Eight of Swords

Meanings according to Rider-Waite:

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Saturn in the 4th house as a symbol of inner barriers.

EIGHT OF SWORDS The Eight of Swords shows that we ourselves are suppressing some part of our personality. Often these are inner barriers or prohibitions which we usually impose on ourselves, yet prefer to find their cause in our surroundings. This is the typical "Yes, but..." stance, as Reverend Ike describes it: "I would gladly do this or that, but...", "I would very much like to have this or that, but...", "I would be happy to become this or that, but...". And the only obstacle on the path of our "I" toward these wonderful things turns out to be, in fact, only our own "but". This card shows us that those limitations, difficulties, and prohibitions which we feel as a hindrance do not belong to the outer world, but merely reflect our own fears and barriers. In any case, the Eight of Swords warns us that we are suppressing something within ourselves. Although sometimes it may be only a temporary refusal of something or a voluntary restriction based on entirely reliable information.

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

EIGHT OF SWORDS Interference, Obstacles The first decan of Gemini, from May 21 to May 31. Astrological equivalents: Pluto, Proserpina, Virgo, Scorpio, the Sixth and Eighth Houses. The sign of Gemini symbolizes the change of thoughts and the transformation of human intellect as a whole, occurring at the moment of active interaction between consciousness and external material reality. All three decans of Gemini are ruled by fiery planets — Jupiter, Mars, and the Sun — and the intellect of this sign is always full of energy directed toward seeking new paths. The representatives of the first decan above all seek new possibilities of thought in the realm of inner vision, through mental imagination. This decan symbolizes the loftiness of the mind, the spontaneity of its movement, and unexpected metamorphoses. Besides Jupiter, which lends its quest confidence and the aspiration to lean upon spiritual traditions, the ruler of the first decan of Gemini is also Neptune, which can, by blurring the boundaries of thought, make it changeable and unstable. Mystery, upon coming into contact with consciousness, creates intellectual inspiration. But this is precisely the situation when the mind, deprived of its former points of reference, must overcome the contradiction inherent in thought itself: the duality between those images which consciousness finds in the external world, and the way it perceives them. In a broader sense, this decan symbolizes the obstacles and limitations of the surrounding world, which the consciousness of man is forced to overcome. The TAROT card depicts a figure with bound hands and blindfolded eyes, walking along a narrow path between eight swords forming a barrier. The water on the path indicates the power of the subconscious, and the castle in the background speaks of past achievements. Consciousness has abandoned the clarity of its free vision (the built castle behind it) and has plunged into the contradictory matters that bind it. Having dared to comprehend the outer world and having renounced its former settings and pretensions to knowledge, the mind has become a captive of the surrounding reality. It walks blindly toward the unknown, but a true inner understanding of things helps it to overcome the obstacles. The EIGHT OF SWORDS is one of the most critical cards in a spread. The metaphysical force once again collides with the passive resistance of inert matter. At the level of the EIGHT OF SWORDS such a notion as "critical mass" is manifested. If the FOUR OF SWORDS is a cell, an enclosed chamber, then the EIGHT OF SWORDS is the Labyrinth, where the Minotaur lies in wait. The thread of Ariadne is needed to escape from there (knowledge of the Law, knowledge of the correct sequence of actions). At the level of the EIGHT OF SWORDS, temptation by one or another possibility may take place. He who has yielded to temptation will move no further than the EIGHT. The EIGHT OF SWORDS may also denote activity under certain very specific conditions. (For example, a court trial within an entangled system of laws, amendments, and commentaries, where a person simply gets lost and feels like a grain of sand.)

Upright position In the upright position, the EIGHT OF SWORDS reflects the influence of Virgo, and that influence in its sharpest, most pointed form (SWORDS being the sharpest suit). The EIGHT OF SWORDS symbolizes judgments, at times biased, fault-finding, meticulous control, censure, the labeling of others, unenlightened opinion, the distortion and profanation of words.

Reversed position In the reversed position, the EIGHT OF SWORDS may indicate a betrayal that took place in the past, difficulties, hard labor, depression, an oppressed state of mind, anxiety, an accident. Stagnation, inability to act may also be signified by the EIGHT OF SWORDS. It should be noted that the EIGHT OF SWORDS, both in the upright and reversed positions, due to its connection with Scorpio may indicate certain fatal, fateful factors. These include mental illness, captivity. (You are being hindered, your life is being interfered with.) The signification of the spiritual world, where wealth binds and blinds. All cases where one person decides for another.