Oh totally, I’ve had the exact same thoughts about the 8 of Cups! People love to frame it as some big “glow-up” moment — like, walking away equals instant healing or growth or whatever — but honestly? Sometimes it’s just someone dipping out because they don’t wanna deal.
That moon in the card always throws me off too. It feels sneaky, like the person thinks they’re doing the wise, mature thing, but really they’re just avoiding something messy or uncomfortable. Especially in relationship readings, I’ve seen this come up right before someone ghosts or emotionally shuts down and calls it “boundaries.”
I usually look at what’s around it in the spread. If it’s paired with The Moon or 7 of Swords or even 4 of Cups, I’m like, yeah… this feels more like avoidance than transformation. But if you get, say, the Star or the Fool? Then maybe they are heading toward something better.
So yeah — you're not alone. It’s not always some deep emotional breakthrough. Sometimes it's just “welp, this is hard, I’m out.”