The Eight of Swords Yes or No: No, But the Ropes Are Loose

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Eight of Swords is a no made of rope that is not actually tied. Here is how I read it for yes or no questions, upright and reversed, and why the reversal flips it to yes.

If you want the short answer, the Eight of Swords is a no. In a yes or no draw the upright card says the thing you are asking about is blocked by a sense of being trapped, by fear or by a story about what is possible, and that it cannot move while that holds. It is a no about the state of the person, and the state can change.

This is a card of no as a cage with no lock. The bindings are slack. The swords do not close the circle. The figure has not tested either.

Is the Eight of Swords a yes or a no?

Upright, I read the Eight of Swords as a no. Reversed, I read it as a yes. My free yes or no tarot draw uses the Major Arcana only, so if you want a quick draw, use that; these Minor Arcana values are the ones I apply when a full deck is in play.

Tina Gong's the Eight of Swords guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with restriction, feeling trapped, self-imposed limits and victim thinking. Brigit Esselmont's yes or no tarot overview at Biddy Tarot notes that readers assign yes and no values differently, which is true, and it is why I state mine rather than pretend there is one correct table.

Why the upright card reads this way

I read the Eight of Swords as no because the card is about paralysis: the bound figure, the blindfold, the marsh, the castle in the distance that could be reached. When a question wants a result, the Eight says the person is not moving, and no outcome arrives to someone standing still in the swords.

The no is soft and specific. The Eight of Swords does not say the thing is impossible. It says the belief that it is impossible is the obstacle, and beliefs are not swords.

The Eight of Swords reversed as yes or no

Reversed, I read the Eight of Swords as a yes. The reversal describes release, new perspective, the bindings tested and found loose. The thing that was blocked can move because the person has.

If you drew the Eight of Swords reversed, the yes is conditional on actually stepping. The ropes come off when they are pulled at, not when they are contemplated.

The Eight of Swords yes or no in a love question

In a love question, the Eight of Swords upright is a no that often describes a person who feels unable to act on their feelings, or unable to leave, because of fear rather than circumstance. It cannot give a yes while the blindfold is on. Reversed, it is a yes to a person finding their way out of the fear, toward you or toward freedom.

The Eight of Swords yes or no for work and money

For work and money, the Eight of Swords is a no to the move you believe you cannot make, with the strong suggestion that the belief is doing the work. It is the card of the job you think you cannot leave. Reversed, it is a yes to testing the assumption, usually with one small application or one honest conversation.

When a yes or no draw is the wrong tool

The Eight of Swords answers questions about perceived restriction. Where the restriction is real and dangerous, the card is the wrong tool and practical help is the right one. A single card answers a single, well-formed question. If the question is really three questions, or is about another person's choices, a yes or no draw will give you a confident answer to the wrong thing. My guide to a one question psychic reading explains how I handle questions that need more than one card.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the exact question you asked, every reason you cannot act, and beside each one whether it is a sword or a rope. The ropes are the whole no, and they are yours to untie.

For comparison, the Devil yes or no and the Two of Swords yes or no answer differently. The the Eight of Swords card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Eight of Swords as timing and the Eight of Swords as feelings cover the two other questions people most often ask of it. For a personal interpretation, my guide to an online psychic reading explains how readings work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.