Does anyone else remember back in the 80s when "personality types" was kind of a thing...you know the driven "type A", the laid back "type B", and the type "T" thrill seeker? I think we all have elements of all three, but for some one type may dominate. I forget the details in the intervening 25 years...but somewhere around '84 or '85 I saw a tv show about the "T" types that was really interesting...there were positive and negative type Ts...those who get a thrill in benign ways like procrastinating, and others who found thrills in antisocial and illegal ways. The show also made the distinction between 'physical' and 'mental' type T...people who are into extreme sports and people who enjoy challenging ideas, that push the envelope of their world view, complex and difficult ideas, people who like to solve problems and think on their feet.
Of course you can combine all three aspects...positive and negative of either type of thrill seeker.
The 8 of wands is a great card for Mental T + people.
The ideas in the card are a little challenging, especially for "type A" black and white thinkers.
It has to do with what German speakers might call "gestalt". Eastern philosophy might call it "the ten thousand things". Cosmos. The all-that-is. I see it as akin to what Richard Bach calls the "IS" or the "IS-ness" of the universe. It is a really BIG idea behind this card.
Like the Tower card in the major arcana, it is a call to perspective...where does this problem or question fall in that big picture of everything?
Like the Fool card in the major arcana, this card also hints at the potential in things. What is the potential hidden in your question or problem? How can you make lemonade out of lemons?
Beyond that, this is the card that takes those two major arcana ideas and connects it with totality, and wholeness. Like the Magician card, what can you manifest out of the totality?
I've heard it said that part of the reason Hindu and Buddhist mala have 108 beads is the "8" is they symbol for infinity if you put it on its side. True enough...but I don't think that is the reason. (the rationale that it was to give a buffer in case some of the 100 mantra were mis-said or mis-counted, so if you say a mala, it validly counts as 100 makes more sense to me. Mala are ancient and Eastern, the infinity symbol that looks like 8 on its side is old, but of Greek origin if I understand correctly. )
But you can see why the 8 of wands is a great card for mental T +...lot's of juicy ideas. I wonder why ideas like this are in the minor arcana instead of the major...why such a minor card incorporates so many different major ideas.
Hmmm...come to think of it, there is a lesson there, too...
All the cards are part of the same deck, and better, worse, major, minor, positive, negative, evil, good, sacred, mundane, complex, simple...they are all just judgments and classification that we put on things to help us understand them. Which arcana the card is in, how "profound" we may judge the ideas doesn't really matter if you see the deck, and everything else, as a seamless whole.
Wishing you a day comforted and connected by everything. The all-that-is be with you.
Baihu
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