This is a card of…

New Horizons

Moving on

Bold decisions

Emotional Growth

Leave-taking

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. “

-Anais Nin

Through all the ups and downs of the previous cards, Cups have been reaching for emotional and spiritual maturity. This card exemplifies one of the toughest challenges we can face in this realm: the recognition that it is time to move on even though our present situation is satisfactory.

There are times when our inner wisdom tells us that we have grown as much as we can from a given situation, relationship, or pursuit. We know resisting the call to let go and move on will lead to dissatisfaction, resentment, and stagnation. We can leave at this right time, taking our lessons with us and offering affectionate goodbyes; or we can ignore our inner wisdom and linger, which will lead to unhappiness and an eventual ugly break. We need to summon up courage and faith. Our next stage in life is calling us…

The Eight of Cups can also be a call to evaluate our attitudes to leave-taking in general. Many people who have suffered due to abandonment refuse to let go and move on under any circumstances in order to prove that they are better than that, they don’t leave. Alternatively a person might respond by cutting ties too easily, to make sure they are not the one who gets ‘left behind.’