Eight of Cups: Tarot Card Meaning

Meaning of the Eight of Cups card upright

A figure in a red cloak walks away at night from eight neatly stacked cups toward the mountains, under a Moon with a face. He leaves something that no longer satisfies, though it looks fine. The card is about the courage to leave what is comfortable in order to find deeper meaning.

Eight of Cups reversed

• fear of leaving
• returning
• indecision

Reversed, the Eight points to fear of leaving, a return to what you gave up or an indecision that keeps you in place. Ask whether you stay out of love or out of fear, and whether you are ready to go.

Eight of Cups in love and relationships

In love it means leaving a relationship that no longer feeds you, or an inner search for something more. Reversed, you return or hesitate to end it.

Eight of Cups in work and finances

At work it is leaving a stable job for something more meaningful, a career change or a sabbatical. Reversed, you stay because of fear.

Symbolism of the Eight of Cups card

The eight cups with a gap are an incomplete life. The Moon with a face is intuition and the unconscious. The mountains and the river are the long, deep road that lies ahead.

Eight of Cups in a yes or no reading

In yes or no spreads, Eight of Cups upright reads as “yes” and reversed as “maybe”. The answer comes from the general meaning of the card (leaving, a search for meaning), so always take the wording of the question and the neighbouring cards into account. Try a yes or no reading.