The 8 of Swords revisited...

[Kiama]

I've enjoyed reading all the interpretations in this thread, and can only really add one more thing...

The other day I was reading for a close friend, and the 8 of Swords came up in a very positive reading. I suddenly saw a different side to this card:

Yes, the woman is bound, and she can't move very far. But I saw this as relating to the bondage we place ourselves in when we do the simple act of choosing one path, and closing the door on another as a result. We all have to do it along the path of life, and in a way it does bind us, limit us, etc. So that night, the 8 of Swords became a semi-positive explanation of the process of choice.

Blessings,

Kiama

 

[caridwen]

For me, neither cards are really comparable...apart from, of course, being swords.

The two relates to the High Priestess: The Prime Feminine number. Our awareness of our existence and therefore, the beginning of intellect as opposed to ego.

It is a card of the subconscious represented by the water and the moon. The swords are pointing in an upward direction, the apex downward representing the symbol for water - Reflection, receptivity and the subconscious.

The figure wears a white robe, purity, wisdom, the divine against a green sky: healing, immaturity, promise and inexperience but also fertility and growth.

The figure is blindfolded which can represent blindess to materialism and inner vision.

But how long can this person maintain this position without becomming weary? How long can they maintain their blindness at the expense of the outer, the conscious?

The sea is this persons potential but they are blind to it, have their back turned to it. They are consciously holding up the swords, the swords can be lowered and the blindfold taken off. What are they refusing to face? How long can this position, this stalemate continue? What are they ignoring and refusing to see? It's there if they choose to look and their position cannot be maintained indefinately or defiantly.

The eight relates to Strength. Eight is the intermediary between terrestrial order (the square) and eternal order (the circle). Associated with the Serpents of the Caduceus, with infinity, with the balancing of forces or with the equilibrium of different forms of power. It is a number associated with regeneration, strength and inspiration.

The female is again, the subconscious mind but here the water is in tiny pools, a returning tide will come to drown her. The subconscious is bound with cord. There are more swords on the left hand side of the body. The left being primarily the feminine, the subconscious, receptivity and the past.

Her potential seems lost, there is little water beneath her. She seems trapped on all sides. This time the swords are wedged into the ground, grounding their potential, upright meanings.

She isn't struggling, does she really understand how that tide may rush in and enpower her? Why doesn't she try to find a way to escape her bonds? Maybe she is afraid of getting entangled further? Of falling over and hurting herself? She could be unsure of which way to go and needs guidance. She could be choosing to remain inactive until she figures out what to do or is forced into action by the incoming tide.

Not only is she bound but blind as well. Unlike the two of swords who can lower the swords at any time, she has a further obstacles, her body is restricted and swords surround her. There is a path forward but she is unable to see and unable to take off the blindfold. She feels restricted by things beyond her control and powerless to free herself. She is blind to the freedom in front her her. She need only take a few steps to get free of this vicious circle.

The red of her robe, can represent willpower, life force, passion, desire, courage and action. They are all present but bound, she has to find a way to get them free. For the moment she can't see it but she must be assured she still has them.

 

[caridwen]

Just to add to what I posted above. Say for example the two of swords came up for a female querent. Let's say she's a rich housewife and knows her husband has a mistress. I would say that she is, for the time being, in a balancing act. She is choosing to ignore her husband's indiscretions for the sake of material prosperity. She has a comfortable lifestyle that she doesn't want to sacrifice so she chooses to look the other way. However, the card would also mean that she couldn't maintain this position for long.

Say again, we have the eight of swords for a well off housewife. Maybe it means she is choosing to ignore her husband's indiscretions because she doesn't know what she would do should they divorce. She doesn't know which way to turn, she won't be able to get a job, her children would be distraught, her family would disapprove. No matter which way she turns she feels powerless to do anything about her present situation. It's going to take an awful lot of strength, courage and willpower for her to face the truth and get out of the situation.

 

[koulla]

I see the eight of swords as a card of lack of focus and wandering. The woman is surrounded on three sides by swords, with no idea which step is going to take her directly into those swords. Since swords are the cards of the intellect, I see it as lack of mental focus and confusion. But it is important to note, I think, that the way forward is NOT blocked, although she cannnot see it. The swords are hemming her in only on three sides, so if she is perceptive enough to think her way past the confusion and anxiety, she can find her way through the swords.

But at the same time, I also see a progression away from the confusion that entraps her. In the RWS there is a castle on the hill, and I have always assumed that that is where she's coming from, bound and blindfolded as she is. So progress has been made, just not far enough yet, and although the peril is not yet over, it's drawing to a close. Certainly I don't see it as being as grim as, say, three of swords, or as depressing as the nine of swords.

