Ludy Lescot - Eights

Aerin

Eight of Cups - A woman with a red rose in her hair who looks as if she's hesitating being led up a set of imposing steps to a grand house. Her dress looks bridal and personally I'm a bit suspicious of the man's intentions. He has her hand quite firmly and I'm not sure what he'll do if she refuses him.

Eight of Pents: A woman embroidering eight rose-like symbols on a cloth with skill and concentration. It's a very domestic scene, there's a cat with similar markings to the creature in the 4 of Wands. Yet another shadowy male figure in the doorway...

Eight of Swords: Your usuall bound woman, seated on a red silken cloth on top of a stone seat and surrounded by swords. She seems slumped and resigned, making no attempt to free herself. The swords are all slightly different. She's outside in a wood, there's a ?house looming in the background.

Eight of Wands: Woman rushing towards an open doorway up some some stairs/ poles - the eight wands. Worryingly you can see skulls under the stairway, like the ones in the Hanged Man - there are skulls in Strength too which is also an eight. Outside the sky is orange-red, sunset???
 

Hemera

Eight of Pents: A woman embroidering eight rose-like symbols on a cloth with skill and concentration. It's a very domestic scene, there's a cat with similar markings to the creature in the 4 of Wands. Yet another shadowy male figure in the doorway...
The cat is really odd. The colouring is not calico because there is no black. I don´t think I´ve seen a cat like this before..

Eight of Swords: Your usuall bound woman, seated on a red silken cloth on top of a stone seat and surrounded by swords. She seems slumped and resigned, making no attempt to free herself. The swords are all slightly different. She's outside in a wood, there's a ?house looming in the background.
The black diamond/jewel on the sword is lovely and there´s a ruby in the other sword on the right. Her hands are..ummm..in an interesting position..[blush]

Eight of Wands: Woman rushing towards an open doorway up some some stairs/ poles
I actually never saw her as rushing. I thought she was worshipping the moon as in the "Drawing Down the Moon" ritual or something similar. She seems awed by the beauty of it.
 

MaineGirl117

"Drawing Down the Moon" ritual or something similar.

Care to elaborate on this Hemera? I got this pulled in a future position last night, and since we had that solar "ring of fire" eclipse, it sounded interesting.. and relevant.

As far as the 8 of Swords - interesting observation. It does look like she's guarding her privates maybe? An organic chastity belt?

I've noticed in general that the swords for me are going in different direction. Numbers, mathematics, science etc, so I don't know how that would relate to this card here. The 8's connect with the sephirah belonging to Mercury (don't ask me what a sephirah is.. I'm referencing Tarot Wisdom by Rachel Pollack and haven't gotten *there* yet in my studies) and to Hermes, hence the connection to writing, math, commerce etc. I've noticed this through all of the swords, and once I get a chance to do some research, I'll start a new thread. I just don't know where to begin on this?? Kabballah? Pythagorean?? Picatrix? (Never heard of that one till now either... *another google search pending*)
 

Hemera

Care to elaborate on this Hemera? I got this pulled in a future position last night, and since we had that solar "ring of fire" eclipse, it sounded interesting.. and relevant.
I just thought she is worshiping rather than rushing forward.
Here is a link to Wikipedia about the Drawing Down the Moon ritual. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawing_down_the_Moon_(ritual)
And this is the most relevant sentence that describes her pose: "The solitary will stand in the Goddess Pose (both arms held high, palms up, body and arms forming a 'Y') and recite a charge, or chant. "
 

MaineGirl117

The description of the posture actually reminds me of the 9 of cups... if 'he' was a 'she'.. or the High Priest... don't you think?

In modern traditions, some solitary Wiccans also perform the ritual, usually within a circle and performed under the light of a full Moon. The solitary will stand in the Goddess Pose (both arms held high, palms up, body and arms forming a 'Y') and recite a charge, or chant.[citation needed]

...."... in this ritual, one of the most serious and beautiful in the modern Craft, the priest invokes into the priestess (or, depending on your point of view, she evokes from within herself) the Goddess or Triple Goddess, symbolized by the phases of the moon. She is known by a thousand names, and among them were those I had used as a child. In some Craft rituals the priestess goes into a trance and speaks; in other traditions the ritual is a more formal dramatic dialogue, often of intense beauty, in which, again, the priestess speaks, taking the role of the Goddess. In both instances, the priestess functions as the Goddess incarnate, within the circle."
 

