Eight of Swords Tarot Card Meaning

Eight of Swords upright

A woman stands bound and blindfolded, swords around her. Waite reads it as temporary confinement rather than permanent captivity. His list includes bad news, crisis, censure and power in trammels. The bonds are looser than they look: one small step at a time gets you out.

Eight of Swords reversed

Waite reversed gives disquiet, difficulty, opposition and the unforeseen. Expect some surprises; ask for help rather than struggling alone.

A reversed card (What does Upright / reversed card mean?) is one drawn upside-down.

Is Eight of Swords a yes or no?

Upright: Leans no. No for now — first loosen what is holding you back.

Reversed: Reversed, Eight of Swords reads as a gentle no: disquiet, unexpected obstacles, opposition.

The yes/no lean is BornClock’s reading convention drawn from the card’s meaning — Waite himself did not assign one.

Symbolism in the Eight of Swords card

What appears in the 1909 Rider–Waite–Smith picture, as Waite describes it:

• Bound, blindfolded woman — Waite: temporary durance, not lasting bondage
• Swords around her — thoughts and fears that hem you in

In Waite’s own words (paraphrased)

Upright: bad news, violent chagrin, crisis, censure, power in trammels, conflict, calumny.

Reversed: disquiet, difficulty, opposition, treachery, the unforeseen.

Source: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910, public domain). Some of Waite’s 1910 fortune-telling meanings are old-fashioned; the plain-English reading above is ours.