Eight of Swords

 Eight of swords is an interesting card... I feel like a lot of people interpret this card a variety of ways but ultimately, since it is a sword, it is traditionally seen in a more negative light. I don’t see it that way, and found that when looked at closely, it is interpretation has a lot to do with perception. 

Here we have a blind folded woman in a dull scarlet colored gown who is bound by a cord or fabric, and stands on wet ground seemingly encircled by swords. The sky is gray and she seems to be far from civilization, with a mountain town in the distance behind her. When you first look at this card, it doesn’t have a pleasant feeling. It is foreboding and daunting at the very least... however, the closer you look you notice that the swords stuck in the ground aren’t necessarily caging her in, but are more or less to her left and right. The cord or fabric wrapped about her is not snug at all but is rather quite loose, and it wouldn’t take much effort for her to free herself from its perceived confines and remove the blindfold by sliding it off her head. While she is isolated, all she needs to do is turn around to see there is a town or city not too far away in the distance which she could most likely walk to as the terrain is mostly flat between her current position and the mountain the town is built on. 

Ultimately, this card has a feeling of false confinement, and since it is swords which represent air and the mind, I perceive it as allowing preconceived notions or limited thinking to entrap ones self or imprison ones self. Sometimes we believe things that may not necessarily be true but we’ve believed them for so long that we become comfortable in the self imposed prison that those beliefs has created. If we just took a little bit of time to re examine our beliefs we would see that we aren’t as trapped as we believe we are, and all that’s needed is a re-examination of our beliefs and a change of perspective. When I pull this card in a reading it often brings about an aha moment for the person I am reading and it’s as if they already knew they had been in their own way, but just didn’t know how to let go of the limiting belief. 

In Magical Tarot, Madame Pamita lays out a comprehensive and helpful way to explore these limiting beliefs through self reflection:

1. Assess your belief and determine if it is actually true.

2. Look for examples that disprove your belief.

3. Replace the constricting belief that was holding you bound with a new, open, expansive belief. (Pamita, 43)

These questions provide a great place to start when inquiring into subconsciously held limiting beliefs and how to go about rooting them out. There are other ways to heal and replace limiting beliefs, such as EFT Tapping, hypnotherapy, and seeking counseling as it can often be helpful to have another person to help you really see yourself as the wonderful capable being you are. 

Whatever your path, I feel the eight of swords is a gift that shows you you’re ultimately more free than you think you are, if only you let go of thinking that restricts you, you’ll see you aren’t really restricted at all.