Cosmic Tribe Tarot

EIGHT OF SWORDS

Indecision

Sometimes it's all rather overwhelming. Important decisions need to be made, deci­sions which will have a tremendous impact on the future. There are so many options to choose from and the consequences of choosing the wrong one seem dire. You want everything to turn out heavenly. Indeed, given this horrible indecision, you need it to turn out heavenly. But it could result hellishly, and then all of those negative fantasies will be realized. Damn! What are you going to do? In the card a figure arches his torso and throws his head back, burying his face in his hands. This is a picture of mental anguish born of indecision. In the middle of difficulty he freaks out and loses his ability to see clearly. The swords that could represent options for escape point downward, drag­ging him into the mire of indecision. The swords are further rendered use­less by having no tips. The blades disappear where confusion has stopped the productive mental process. They are the incomplete thoughts sur­rounding each option. The impractical handles also reflect the figure's con­fusion with their curly convolution. Confusion begets confusion as the ideas born of a desire to escape indecision are misapplied and further cloud the situation. In response the figure shuts down and retreats from the world. He is stuck and overwhelmed and needs some new, more precise reasoning tools. Above the figure's mental tumult, however, Boreas, god of the winds of change, promises relief. If only for a moment the figure could clear his mind he would see that the winds of change will soon blow him to a place where his decisions will be easier to make.

Divinatory Meaning

Should the Eight of Swords confuse your reading, ask yourself how you are dealing with important decisions in your life. Are you currently over­whelmed by the need to make an important choice? Don't be too hard on yourself. The process of making a decision requires us to focus our atten­tion and clarify our options. Create a space where you can do this effectively. Beware that focused attention can act as a magnet, drawing hungry needs from all areas of the psyche that make it difficult to see the best option. If you bog down in details and lose sight of the bigger picture, try doing something completely unrelated to the choice you have before you. You can then come back refreshed and see potential solutions you could not see before.