I love to work with Tarot decks of varying themes. I recently ran across a blog on the Eight of Cups from the “Herbal Tarot”. This is a deck that I don’t have, but that is now going on my wish list! It follows the traditional lines of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, using herbal lore as a backdrop. It is a very gentle deck – the type of deck that I most prefer to work with.

The imagery in this deck is a bit different – instead of seeing a dark cloaked individual walking away from the cups and into the mountains, we see water, and a ship sailing away from the eight cups. In the sky over the ship we see a quarter moon. The water represents our subconscious mind, and the ship represents us.

In general, when the Eight of Cups comes into a reading w know that a situation has become stagnant, it has outlived its purpose/usefulness, and we need to release it and move on. In the traditional imagery, the figure walking into the mountains indicates higher wisdom being attained. The boat that represents the self on the waters of our unconscious also indicates higher wisdom coming to us.

The herb associated with the Eight of Cups is Gravel Root. (An image of the herb also appears on the card.) According to the companion book, Gravel Root helps to loosen emotions and feelings. If we are to accept higher wisdom, we will need to release whatever is holding us back, and be willing to expand our emotional boundaries.

An Eight of Cups moment is a turning point – a leaving behind of the past, and moving into the future. It is all about how we see things – seeing things from a new perspective. There is a need here to honor that which we have already achieved, and to be willing to move forward perhaps on a different path, or in a different manner.

Where are you in the cycle of your life? What challenges you? What sustains you? What no longer sustains you? Where do you need to move forward? What small steps can you take to do this – while honoring your past achievements at the same time?