The 8s

Most of the websites/blogs I have seen relate the 8s of the Minor Arcana to the Strength card (number VIII in the Major Arcana), literally taking the 8s to mean strength.  For me that interpretation just doesn't work.  When I say that a particular reading "works" I mean that it makes sense in the context of the question, and the answer as I interpreted it later turns out to have been accurate.  In fact, in general I don't find much success in relating the Minors back to the Majors.  Instead, I like to compare the same number across the suits and see what they have in common, and where each is in the "story arc" of its suit.

It strikes me that the 8s all show an opportunity for significant advancement in an area governed by their suit.  The 7s, which I addressed here, represent decision points, so it makes sense that the 8s would take things up a notch, so to speak.  However, the 8s do require that one take a step forward, a risk even--and that may be daunting.  For that reason I suppose one could choose to see the 8s as offering challenges or tests of our personal fortitude.  I think this is just a matter of focus--looking at the short term (challenge) vs. the long term (achievement).  But hey, maybe I'm just a romantic.

Moving on...

In the 8 of Swords, a person is blindfolded, bound, and surrounded by swords.  She doesn't dare move because it seems like any move she makes will cut her to ribbons.  She's paralyzed by fear.  But, approached in the right way, those very swords could cut her bonds, and then she could remove her blindfold and walk away unscathed.  To get out of her predicament, she's going to have to calm down, think it through, and then act in spite of her fear.  A cooler head will prevail here.  So this card calls for a new level of courage, yes, but more importantly, for a new level of rational thinking. 

In the 8 of Cups, a person is walking away from his cups, off into the moonlight, all alone.  With his walking stick in hand, it looks like he's embarking on a journey--a quest, perhaps.  The cups represent fulfillment, and he's leaving that all behind.  This might be a difficult parting or it might not, though it is likely to be emotional, since emotions are governed by cups--but whether he's aware of it or not, what gave him fulfillment before is not enough anymore.  He's now on his way to something more meaningful (and he will find satisfaction in the 9 of Cups).  This card, then, represents finding a whole new level of fulfillment.

The 8 of Coins shows us either a master craftsman working at his trade, or an apprentice hard at work learning that trade.  Reaching this point (note that 7 of the 8 coins have been completed) required a commitment of time, effort, learning, and practice.  Whether you look at it as learning or as mastery, or just plain elbow grease, either way we are seeing someone who has achieved a higher level of skill, expertise, and practical knowledge.

Finally, the 8 of Wands doesn't show us a person at all.  Instead, 8 staffs are falling toward the earth, as if at the end of their flight through the air.  It's hard to look at this card and not see one's arrows hitting their mark.  I find wands to be the most difficult to encapsulate in terms of the areas of life over which they prevail, because these areas are diverse and intangible; they encompass achievement, passion, inspiration, enthusiasm, virtue, insight, desire, movement, communication, and ambition.  If you look at all the these disparate topics, however, you can see that they are related.  All these attributes, to me, involve something numinous, even magical, that infuses us or the subject of the question.  Unlike the other suits, with the 8 of Wands I think no further steps are necessary--the wands were already launched and are just about to land.  There's an element of wu wei, or action through inaction, in this card.  The wait usually isn't long with this card (in the Thoth tarot it's called the Lord of Swiftness).  So what new level are we attaining here?  In a way, we are reaching a higher level of faith in our own efforts, and communication and connection between ourselves and our target.