Das Lied der Rohrigen - Eight of Cups

I will be back to post here later. But here is another card to consider in the study group.

For links to all the other cards covered so far see this thread:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26990

Eight of Cups

Immediately, this is a lonely desolate card. The trees are almost up-rooted by strong winds, they are crooked, knarled and bare. They look as though they are rooted in a river of fire.

Again, I have to split the card in two, the bottom gives a feeling of frozen motion, a skeletal bareness. The upper part of the card is all plump, cozy and cushioned.

All eight cups are empty, but one is set lower than all the others, like it is the odd one out. To me this says loneliness and a longing for comfort. Or maybe on a more negative note "somes else's grass is always greener".

There is a web of threads almost completely covering the cushioned area, it's like something has got a hold and is trying to prevent moving in a positive direction. Perhaps it represents us being caught up in our own thoughts, we are causing our own unhappiness........

I love this card! Probably one of my favourites. It has such a definite mood to it. I love the darkness to it.

I see all the stuff that you do, Moonbow. The lighter area at the bottom reminds me lava; a whole stream of it moving along and taking everything with it. Clearing away the past.
I cant work out the 'swirls' at the top. One of them reminds me of the 'luxury' card but not so pronounced. They also reminds me of a body. Regardless of the darkness, the number '8' is quite bright and colourful in comparision.
In the Waite version, the man leaves the cups behind. Maybe, as a likeness, the strands are like an abandoned web of a spider; falling apart and decomposing as everything else around it changed and is swept away in the stream.

Yaboot

I found the upper part of this card strange too. Sometimes I think it looks like body parts (well it is the Rohrig ) then I think maybe it is some kind of pupa or chrysalis, which would fit in with the web....... hmmm.......

I may need to have another look at this card

Nice thoughts there Yab

Notice the next card after the 8.. the *9*. The Happiness card. That pinkish swirly "feel good comfort" cushion or whatever it is. It's at the CENTER. Well, in the 8, it's up in the sky, at a distance. It's there, in sight, even though things seem dark and dismal at present. Walk away from those things that are opressing you and causing you unhappiness, and walk towards Happiness.

It is very lonely, a dark image.

The eight cups is about leave-taking. It is a state of being, and a cautionary tale regarding remembering that past which must be left behind. The lifelessness in the tree limbs call out to speak of the bankruptcy of looking to what you do not have.

The flat horizon, unchanging, reminds you that there is no cheese down the memory tunnel in this case. As a friend once said,

"It's ok to look back, just don't stare".

I believe the storm alludes to the danger of further inactivity, that we don't get to dwell in sad reflection without consequence. Time to move.

When you draw this card, go jogging. Do something. Look forward. This is not a place where you want to remain. That sky is indeed a slice of a better place, but this storm here and now is to be dealt with: move, get shelter.

I also love some of the darkness in this deck. Gaze on this, take it in, and avoid further confrontation of this energy later. You are invited on drawing this baby to get the message through the cards, not through repetition in life.