Eight of Swords

The Eight of Swords card is connected to Mercury, through the element of air. We may think that the intellect should be lifted up by this strong reinforced current, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Too much intellect and brainpower come together at once and lacks balancing elements, like emotion and a stable foundation.
Pointless overthinking mustn’t be confused with sharp focus. While we still believe, that a focused strategy is in place, we are already trapped in cycles of thought, with no obvious escape.
Headache can be a very physical warning sign, as are burn-outs, compulsive acts, anxiety or not being able to rest and/or sleep. Usually, if we are trapped in this situation, we have lost our inner foundation.
When there is a tendency to completely rest in this state for a longer period of time, we are usually less healthy balanced with the counterpart of air, the element of earth (or in kabbalistic terms – the counterpart of Hod – Netzach/Venus). A result can be stiffness, inflexibility and becoming haughty. Often, we experience a lack of feelings and body connectivity. The loss of vibrant energy and other qualities of Netzach comes along with it.
When we rest in such a mentally stressed state, neither a goal can be reached, nor is there relevant progress. We just wander into endless cycles of thought and overrated logic.
There seems to be no way out, since this state is in fact an unconquerable enemy, with only the intellect as a edgeless weapon. We need to let go and start unfasten our tight grip on mental control by our own will, before the environment forces us to do so. The challenge of this card is to trust into the unknown and let all thoughts go away, they won’t help us any more at this point. A more active way out would be, to become creative (water element), do handicraft work (positive air element), or to get out into nature (earth element). We may recognize that there are a number of things to do, to ground ourselves again.
Coming to peace with our own mind is the ultimate goal of this card.