TAROTEight of Wands
Upright
Passion and the will suddenly manifesting to produce rapid change.
The burst of energy that produces a fast and positive change, ending or solution.
Travel and moving forward in life
Intuition
The Image shows a Coronis, which literally means ‘head with hair’ and refers to what we now call a comet.
A comet is of course one of the fastest moving bodies in the sky and completely synonymous with the motion suggested in this card, as well as being an ancient messenger of rapid change.
Reversed
Lack of progress through external obstacles, resisting changes, or moving forward at speed in the wrong direction.
Being prevented from moving forward.
Moving forward rapidly without proper planning or thought.
Being locked in a situation with no room for movement.
Astrologia
An open mind that sees the bigger picture, often inspirational. Fits in well with many social groups through a natural curiosity and ability to learn. Can miss the fine details through impatience.
Eight of Wands
After the more assertive signs of Aries and Leo, we move to the Eight of Wands with the softer and more playful Sagittarius with Mercury. This denotes travel and the mind (specifically exploring and learning/thinking).
Rather than Fire as will and emotion, the Fire now represents passion that drives ideas, inspiration and thoughts into a state where they can change the physical world. Such a transformation always leads to the fastest progress and the most rapid change.
This card predicts rapid advancement and decision-making. Anything in progress or left hanging will reach resolution quickly, making this a good card in career and relationships.
Ideas and thoughts require a fertile mind or environment, with the world full of color and in bloom. We previously saw the odd staff or spear with a little bit of green on it but in this card we see them literally bursting with life!
The fastest thing the ancients saw was often stellar objects in the sky and one of the fastest was the comet.
The Coronides
The Coronides were two nymph sisters (Menippê and Metioche) who were transformed into comets by the Gods. The sisters willingly sacrificed themselves to save their lands from a plague. The Gods (specifically Persephone and Hades) took pity on them and transformed them into comets.
In the ancient world, comets represented a sudden and worrying change in the normal order of the sky and were seen as bad omens and bringers of calamity and massive natural disasters. In more recent times, astrology and many occult teachings see comets as amoral messengers from the Gods and heralds of powerful new energy that will bring new beginnings or significant change. This change can be either good or bad, but it will always be rapid.
Description and Symbology
Wands are associated with the element fire, and in this case specifically thoughts and ideas held passionately. Thus the fire sits on water, signifying the will and assertiveness of fire mixing with the water of emotion. This force manifests itself as living spears that fly upwards into the sky, travelling almost without limit.
From the same fire we see one of the coronis sisters rising up; a comet bringing with her the message of rapid change caused by the fire.
The fire
The fire represents ideas and thoughts held passionately. These have been the source of many of the powerful forces of rapid change throughout history.
The spears
The spears represent the physical manifestation of world-changing concepts and passions. They are laden with life and growth because that is what they create!
The comet (coronis)
The comet is a messenger, signifying upcoming rapid changes in your life, and the coronis nymph is the mythic personification of it.
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
There will be rapid communication or decisions made that change the relationship for the better.
This may be the closing of old issues or moving forward into a new way of life caused by other parts of your life (such as career). As this card often signifies travel, it may mean a permanent move.
Delays or blocks in progress caused by a lack of communication or a failure to agree.
This will lead to a break or sourcing of the relationship unless it is handled well.
The card is a very positive sign for career matters.
There will be career advancement or completion of tasks and projects.
There may also be a move to new fields via a change of job or location.
All this will be on the back of work you have set up in the past; your previous work set up the launch-pad but now you are in the rocket!
Delayed projects, failure to meet targets and missed opportunities, or projects that were started without clear planning and moved quickly… in the wrong direction.
These will almost certainly be caused by poor communication or a failure of anyone to be passionate enough to take the reins proactively.
There is a worry that this will adversely affect career prospects or a break-up of your team.
A time of rapid growth in what you are passionate in, and if it is health then expect good results. This may also point to a fast recovery.
A feeling of constraint or failure may affect your confidence or self-worth.
If you are feeling stuck at work or part of a losing team, consider carefully which direction will prevent this in the future.
You will see or experience surges of wisdom or new ideas and these will come from exploring places you have not considered before. This may be via travel or simply picking up a book you wouldn’t normally.
The road less travelled is the one you will get the most of at the moment, so long as you do it with passion.
A feeling of being stuck or forcing yourself to accept the orthodox means you are in a position that promotes safety over personal growth.
Consider carefully if this is what you really want and what you need to do to unblock your path.
This card suggests quick gains in investment or start-up ideas.
Although the progress will be rapid, the actual work to set this up will most likely things you have done with passion and hard work in the past.
There is a sense of slow progress and growth in your finances, or investing into get-rich schemes with little planning or off the back of someone else’s passion.
Yes through rapid progress in anything you decide.
Indeterminate because although you may meet your goals, progress will be slow and may be seen as failure or only partial success.
Reading the Card
The upright card
The upright Eight of Wands suggests you are taking control of your destiny and making rapid progress in your chosen direction. There will be actions in the past that have set you up for this and although there were a few bumps along the way, you are now literally flying ahead.
Goals are within reach and you are being carried along to success by your own momentum and enthusiasm.
Not everything will be 100% positive all the time as a successful goal can mean ‘completion and closure’. There may be some goals that are positive overall but may be hard in the short term: a failing relationship that has to end, or a positive career move that means you leave co-workers (that have become close friends) behind. Notwithstanding this, the current progress will be overall positive as a period in your life.
The reversal
The reversed Eight of Wands describes the same path as the upright card except that your path will be full of inertia and things slowing your down. This inertia comes from a lack of conviction or enthusiasm or being blocked by external events or opinions.
You may be trying to move forward via the enthusiasm of someone other than you. Second hand enthusiasm does not become rocket fuel for your journey!
Card Design Process
The card follows the rule that all cards must have a character on it that represents a strong archetype, in this case the personification of the comet and a precursor to rapid change.
This makes it significantly different from the same card in other decks, but consistent within the current deck.
Final Words
This card moves on from previous difficulties and finally sees a straight path to the final goal.
Things move forward when the initial work has been done, the potential obstacles have been cleared, and a line of sight to the final goal can be clearly seen.
