Transitioning with The Eight of Cups and the Lunar Eclipse

Today’s post is about the Total Lunar Eclipse, often called a Blood Moon

While you’re reading, please enjoy my Eight of Cups playlist!

Or, if you like videos, you can watch thoughts on this post here:

Eclipse Season

Lunar eclipses arise when Earth’s shadow swallows all or part of the moon, obscuring its surface. A total lunar eclipse is the most dramatic version of the event and is often referred to as a blood moon.

There’s no shortage of superstition and fear around eclipse season, but you won’t hear anything ominous from me on the subject.

Some folks in the ‘woo’ community get super heated on this topic. There’s a lot of rhetoric that eclipses bring forth inevitable discomfort. I don’t.

For most of my life, I had no idea how frequently we experienced them — 2 to 7 a year! And for this eclipse, if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, you won’t be able to see it.

So why bring it up?

If we attune ourselves to the energy of the Moon, we will notice subtle shifts in ourselves, and eclipses can amplify our energetic shifts.

Most obviously, we can think of menstrual cycles that follow the 28-day lunations. But you don’t need to menstruate to feel the Moon’s pull. Just like the tides, we are made mostly of water and pulled by the Moon.

A normal lunation takes about 28 days, but during an eclipse, we have the entire lunar cycle in just a few hours. Because of this difference, it’s possible to experience a rapid shift during an eclipse portal.

The word eclipse originated in ancient Greece, meaning to abandon or to leave behind.

This is how I like to conceive of eclipses - a time to rapidly and efficiently let go of something that is no longer serving you.

The Eight of Cups Tarot Card Meaning

The Eight of Cups, Smith Rider Waite

The Tarot card most directly associated with a lunar eclipse is the Eight of Cups.

Cups are ruled by water, and they represent our emotional lives.

In the Eights of the tarot, we are graduating and expanding.

In the Eight of Cups, we see a lunar eclipse. Someone is crossing over a rocky pathway at the edge of an ocean. Her back is turned as she walks away from eight perfectly stacked cups.

There is nothing wrong with these eight Cups. We’ve spent a long time lovingly filling them. But it’s time to move on.

It’s dark. It’s night. There is only the light of our full Moon, and even that will be obscured. But night is a rare window when the uncertain path is traversable.

Examples:

Perhaps you know it’s time for you to take your career to the next level. The next role or project likely isn’t clear, and your shift will disrupt or inconvenience your current work.

Perhaps you are in a loving relationship, but you are relating to each other in patterns that reflect older versions of yourselves. It can be scary to even consider growth when it will cause disruption and uncertainty.

In the Eight of Cups, we’re not getting rid of something that is dysfunctional or failing, but we are acknowledging what is no longer fulfilling.

Change will inevitably invite fear. When we lovingly and consciously leave something behind, we must make space for grief.

The Eight of Cups says: This transition is for you and not to you.

Five of Cups, Smith rider Waite

Unlike in the Five of Cups, you’ve traveled far enough and learned enough of your heart, to know you no longer need to see your Cups spilled before releasing what is complete.

Full Moon Eclipse Witnessing

Whenever we are asked to walk through uncertainty, fear, or grief, the brain wants to come in and rescue us from that perceived danger. That’s why I want to bring in the Six of Swords for this eclipse.

The Swords represent our minds, our egos, and our intuition.

Like the Eights of the tarot, the Sixes are periods of transition and expansion.

Six of Swords, Smith Rider Waite

In the Six of Swords, we see three people transitioning from what is currently uncertain, rough waters, into what will hopefully be smoother seas ahead.

When we are in the Six of Swords, we get to sit in the center of the boat. We are not the gondolier.

Just as we don’t have agency over the Moon or the eclipse, when we’re in the midst of transition, our thinking fearful mind is not the best resource to go looking for answers.

If we allow ourselves to be witnessed, we can rest in the center of the transition and allow the shifts to unfold.

For you, that can mean sharing your fears and hopes with a friend or a counselor who is willing to listen without judgment or offering advice.

If you have a supportive community, like a twelve-step group, that can also be a good place to be witnessed in the Six of Swords.

But you don’t need another person or group to allow yourself to be seen. Your highest Self, your connection to the creator, is always available.

This is the quiet voice of truth and love that will guide you away from fear. This voice will never lead you into danger.

🌑 Eclipse Ritual: Releasing & Trusting the Transition

Working with the Eight of Cups and the Six of Swords

1. Prepare your space

Find a quiet spot where you won’t be interrupted. Light a candle or place a glass of water nearby to honor the Moon’s pull. Have paper and a pen ready.

2. Call in the energy of the eclipse

Take three deep breaths. Visualize the Moon slowly being covered in shadow. Remind yourself: This is a time to release what no longer serves me.

3. Write it down (Six of Swords practice)

Before you, place a page, and write down your fears, resentments, and regrets — letting them flow out of your mind and onto paper.

Read them once to witness them, then fold the page closed, acknowledging they are no longer yours to carry.

In this moment, you stand as the Eight of Cups, leaving behind what is complete and trusting that the path forward will appear, even in darkness.

Close your eyes and see yourself in the Six of Swords boat, drifting across uncertain waters. You are not steering — you are allowing yourself to be shepherded across the water, safe in transition.

4. Witness & release (Eight of Cups practice)

Whisper to yourself: I release what is complete. I trust the path ahead, even if I cannot yet see it.

Sit in stillness for a moment, and when you feel ready, fold the paper and place it under your candle, a stone, or simply hold it in your hands.

5. Close the ritual

Thank the Moon and the cards for their guidance. Extinguish your candle.

When you feel ready, you may choose to safely burn or tear up your paper to symbolize final release.

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I’m sending love and courage to you all during this potent time for letting go!