a more positive outlook.
Reading the Card
The Upright Card
The Upright Eight of Swords represents the belief of being trapped or powerless. The seeker is not trapped, but believes they have no escape. Yet, options always exist.
Some options are initially difficult, but the hardest part is thinking yourself out of a state of passive inaction and into proactive action.
As noted, the main message of this card is clear: you think things are bad, and you feel powerless and trapped. You always have options, giving you the power to choose. The power to choose is called freedom, so you were never trapped.
The Reversal
The Upright card suggests feelings of being trapped by a situation outside your control. The Reversed card denotes being trapped by a situation you created yourself.
This is far easier to do than you would think:
- A vocal inner critic that says you are not good enough or don’t deserve something, or that someone else is better and more likely to win before you even try.
- Poor self-image or lack of confidence
- Being held by the past and ‘if you failed last time, you’ll fail today’.
- Not making a plan, then not attempting anything because you don’t have a plan.
- Basic stubbornness or holding on to fake beliefs that prevent you moving forward or stop you competing.
- Playing the victim to avoid self-blame or failure, whilst not admitting this will also ensure you will never succeed.
All of these sound stupid when written down but we’ve all done some of them. The author has done all of them and believes that may not be unusual.
The silver lining of this card is that the following is not one of the bullet points above.
- Failing to learn from your mistakes.
There is a chance you take off the blindfold and realize what you are doing wrong and then either correct the situation or be more prepared next time.
Card Design Process
The Eight of Swords brings together many concepts of Tarot imagery, making them appear like dreams. This is deliberate, because dream symbology and Tarot symbology share the same root: ancient archetypes that seep into our Unconscious through constant use.
The most dream-like cards are the most iconic, demanding time and focus to maintain that status. One of the primary design aims for cards like the Eight of Swords, the Page of Cups, and The Hanged Man was to ensure they retained their surreal look and feel.
Final Words
The Eight of Swords represents feeling trapped with no way out. You feel overwhelmed and helpless, convinced there is no path past the obstacles blocking your way.
The truth is that you are facing mental barriers, all of your own making. Breaking free of your negative mindset is all you need to break free in the real world.