--Sobe

I beg to differ, the castle is way behind her which to me indicates that help and support, is not there,

 

[vision777]

i feel the eight of swords is a card about being trapped. if you notice the number eight that number is the same number of legs a spider has a spider spins webs weaves them and catches thing that falls on that web. some times us humans may either fall a victim to other people spidery behavior and might find our selves trapped or we may be the ones trying to trap others but might ended up trapping our own selves in.i find this card to be very real with how life can teach us lessons with lying, deception and just plain messing with other people's mind when you see this card the question one should ask is who is this person? how did this person get in this "tight" postion ?and most of all how will this person ever get free ? and i often wonder was the two of swords really the eight of swords before "she" got caught or after she got caught ?

 

[Sophie]

Yes, the woman is bound, and she can't move very far. But I saw this as relating to the bondage we place ourselves in when we do the simple act of choosing one path, and closing the door on another as a result. We all have to do it along the path of life, and in a way it does bind us, limit us, etc. So that night, the 8 of Swords became a semi-positive explanation of the process of choice.

That's a very insightful reading of the card, Kiama! And experientally, it makes perfect sense. Yes, when we make a choice and take action to implement it, other doors close. I'd add that sometimes, a certain choices might imply having to limit ourselves for a time - like the choice to have a baby, which is happy, but does restrict movement for the mother for some considerable time! (especially if her dream was to climb Everest ).

I also see this card as having the meaning of accepting what we can't change, and allowing things rebalance themselves naturally. Having the strength, the mental strength, not to struggle fruitlessly against difficult positions. It's close to the Taoist notion of wu wei, and leads to the mind relaxing, which is already a mental way of overcoming restrictions.

 

[sharpchick]

Two decks have given me broader perspective on this card than I have had in the past:

The Buckland Romani deck depicts a knife thrower (perhaps at a country fair) standing aside from the piece of wooden fence on which the outline of a man is drawn. Four knives are stuck in the board, and he is holding the other four. He obviously has made a rather large mistake, judging from the blood on the right knee area of the board - we do not see his unfortunate "victim" in the picture. The look on his face seems to me to be saying he has lost all confidence in himself and his abilities. He feels powerless.

The LS Pagan Tarot (Pace) depicts the Seeker bound and blindfolded, with a gap in the row of eight swords stuck in the ground in front of her. You can also see the joined hands of two other people, standing just in front of the row of swords. The sun is rising behind the Seeker, but being blindfolded, she can't see it, although she surely must be able to feel the beginning of warmth of the rising sun. For me, this calls to mind times when we may be intellectually/emotionally trapped by actions we have committed in the past, and we are now unable to see how things may not be as bad as they seem.

Just my thoughts.

 

[star-lover]

sharpchick:

For me, this calls to mind times when we may be intellectually/emotionally trapped by actions we have committed in the past, and we are now unable to see how things may not be as bad as they seem.


That rings so true to me - there is certainly some guilt with this card and a feeling of i've made my bed now i have to lie in it, there's no way out

In the cosmic tarot 2 people are not talking, have their backs to each other, each stuck in their own thoughts, and there is a huge brick wall in the card which suggests obstacles which seem to be unsurmountable and thus they don't seem to be making much effort at the moment

i agree with others who said this card may not be as bad as it seems and it needs that willingness to do something even small to change the stuckness and fear here

 

[firecatpickles]

The 8 swords is Jupiter in Gemini of the 9th house; is the growth in a duality of higher thinking. It may signify the ability for someone to mull over many possible solutions to a problem, but not knowing which path to take.

The bound woman can only see the insides of her eyelids, as if she were peering within instead of without.

Do any of you compare the 8 of Swords to the 2 of Swords? How do they differ?

In both the women are blindfolded, but I think in the 2 of swords the woman in Themis --Goddess of Justice. In the 8 the blindfolded is the querant.

Who sees (the 2 of Sword) as having to deal with or choose between two particular situations?

Yes, in the 2 os swords the Moon in Libra suggests there is a decision to be made, but in the House Partnership it could mean there is a meeting of the minds between the querant and another person, again, Themis represents both sides of an argument...

I'd like to revisit my understanding of the 8 of Swords ...
How much is conflict represented by this card?

There is only inner conflict, from which resolution finally comes. 8 is the number of stability.

How much is purely mental anguish?

I think if the card were reversed, and an intensification of the "not knowing which way to go" grows too strong, then it can be anguishing. There is such as thing as "good mental stress," which I think the 8 of swords in its upright position indicates.

Does anybody see this card as chaos, and the need to focus?

Again, if it were reversed I would say yes, with either the 2 or the 8 swords.

 

[snowy_owl]

8/Swords & advice

Lately, I turn up the 8/swords when reading for myself in a position of advice. I interpret it to mean that my thinking is confused and I am hemmed in by my own thoughts that are non-productive. In other words, I am spinning my wheels. There is a way out: to move forward.

Talking to myself: yes, I know this. Abandon those self-defeating thoughts and move forward.

This gets to be a meta-problem for me because as I ruminate over this *advice*, I see no clear solution to my problem.

Snowy_Owl