There are moments in our lives (minutes, days, weeks) when we feel burned out and absolutely fucking over it. VIII of Cups, today's card, is all about recognizing that and working through it by searching for a sense of understanding, purpose, and higher meaning.
Cups in Tarot are containers or vessels. They almost always hold some kind of an emotional liquid, except, of course, the cups that are tipped over, like in the V of Cups. (Although, sometimes we pull Cups as a reversal; the cups appear upside down and that shit just falls out and rains down us all.) Sometimes we have to purposely empty our cups as their contents have soured; and sometimes the emotion in the cup is highly concentrated, thick and viscous, like you have to practically scrap that shit out to empty the cup; it takes effort, time, and a strong will to be clean again.
In the VIII of Cups, we see someone who has their back to their nicely stacked cups as they make their way up the mountainside. I always think this person is in Norway because the imagery reminds me of fjords: majestic and craggy hills and mystical creature-infested waters (challenges and emotions). A sun and moon are visible in the sky, possibly as part of an eclipse. These represent our conscious and subconscious, our ego and our id, and the constant struggle between logic and emotion in our daily situations.
The Eight of Cups playlist is available on Spotify.
Message of the day: I absolutely LOVE that the cards I pull speak so well to situations happening in my family. We were just discussing how so many things in our day-to-day life feel stale, like it's Groundhog's Day, and we're just going through the same motions repeatedly, doomed to relive the same menial tasks every damn day. Whether it be house upkeep, the job, recurring frustrations with an unmedicated child with extreme ADHD, or dealing with the goddamn neighbor behind you who lets their dogs bark at five-fucking-am... life can oftentimes feel monotonous, droll, and with not a lot to look forward to.
I think it becomes pretty obvious why the figure in the VIII of Cups is marching away from their cups: they are absolutely over it. They're disappointed with where the journey has brought them and tired of the Sisyphean task of stacking the goddamn cups only to have them fall and spill all over them. Logic says, "stack and organize the cups;" emotion says "those cups aren't aligned evenly and their fronts are aligned in an attractive fashion." This guy on the hillside is like, "what the fuck does it matter? Why are there even cups on a mountainside? Peace, I'm out."
This card tells me that maybe it's time for a mental health break; time to step away, put "all the things" down, and venture into the mountains near you to find fresh air and a renewed sense of vigor.
There is nothing wrong with taking a step back so that you can relight your candle. Continuing in a proverbial state of darkness leads to a lot of stumbling, bumps, and bruises -not just for you, but for those around you. But how can you relight your wick when it seems even your matches have lost their spark?
Since we know there are some Cups we can't truly step away from in our life, we have to learn to prioritize and be willing to let some of the lesser Cups lie so that there is time for recuperation. We can't sacrifice our own happiness just to maintain the status quo. We have to find the time to be with ourselves, whether that be a jaunt through nature or a trip to the local mall, so our minds can literally focus on other, new things that don't involve the bullshit of our daily reality. Finding passion in a hobby is another great alternative: something to look forward to and invest your time, thoughts, and energy into when you need to step away. It adds new things to your daily routine and breaks up the monotony.
And for the things that you realize CAN fall to the wayside: honey, follow Elsa and LET IT GO. Drop the things that don't serve you and hold you back. If they are important or necessary, they will find a way back to you, and maybe, by then, you'll have the room to say, "hey, welcome back. I know you're here, but you don't get as much of my time and focus."
Ultimately, just be kind to yourself. Step out of your routine and introduce tiny new things into your daily life - note, this is not advocating for daily shopping sprees on Amazon. I'm talking about finding new things that uplift, re-energize, and enhance your life's value and purpose. Then, when you come back down the mountain, you'll have new perspective, patience, and maybe even a willingness to deal with your Cups in a more manageable, healthy way.
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