Eight of Swords

Eight of Swords is one of the 56 minor arcana of the tarot, in the suit of Swords; in the Golden Dawn tradition it corresponds to Jupiter in Gemini.

The Eight of Swords stands loosely bound and blindfolded among eight swords, with an open path behind. The trap is partly made of belief.

Symbols on the card

The loose bindings

Restrictions you could slip out of.

The blindfold

Not seeing the way out.

The open path

An exit already there.

Number and suit

Eights are movement and mastery, or the limits that mastery runs into. Swords are air: thought, truth, communication and the conflicts of the mind.

Upright meaning

You feel stuck, but the way out may be closer than you think. Question the belief that holds you.

Love　Feeling trapped in a relationship pattern.

Work　Limited options, or a fear of change.

Inner life　Ask: is this a wall or a thought?

Reversed meaning

You are freeing yourself and seeing new options.

Love　Breaking free from an old dynamic.

Work　Finding a way out of a stuck situation.

Inner life　Take one small step outside the circle.

In a three-card spread

Situation

You feel trapped.

Challenge

Beliefs that limit you.

Advice

Question the trap and take one step out.

Tarot and astrology

In the Golden Dawn system this card is the decan of Jupiter in Gemini: the themes of Gemini, expressed the way Jupiter acts. Gemini →Jupiter →

Questions to sit with

• What belief is keeping me here?
• What would I see if I took the blindfold off?

Through the suit

Tarot here is a mirror for reflection, not a prediction. The meanings follow the Waite-Smith tradition and the Golden Dawn attributions, in our own words.