Eight of cups

Eight of Cups - Tarot Card Description
The Eight of Cups is another card of change and transition. The card evokes an immediate reaction of sadness and a sense of solitude. The young man in this card has turned his back on all he has accumulated or accomplished before. He is disappearing by night into a barren and difficult terrain with only a cloak on his back and a staff in hand.
There is a general sense of dissatisfaction arising from a realization that the things we have fought and struggled to attain may not be as satisfying as we had hoped they would be. This card resembles the card of the Fool in that the main character is embarking on a journey, yet there are significant differences in the attitude and feeling behind these two cards. The Fool is already at the top of the mountain and is carelessly stepping off the edge. He is naive and inexperienced and begins his journey as an adventure.

The character in the Eight of Cups, on the other hand, has lived and experienced life's joys and sorrows. His journey is undertaken because of a sense of restlessness and unhappiness experienced as the result of achieving all he has desired, yet finding those things to be less fulfilling than expected. This individual has chosen to forsake the familiar and the comfortable in the pursuit of higher goals. He is embarking upon the spiritual journey because he has not found deep satisfaction in the things of the world, the things with which he is familiar.

On the eight of Cups, we see a man leaving on a journey. He has turned away from his old feelings (cups/river) to strike out on a new path.

In the eight of cups, we see a person walking away from a stack of cups. It obviously took some effort to build up those cups, and stack them so neatly. Why has this person turned their back on them? There is nothing for him in the direction he is walking. All we see is barrenness. Everything he has worked for is behind him.
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When this card shows up, it indicates a person disappointed enough to walk away from everything he has built up. It could indicate a disappointment in love, or a dissatisfaction with material success. It could also indicate that the person has overextended himself to the point of exhaustion. I would caution the person to slow down and take it slower before he gets totally burnt-out.

Rejection of material life. Disappointment in love. Desire to leave material success for something higher. Wish is fulfilled but not to the degree you want it to. Seize the day to gain honor.
Don't understand the situation you're in or why things are the way they are, and want to know if there's anyone ''up there'' who's listening or cares. Whether you see it or not, you're being given the opportunity to rise above your habitual or instinctive response patterns and if you make a conscious attempt to do so, they will lose their grip on you.
In a relationship reading, the Eight of Cups highlights that you would ideally like to escape all the emotional issues that surround the relationship, and carry on as if you were in a perfect partnership. You would like to be able to turn your back on any of your past issues, and re-establish a new relationship together. However, deep down, you know that these issues which will continue to plague the relationship if they go unaddressed.

- Biddytarot