Hemera

Well yes..I think many people in this deck could be described as performing private ceremonies of differing kinds. Think about the Wheel for example! (Or the Four of Wands :bugeyed: )
 

La Force

Eight of Cups - A woman with a red rose in her hair who looks as if she's hesitating being led up a set of imposing steps to a grand house. Her dress looks bridal and personally I'm a bit suspicious of the man's intentions. He has her hand quite firmly and I'm not sure what he'll do if she refuses him.
What I notice is that in comparison to the RW, this is depicted in the reversed, she is returning to the situation as you say hesitating, I don't see her taking a step up the stairs with him, even though he has extended his hand offering her the invitation to return/join him. What I am curious about is why depict the reversed meaning of the card? especially if your working with your shadows? anyone have an answer, would love to hear it.

Eight of Pents: A woman embroidering eight rose-like symbols on a cloth with skill and concentration. It's a very domestic scene, there's a cat with similar markings to the creature in the 4 of Wands. Yet another shadowy male figure in the doorway...
I can relate a lot to this card and I am sure you ladies will as well. you know when you are doing your crafts/hobbies, your enjoying what your doing, so focused, that you don't see or hear what is going on around you. that is how I see this card, with the man in the background shadowed, she is so caught up in what she is doing she is not paying any attention to what is going on around her. We've all done this, we forget to take the dogs out, we forget to make dinner for the kids, or our kids will be asking for something and we like so ignore them. etc. What i did notice that brought the though of the children is look at the back of her chair, their is a child giving the thumbs up. lol likes what she is doing. omgosh this so crack me up.

Eight of Swords: Your usuall bound woman, seated on a red silken cloth on top of a stone seat and surrounded by swords. She seems slumped and resigned, making no attempt to free herself. The swords are all slightly different. She's outside in a wood, there's a ?house looming in the background.
Her hands are..ummm..in an interesting position..
NO Comment :bugeyed:

this card ties in with strength and lust. taming the inner beast, yet being tied up and unable to release sexual frustration or trying to contain it. lol (single life) no more comment on grounds that it may incriminate me or you. lol

Eight of Wands: Woman rushing towards an open doorway up some some stairs/ poles - the eight wands. Worryingly you can see skulls under the stairway, like the ones in the Hanged Man - there are skulls in Strength too which is also an eight. Outside the sky is orange-red, sunset???

This card links up with the MOON the posture of the woman in both cards is the same, except flipped, so I would also agree with you
I thought she was worshipping the moon as in the "Drawing Down the Moon" ritual or something similar. She seems awed by the beauty of it
Also when I grouped the cards 1- 10 the Strength card is part of the group of eights, therefore you intuition is right on with the connection.

so in the grouping we have 8. Strength and 18. The Moon, 8 of wand, 8 of cups, 8 of swords, 8 of pentacles.

8. Strenght with (represents) the lesser/minor arcana 8's are 8 of Swords and 8 of cups
18. Moon with (represents) the lesser/minor arcana 8 of wands and 8 of pentacles

both majors would govern/represent aspects of all 4 minor arcana card in our daily life
 

MaineGirl117

8 of Pentacles

What i did notice that brought the though of the children is look at the back of her chair, their is a child giving the thumbs up. lol likes what she is doing. omgosh this so crack me up.

I NEVER noticed this little cherub before! Thanks for pointing it out!
 

Prasomchai

8 of Wands

For me this was a blend of the LWB quote and the traditional meaning. I do not believe in God, but I do believe in myself, and as a result of that self-confidence I was able to accelerate the development of a particular situation according to my desires. Having said that, there was a dangerous element to the acceleration, that the situation may have moved too quickly to properly manage it.