By Sarah Taylor

Three eight cards. That’s significant all by itself. Add to this that the two Minor Arcana cards of the Eight of Swords and the Eight of Disks are the book-ends to a Major Arcana card brings this week’s reading into greater significance and a strong balance, with Strength as the fulcrum.

Eight of Swords, Strength, Eight of Disks from The Röhrig Tarot deck, created by Carl-W. Röhrig. Click on the image for a larger version.

Starting with the two outside cards, there is a further balance added by the presence of Swords and Disks, which represent the masculine and feminine principle respectively. What forms the foundation of the reading — the state you are moving away from that is still exercising its own influence — is the Eight of Swords. Also known as “Interference,” the Eight of Swords describes a dilemma, or an imprisonment of the mind, where in fact, there is one clear route through, and out.

The Eight is the mind when it starts getting caught up in the twists and turns of over-reflection. What comes back in the mirror is distorted, much like the two female figures towering over the man at centre: out of proportion, overwhelming, lessening the ability to see clearly.

What I find interesting are the two Suns, at the end of two meandering paths. The Röhrig has a strong theme of light sources, and here the source is dual. This is a fallacy: the shadow thrown by the seated figure is singular. No matter what he feels he is up against, it is hyper-inflated and, in actuality, there is only a single path. ‘Two much’ reflection.

On the other side of the reading — what you are moving towards — is the Eight of Disks, or “Prudence.” A very different Eight from that of the Swords, this card is associated with the care and attention required when nurturing something living and fragile into tangible existence. In this particular version of the card, there is a group of people standing under that creation, which lies in contrast to the Rider-Waite Smith version of the Eight of Pentacles (Disks in that suit), where a solitary figure applies himself to his craft, other people hinted at in the distant buildings behind him.

Here, the implication is a gathering, or a collective, with a mutual goal, working together to bring something into the material world. Whatever it is, it’s exquisite. A thing of real beauty that has a life of its own and which seems to have a protective quality for the group. Perhaps financial security; perhaps security of a different nature. A joint venture, whatever it is.

Where the Eight of Swords implies a lack of clear vision, here the vision is not only crystal clear but is also growing and maturing. And so you are moving out of a time of indecision and confusion into direction, co-operation, flourishing. Nevertheless, the work is not over: this is about dedication to craft, just like the Eight of Pentacles in the RWS version. There is a feeling of putting your head down, along with others, and making your vision happen. It asks for this, and it asks for care — both of your co-creators and the creation itself.

How to move into this state? Through Strength, the eighth card of the Major Arcana. You create your vision by embodying both the qualities of spirit and of animal instinct. Your sexual, sensual energy is sacred. Not only are you free to embrace and use it; in this case, you must. It is an integral and essential part of the process. You are bringing into balance your heartfelt connection to something bigger than you — a guiding force of wisdom that is divine in nature — and your bodily connection to Eros.

You don’t need to “tame the beast”; it is in service to you, as you are to it. You both submit and hold each other, and that animal side to you is a key part of the protective energy that enfolds the group of people under its living, breathing limbs. An aspect of you that perhaps you once feared and which caused confusion within is no longer blocking your path. You are free, once again, to strike out down that single path that is now making itself known to you. In truth, that path was always there — it was an internal shift that has opened it up to you. You have work to do, and you have the means, ability and drive to do it. Care, (com)passion, and alignment — with yourself, with others — are your ingredients.

Watch it come to life.

Astrology/Elemental correspondences: Eight of Swords (Jupiter in Gemini), Strength (Leo), Eight of Disks (Sun in Virgo)

If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article explains how to use the spread.