1. Tarot
2. Card meanings
3. Eight of Wands

Minor Arcana · Wands

Eight of Wands

• activity in undertakings
• swiftness
• great hope

Upright meaning

Swiftness and activity in undertakings. Waite: that which they signify is at hand. Things on the move, and great hope.

Reversed meaning

Reversed, Waite notes internal dispute and stings of conscience. A prompt to settle an inner argument before rushing on.

• internal dispute

Symbolism

Eight staves fly through open country, drawing to the end of their course.

Group

Minor Arcana · Wands

Element, astrology

Not given by Waite, so we give none

Source

Our own plain-English summary of A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1911), Part III §2 (The Lesser Arcana). The keywords are Waite’s own words. Waite’s fortune-telling lists also contain harsher terms; we keep to the reflective readings he gives and never state an event as certain.

Tarot is a tool for reflection, not a prediction of fixed outcomes. This is not medical, legal or financial advice.