Eight of Swords Tarot Card – Love

Eight of Swords Tarot

The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression – W. E. B. Du Bois

Blindfolded and wrapped in grey material that is seemingly binding, we see a woman surrounded by eight swords. They are behind blocking her from an old castle. There is no one else around, only herself. She has one foot in the water and one on the solid earth. The sky is grey.

The grey sky represents a feeling of gloom or dissatisfaction. The blindfold signifies something not being seen. The body repressed by material portends to the bondage of senses. Swords represent air and intellect. We see they are behind her and that she has a clear way forward, yet cannot see it for the binding of the senses. A key here is the water (emotions) and the Earth (material) – grounding our emotions.

There is no avoiding the dreary and oppressive feeling reverberating from this card.

Yet, as it is the mind alone that shadows us – it too can be the mind that frees us.

Megan Jackson

The eight of swords is a representation of our negative thinking, our repressive beliefs or thoughts that keep us trapped in bondage. We can also see it as a card of healing our emotions and moving towards fertile grounds.

In love

this card can point to a situation that may be repressive or keeping us in bondage. Yet let’s not forget that it is our own minds that are keeping us there. Our beliefs.

The swords here are pointing to our individual thoughts. It shows that a mindset is stopping us from liberation.

The eight of swords is reminding you that you have a choice Always. yet it isn’t easy to go in and find the source of our repression or our victim mentality. This card points towards the solution. To take a look into the clearer emotions (water) that are driving you and to do it on firm ground.

If one is not in a relationship and has a desire to be in one this card can point to some healing from a past relationship that hasn’t completed its course. Sometime we get stuck in past situations and old patterns that need to be released. This card wants you to take a look at what mindset is stopping you from moving into your sovereignty and towards a love that liberates one.

Sometimes this card, in love, simply means “so what is stopping you from making that move?” what are you afraid of? Whether it is to express a secret admiration or to walk away from a destructive binding repressive relationship.

It is advising to take a deeper look at what fears and resistances are causing you to stop yourself moving closer to a loved one or to expressing the love you have whirling inside you. Some may be honest obstacles, yet true love is boundless and longs for expression. The eight of swords wants you to understand these resistances and break free of them

In Work or Goals

In work or a goal fulfillment this card is showing that there is some mindset that is holding us back from success. I feel the water (emotions) here is significant. What emotions are driving your activities, are you looking at the original intention and have a clear heart set on that goal or are some conditioned thoughts about material (earth) comfort binding you to unfulfilled dreams.

There could actually be a situation that is stopping you from progressing and this card is asking you to look at the way it is effecting your mental health and happiness and to assess whether it is worth the struggle of maintaining it. Our emotions here can help us to look at our true desires, our passions and show that that may be the way forward.

The key here is the intellect (swords) you may need to spend some time using strategic thinking to resolve the repressive situation. The eight of swords specifically says we are victims of our thoughts – so how can we change them?

Spiritual meaning

There are two important stages of ones spiritual evolution that this card could be speaking to. As we move through the path of life, our spirits start yearning for some deeper happiness.

One of the first steps is to see how are thoughts are creating our reality. In Buddhism it is often referred to as Mindfulness. It is a time when we become mindful of our thoughts and it can be a scary or frightening confrontation.

At this stage we begin to long for a deeper happiness but often look around us and see no way out. The world is full of suffering as Buddha says. Yet, it is also full of peace and love and happiness. Both exist.

Here the eight of swords points to the possibility of happier and healthier thoughts and feelings (as we see with the foot in the clear water and the other grounded on the muddy earth).

Through this mindfulness presence – being present to our own thoughts about life and or the situations we are in, we begin to reassess our lives – it’s unavoidable – unless ones chooses to stay bound in the dark of the mind (suffering). As we do this we may need a time of seeking help. This is always advisable. There are many light loving people that have overcome and are helping others.

Another part of the spiritual journey, usually following this one or that comes after a time of revelation is a dark period when the ego mind takes over and one is fully immersed in the mind – this is called the dark night of the soul.

Some people feel this as depression yet it is necessary to see the difference between depression and spiritual sadness – longing for a closer connection to our spiritual selves.

In the Dark night there is Light

In this stage we begin to not find pleasure in any old dysfunctional ways that once we identified with. It is a time when we need to be very loving and kind to ourselves. Again we can use the image of the foot in the clear blue water. This here represents compassionate emotions towards oneself. Going into a stage of grounding and healing and being kind to the self as it transitions through life’s phases or difficulties.

The beauty of this card is that it is an opportunity to overcome, to go in and make a fundamental change in the mind, in the intellect. That which is stopping you from being happy, peaceful and In love!

May you be loving, kind and compassionate to your self. Then, worry about others 🙂

Warm blessings

Megan

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