hi... a question about reversals...

hi all...
i recently recieved a reading from a somewhat newbie... 9/10 of the cards he drew me were reversed...

i asked if he had his deck upside down...

do you think it would be appropriate to re-read the reading with the cards upright?

thanks for your 2 cents.
s.

To avoid that possibility, I glance at the bottom card after shuffling and before drawing - I orient the deck to that card's upright position and go from there. Very rarely do I get a reading that is primarily all reversed but when I do, a quick check through the rest of the deck shows that, nope, they're mostly all upright - the reversals are valid.

It's an arbitrary system, I know, but it works for me.

...

have you ever gotten 9/10 reversals? that seems pretty negative to me!

s/

I don't often do 10-card readings, but I have gotten almost all reversed even though the deck was upright. Very rarely, but it does happen - and usually about something that has already involved a whole lot of resistance and denial. Like the deck is exasperatedly saying "Look! How many times I gotta tell ya...."

But to answer your original question... if I were to draw a spread that is almost all reversed, checked the deck and realized it was 'upside down' it wouldn't bother me at all to flip those cards so it was 9 uprights and 1 reversal. Mistakes happen. But on the premise that mistakes happen for a purpose, I'd also still be inclined to read the flipped cards as warnings more than blessings.

I don't read reversals. When I split the deck to shuffle, I turn one half around so that it shuffles right side up. It just works better for me that way.

If I were you, I'd do the reading again with the cards upright and see what they say.

rule of thumb...if most of the cards are reversed, reverse them (they are only upside down and not reversed)

thanks you guys...

thank you very much for your input...

I had mosly reverse cards one time when I did a reading for a friend of mine. I strongly believe that the cards were trying to give him a warning about the situation. Don't know if he took the warning or not but I do believe there was a reason for it in this case. It was the first and only time it has ever happened and I found it very odd.

You can always trying doing another similar reading, or asking the cards for more insight on the situation.

I recently did a reading in which I thought the cards were mixed - reversed/upright, but it somehow turned out they were all upright and, when dealt, came out all reversed. This seemed absolutely appropriate given the circumstances and how the querent described the cards (I always have them begin by describing the upright card while I listen for the "reversal").

I tend to see a majority of reversed cards in a spread as an overall block or resistance. Then we look at the cards upright to see what is trying to come through - where the opportunities lie.

As it turned out the querent, whose intent was to give herself over to the spiritual life, was making deals with God. Her affirmation was "I trust that God will have everything come out okay." I pointed out that this was a conditional statement. She's the one who exclaimed, "Oh, I get it, I've been making deals with God, rather than it being unconditional. I should just be "I trust God."

I don't know whether making such deals with God is always right or wrong - but I know that this person had a major breakthrough!

Mary

Have a read through some of the threads in the Table of Contents - All About Reading, in Using Tarot Cards, (post 2). This topic comes up from time to time and it's worth remembering that reversal doesn't mean negative.