PIP Study: The Eights

I had one of these in my daily draw yesterday and I must admit that I foind the eights the hardest to work with.

I saw it as a double-four, meaning that there was double the security and stability. In this case I saw it to be quite restrictive, rather than welcoming.

I also think of the 8 as following the 7. In the 7 I see change that has been orchestrated, rather than it being a surprise.

These later numbers confuse me as I can't get any kind of fixed meaning out of them.

Any ideas?

LB

I've been getting quite a lot of eights in my readings lately.

I find the eights to be quite confusing too.

I can see what you mean about the double 4 - giving stability but I don't think you'd get double the stagnation because with the eights there is some movement.
I'm thinking of the number 8 when I say this. It looks like an infinity sign turned on it's end. The 2 loops are stable but there is movement - the energy seems to go round in 2 loops and meet where they cross in the centre.
Hope this makes sense.

I also like to link the Minors to the Majors so when I think of eight, I think of Justice (this is where some of the confusion comes in I think as many authors link the number eight to the trump Strength - I've never been comfortable with this, even when using RWS style decks).
Justice is the place where we pause and weigh things up, make decisions and decide what needs to be left behind and what needs to go forward with us - this works well with the number eight I think - we've got over the excitement and experimentation of the sevens, now we need to decide what to take from that and what to leave.
Justice is completely balanced and fair.

So the eights are about decisions.
They're about organising - the images on the eights in the Marseilles style decks all look very organised, every suit emblem seems to be in it's own little compartment.
They're stable and secure but there is also movement - a searching for balance.

I'm sure I'll have more thoughts later...

I've added some attachments of the eights from the Hadar Marseilles - the deck I'm working with at the moment.

It seems that I've become quite obsessed with understanding the number eight and what it means to me.
I think I've had a breakthrough.

Last night I was reading 'Tarot Tells The Tale' by James Rickleff. He has a small section on numerology and elements at the beginning of the book and I love what he has to say about the meanings of the numbers.

Here's what the man says about the number eight:
Keywords: Acceleration, movement, strength, power, regeneration, progress.
'Eight follows the tests and challenges of the sevens and so it is concerned with regeneration, progress and moving on with our lives. Another path to understanding this number begins by considering how the pace of a movie generally accelerates dramatically as the climax nears. Eight, which is the second to last single-digit number represents the acceleration leading to the finale.'

This really hit home for me.

some quick notes I jotted in my journal:
To relate it to Justice - it's numerical equivalent in the Trumps.
The eights are about the adjusment that happens to get us back on track after the upheaval of the seven.
It's about movement - slow in some suits (coins), fast in others (wands or Batons) - to find that equilibrium again.
It's about getting things back in order, sorting things out.

I hope this helps others as much as it has me (Little Buddha )

Sulis xx

Yes it does. Thanks Sulis.

So, let me try to get this in my thicko head.

Say we have cups.

The '7' took us away from the harmonious '6'.

But the change was more considered than that of the '5', which was an unexpected interuption.

So that '7' might be a diversion that took us off of track.

And the '8' might be making up for lost time as we try to get back in the game?

Emotionally, we might have gone through a period of being quiet with out partner, we might have been generally down or upset, we may have become emotionally obsessed with something ... the '8' is quick recovery, assessing where we are at and want to be, deciding to 'opt back in', deciding you don't want to lose what you have got, making an effort to right wrongs.

Am I on the right track, Sulis? Have I grasped what you mean correctly?

LB

LittleBuddha said:

Am I on the right track, Sulis? Have I grasped what you mean correctly?

Click to expand...

Yep, I reckon you have. I'm no expert though - I think we're in the same boat here...

There's a lot going on with the eights, a lot of energy and it's sort of rebalancing itself (think Justice)...
The example you gave is just what I'm thinking of - it's getting your feelings back in order, working out how you feel again.

I did a reading for someone last week, she wanted to know why she couldn't get her head around some writing work she had to do - she just couldn't get motivated: The advice card was 8 de Deniers..
I told her to organise the real, physical side of her life. Make sure everything's in order, tidy up... I saw that this burst of physical activity, of organising the rest of her life would give her time to actually get herself motivated to do the writing. I hadn't really thought about the eights much then but it seems to fit.
I got that from looking at the Hadar 8 de Deniers and it struck me how well organised it looked - every little denier in it's own little compartment - it just made me think - she needs to tidy up

I'm starting to get obsessed by numbers

Eights make me think of attention to detail. The finishing touches.
If we where talking about making music, eight for me is the final mastering of the song. This is the stage in music production when you equalize the sound, fine tune the effects, and compress the signals to bump the energy and give it that extra punch.





Hmmm…. I don't think anyone's been here in years….