Eight of Pentacles~Death card?

witchgarden

In one of the book I have been working with "Tarot Made Easy", she states that the Eight of pentacles can indicate a death. I have read in other books that the Eighth house can represent rebirth, but then all suits of eights would have that meaning as well. Has anyone heard of this representation before.
 

Teheuti

witchgarden said:
In one of the book I have been working with "Tarot Made Easy", she states that the Eight of pentacles can indicate a death. I have read in other books that the Eighth house can represent rebirth, but then all suits of eights would have that meaning as well. Has anyone heard of this representation before.
I've been collecting meanings from among the most influential sources for years and I can't find this one anywhere. I did find a possible loss of money in a few sources but that's the closest.

This is one of the reasons I never use that book. There are just too many interpretations that come out of nowhere and contradict everything else ever said about the card.

BTW, the 8th house can be sex, death and taxes (among other things) - but it seems to be little reason to make the 8 of Pentacles or Coins specifically a death card.

Mary
 

Crystelle

I have seen the eights mean
Organization.
Choices are made based on priorities. It is a time of meditation and self-analysis.
As the number of termination.
Cards of Karma. Therefore, situations and events should be understood to be the result of Karma, good or bad, which the individual himself as caused by his own personal actions.

However, I often associate the eight of pentacles (RWS) with Prudence and learning, not death.
 

Al Si'ra

Personally i think when interpreted intuitively any card can mean anything..I've associated 8 of pentacles as life after life..thus karma many times..maturing as you go from one pentacle to another- since you may be so focused in the pentacle you are working on(meaning getting caught up in life) you might not see the progress you are making..(meaning not being able to see the bigger picture)
When looking from this perspective this card can very well mean transition from one life to another-thus death..Why not.. :angel:

:love:
 

star-lover

the 8th house is astrology
the houses are not associated with tarot numbers as far as i know
you CAN MAKE valid associations between some cards and some houses but i think its a red herring myself

the only death i can see and not physical in the 8s is 8 of cups - as in divorce or death of old lifestyle
 

Teheuti

Al Si'ra said:
Personally i think when interpreted intuitively any card can mean anything.
I agree with you about this. However, when writing a book of tarot interpretations don't you think there is some responsibility to the public to not just write down "anything"? Doesn't the book become somewhat meaningless when an interpretation written for any one card would be just as applicable to any other card?

In the heat of a reading, though, all kinds of previously unthought of meanings might come through.

Mary
 

Tryska

are you sure about that?

I've been reading on the 8 or pentacles quite a bit lately in the very same book, and don't recall seeing anything that overt in any of the descriptions.

Was it in the physical body or area or something? or could you provide the exact verbiage?

(i'm not saying you're wrong - it just may be that i skimmed it or didn't interpret what was said the same as you)
 

witchgarden

Thanks, must find another book.

Thanks for all of your replies :0) I find that switching around from different books creates confusion. I try to keep the meaning of the cards simplfied, otherwise like someone else said they can really mean almost anything. Go back to basics, and just look at the images for meanings. I still refer back to the book Power Tarot, I like their interpretations. Can anyone suggest some books that they swear by?
 

Tryska

you know - i was reading last night, and 8 of pents came up for me, so i HAD to check out Tarot made Easy, and I see what you are saying. there is a reference to possible sudden or surprising death in the Unexpected section. (or a new relationship, was it?). It was wide open.

The thing about Tarot Made Easy tho - is that not all of the possible meanings are applicable in every reading. I tend to use the book for a general feeling - soemtimes specific stuff does actually happen exactly as the book suggests, but look at it all holistically.

to me personally - the only card i've ever had that came up as a possible indicator of death was the 3 of swords. But that's from reading intuitively, not from any book. And death was jsut one of a great variety of tragedies, i've attributed to it in the past. I have a hard time reading that card for others.
 

Moonleap

Teheuti:

I agree with you about Nancy Garen's book and some of her interpretations. An example is the 4 of Swords where the knight is as still as can be, possibly dead, and she states, "The focus is on *activity*..." If you were to read this card from the picture alone, there's no way *activity* would come to mind.

I have often wondered how she arrived at these interpretations.