Walk away from the known 🌠 Eight of Cups

Tarot for the week 16/01/23 🍸 Find ways to say goodbye and move on

Jan 16, 2023

First of all, Happy Birthday to my mother. Capricorn queen and lovely lady.

It’s gonna be a quick one today lads.

This is for one of two reasons: I’m nursing a bit of a hangover from my partner’s sister’s bridal shower and also I have work in a couple of hours.

So here we go.

A quick little side note. Gift Cards are still available, their price is adjustable and they make the perfect gift for someone spiritual in your life. Or someone a little lost.

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This coming Saturday the New Moon in Aquarius will leave the sky with a little less light than usual. It’s the perfect time for a little introspection. And as this week’s Tarot reading will tell you, in the blue of the night there is space to walk away. To begin anew.

Tarot for the week of 16/01/23: Eight of Cups

Just a month ago was the last time the cups showed up in this general reading. Last time the Six of Cups asked us to find a way to fill our own cups and then use this abundance to fill the cup of others. Now here we are a little later into the winter, into the cool nighttime of the year, the eight is showing up.

In the Tarot, the eights symbolise the coming home, the stretch of the journey about to double back on itself. In this card we see a figure walking away from a shoreline. Away from the stack of cups that it has accrued. The figure seems to be walking uphill as if to say that the hardest part of the journey is not yet over. To add to that the cups in this card are upright, meaning there is much to be left behind. With the Five of Cups, there are cups that have been spilt, suggesting loss but with this card, the loss comes from walking away from something. An active choice.

Cups symbolise water and emotions in the tarot. The theme of water is echoed in the shoreline where the card takes place. There is a calm sea and yet, the island and rocks that protrude out of the water suggest danger. This area would be safe to navigate for someone who knows it well but treacherous for someone without prior knowledge. And yet, the figure is choosing to walk away from the known. From the safe.

What also stands out to me in this card is the moon. In most tarot cards the moon is pictured without a face. It is not anthropomorphised. But in this card, and that of The Moon, the way it is presented is more human. With the new moon coming up this week, and the impassive expression, almost boredom, on the moon's face, this seems like a time of illumination. Of reflection.

This card is associated with abandonment, isolation, with giving up. While I agree with some of these interpretations it also speaks to me of sacrifice. Sometimes the bravest thing to do is to walk away from something. This can be doubly hard when you have invested emotionally in the situation. But this card brings the necessary clarity that might make you able to do just that. Under the dark of the new moon, there may be light enough to see clearly for the first time in a while.

Listen to this.

Another thing to note when it comes to this card is that while you are walking away, there is nothing to say you can’t come back. People leave places and situations for all manner of reasons. But when they do it feels like the best thing for them at the time. The emotional weight of this card is in some ways an anchor or even a map. A reminder that where you put your love, your passion, you will be able to make something. And when it is time to move on you can and will be able to do that again.

Journaling Prompts for the Eight of Cups

This week ask yourself:
What do I want to walk away from? What is holding me back from leaving? Is there a way you can move on without spilling out emotionally? What rough waters have you learned to navigate? Is it time to explore a different environment?
Where do you feel the most emotional weight in your life? Where do you feel the pull of the familiar? Who or what would be disappointed if you were to step away? What journey do you feel you must go on? How would you begin that? What emotions or patterns are you trying to leave behind? In what ways would you life a fresh start?

As always, I would love it if you would let me know how this resonates with you.

Xandua Tarot

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