Eight of Wands

Meanings according to Rider-Waite:

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The temporal factor in astrological forecasting: the moment when a transit, direction, progression, cycle, etc., begins to take effect.

EIGHT OF WANDS The principal meaning of this card is time. It is the only one of all 78 cards that clearly indicates that events will take place in the very near future. But it also has a deeper meaning, showing that something is changing, something is in the air and will arrive sooner than we expect, and that this process has already begun, even if we have not yet noticed it. At the same time, the Eight of Wands predominantly foretells favourable events, good news, or pleasant surprises.

From the book: Hajo Banzhaf. THE TAROT HANDBOOK. Translated from the German by E. Kolesov. Publisher: Centre for Astrological Research, 1999.

EIGHT OF WANDS Swiftness The first decan of Sagittarius, from 23 November to 1 December. Astrological equivalents: Scorpio, the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. The first decan of Sagittarius, ruled by the planet Mercury, expresses the idea of the transformation of energy into thought. All is energy, and all is founded upon it: the basis of the world's energetic processes is the law of the unity and struggle of opposites. The same law shapes the dynamics of thought. And conversely, the activity of our mind is the key to comprehending the dynamics of the forces that govern the world. Contradictions colliding with one another give an impulse to thought and direct it towards the higher, just as the Archer, drawing the bowstring, sends the arrows of his aspirations to the stars. He is drawn to the spiritual side of life but repelled by the material. This decan symbolises the cognition of nature and of human nature as a part of it. In its dynamics lies the support of that spiritual movement which the cards of the element of Air describe. The first decan of Sagittarius bestows a love of classification and the authority of a teacher. But this is merely pure abstraction of thought. Therefore, in life, the representatives of this decan must often contend with material difficulties and the postponement of the fulfilment of their desires — life cannot keep pace with the speed of their thought. But the contradictory structure of the world awakens thought in them and educates it, gradually shaping it into coherent conceptions. Swiftness is the ability to enter into some particular world. If, for example, you wish to be a renowned and universally recognised man of letters, it is not enough to write good novels; you must be received into the literary circle, and for this you must dress accordingly, play tennis or drink vodka, and so forth. None of these things can be learnt from books — they "are in the air," unspoken. The art of catching them. The card also characterises swiftness of action. You realise that there is not always an abundance of time. If you delay, it may be too late.

The trap. To act as though eternity lay before you. THE EIGHT OF SCEPTRES is the embodiment of law, and specifically of social law. This is a card in which the influence of Jupiter will be predominant. THE EIGHT OF SCEPTRES symbolises science, books, the printed word, instruction. The appearance of this card in a spread may serve as a significator that trust in you, or your trust in someone, may shortly be put to the test. This is a card of testing one's "moral steadfastness," "political literacy." At the same time, the influence of Uranus also makes itself felt in the EIGHT OF SCEPTRES — the number eight activates Virgo and Scorpio; Uranus symbolises sudden changes; therefore the EIGHT OF SCEPTRES may signify sudden progress, advancement in one field or another, certain social innovations to which one must respond swiftly. Scorpio (in which Uranus is exalted), however, renders all overly hasty actions critical. For this reason, this card is a card of balancing. The planets expressed within it are, as it were, antagonistic to one another. Hence the tension of the EIGHT OF SCEPTRES.

UPRIGHT POSITION In the upright position, the card may signify that in the near future you will have to make decisions — swiftly and concretely — at the level of "yes" or "no," and a great deal will depend upon the decision you make. The EIGHT OF SCEPTRES is a very Scorpionic card, and therefore the situations it sets forth are sharp and uncompromising. The only consolation is that this is not the strongest of cards, and for it to manifest in a spread in its full power, it requires sufficiently strong support from other cards. It is not amiss to consult the horoscope as well. If in the spread the action of the EIGHT OF SCEPTRES may be referred to the past, then it is not impossible that this card symbolised decisions taken too hastily. Some descriptions interpret the EIGHT OF STAVES as a card of peace, harmony, and prosperity. But… as applied to it, this is still peace upon the slope of a sleeping volcano.

REVERSED POSITION In the reversed position, the card reflects the Virgoan aspect of the number eight: criticism, envy, jealousy, discord, bureaucracy, the deferring of decisions, domestic quarrels. The Jupiterian influence in the reversed EIGHT OF SCEPTRES will manifest in the danger of being dishonoured, of encountering falsehood, deceit, and tinsel.