Renaissance Tarot (Jones / Lyle) - 8 of Swords

Sulis

This card reminds me very much of the Rider-Waite-Smith version of the card.

Against the violet background of the Swords suit we see a person surrounded by swords.
His hands are behind his back, presumably they are bound together and around him are eight downward pointing swords.
Two of the swords are embedded in the ground right in front of his feet.
He looks downcast.

I think of this card as the 'white noise' card.
This is a card about being and feeling trapped, trapped by one's thoughts.
Eights to me are related to Justice and so are about balance and in the Eight of Swords we see thoughts or communication that are out of balance.
This card is about having so many thoughts in your head (white noise) that you don't know which way to go and so are paralysed by your own sense of indecision.
The advice of this card then is to try to still your mind so that movement towards some sort of balance can be achieved.
 

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Enchanted

I find this card interesting in that, his hands are behind his back but we cannot be sure they are tied. There is no ribbon. I usually see this card in terms of restriction, but this one seems to illustrate more the feeling of helplessness. 'He' looks a bit downtrodden, and like he is feeling sorry for himself. The belief that you cannot change or escape your situation is indeed debilitating, and I guess that in itself is restricting.

The things that strikes me the most with this card is that the two swords, nearly strike his feet and the two swords behind him look like they may end somewhere near his hands, yet his chest is open, exposed. I might even, in the right circumstances, be tempted to read this as a kind of "near miss" experience which has been debilitating, leaving the person feeling trapped, vulnerable and just plain sad.
 

Papageno

White noise....excellent description.......but we can eliminate that. no the hands aren't tied, there are options but Justice demands that all obligations be fulfilled to restore balance.
sometimes the white noise results from a conflict of desire vs. duty......it can also indicate blackmail, either in the emotional or political sense, but even in the case of blackmail, there is always a choice......the better choice is not necessarily a pleasant one but you do have a choice, you don't have to live with the Sword of Damocles hanging over your head.

all too often we focus on this card primarily as a set of (difficult) circumstances, but in fact, the very image of this card is in itself deceptive. it's a strange irony. if we eliminate the white noise, our vision becomes clear and our perception of the situation changes radically.
 

Enchanted

Papageno said:
sometimes the white noise results from a conflict of desire vs. duty....
I really like that and hadn't thought of it that way before, but that is making some incredible sense to me. I'm not sure if I am understanding your meaning correctly here but are you referring to a myriad of thoughts about what you want to do (desire) conflicting with thoughts about what you feel that you should do (duty)? If I have understood this correctly that has just thrown a great spin on this card for me.

The Osho Zen 8 of Swords is renamed "guilt" and paints a very good picture of this "white noise", great term there Sulis, the woman looks like she is going insane from all these thoughts. That got me to thinking about guilt, as I guess you could tie that to responsibility, and thus duty.
 

AJ

I drew this card as my card of the day. It is the 9th sword on the card that weirds me out... He looks like he is observing how his own sword has entrapped him or impressed him considering it goes past his waist.
 

Papageno

Enchanted said:
I really like that and hadn't thought of it that way before, but that is making some incredible sense to me. I'm not sure if I am understanding your meaning correctly here but are you referring to a myriad of thoughts about what you want to do (desire) conflicting with thoughts about what you feel that you should do (duty)? If I have understood this correctly that has just thrown a great spin on this card for me.

The Osho Zen 8 of Swords is renamed "guilt" and paints a very good picture of this "white noise", great term there Sulis, the woman looks like she is going insane from all these thoughts. That got me to thinking about guilt, as I guess you could tie that to responsibility, and thus duty.

sorry, I didn't check back and completely missed your post.

yes, you got that right. the conflict that arises from being in a difficult situation that is forcing you to make a choice, it's a situation you can't simply walk away from......you are forced by circumstance to confront the issues. there is the scenario of desire vs. duty but on an even deeper level, it can be an unresolved ethical dilemma.

I also see this a back-against-the-wall, painted-into-a-corner situation where your strategic possibilities are limited and the options available to you are not ideal.
 

Papageno

AJ said:
I drew this card as my card of the day. It is the 9th sword on the card that weirds me out... He looks like he is observing how his own sword has entrapped him or impressed him considering it goes past his waist.

that's a revelation and I can see the point you're making, although I'd add that this scenario knows no gender bias ;)
 

Enchanted

AJ said:
I drew this card as my card of the day. It is the 9th sword on the card that weirds me out... He looks like he is observing how his own sword has entrapped him or impressed him considering it goes past his waist.
I didn't get this at first... then I had several further looks at the card, still going huh? and then the penny dropped... :| ...so 'he' is kind of contemplating his um...er... navel-ish area. I had never noticed that! Nice observation! You could take that quite far really, interesting but a little odd and kinda creepy, in a man wearing a raincoat and nothing else kinda way. But I like it... your observation there!
Papageno said:
I also see this a back-against-the-wall, painted-into-a-corner situation where your strategic possibilities are limited and the options available to you are not ideal.
And also that you are not open to any options, closed, you cannot see, further than your...(no I'm not going there) own feet, your own issues. You limit your own possibilities.

I don't like this card, and when I get it I groan, as I already know that I'm stuck, I already feel it and not sure I need the visual confirmation. But then I got to thinking that maybe it helps... to have that visual confirmation as a motivator to get unstuck.
 

Bernice

"I didn't get this at first..."

Snap! But from a male point of view, and given the stance, I suppose 'emasculation' might be a first thought!
In fact, the card does convey a sense deprivation - a loss or inability of free movement/thought.

Seems to me that this is about bowing to the inevitable, or what a person considers to be inevitable. May also indicate a need to look 'outside the box', the morph-man appears resigned - tunnel vision.

I think it would depend on the adjacent card(s) to clarify.

Bee :)

Many moons later:

Looking afresh at this card I think it could show someone deliberately deciding to accept (or go along with) something personally restrictive.

In connection with 8/Justice (which I agree with), maybe it's about accepting ones' punishment - or 'sacrificing' as recompense.....?
 

AJ

I thought the card was ridiculous, and finally just gave the deck away, I couldn't take it seriously after that.