Adding reversals?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 May 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Phoenix	11 May 2002
I was wondering what everyone here does to add reversals to their readings. I haven't used them before, but I plan on buying Mary K. Greer's book "The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals". How should I add them to the deck??

Rhiannon	12 May 2002
I use reversals. When I get a new deck I shuffle it completely with the cards all facing in one direction. Then I split it into 2 piles and flip one pile around and shuffle again. Sometimes I'll flip the piles around a couple of times, just to be sure they are all mixed nicely. For this reason, I tend to prefer decks that have a "reversible back" so that I don't know when a reversal is coming. But I can work with them either way! Good luck and let me know how you feel about the book, I haven't bought it yet. Rhiannon :)

Umbrae	12 May 2002
Rhiannon...you scare me sometimes. I do pretty much what Rhiannon does with a deck. My varient is every fourth shuffle, one half of the deck is turned 180 degrees.

Liliana	12 May 2002
My husband takes the deck and sandwiches it between his hands then turns the deck so the one on the bottom are the same, the top are reversed, and everything in between is at an angle so it looks like a 3d circle, or spiral. Then he straightens up the deck and shuffles

Phoenix	12 May 2002
Thanks guys!!!

Geenius at Wrok	12 May 2002
I mainly use the Nigel Jackson deck, which is fairly large and stiff. Therefore, when I shuffle it, I find it easiest to have the two halves of the deck overlap only at one corner. This lends itself to a fairly natural means of reversing cards: In your left hand (reverse all directions if not right-handed), hold the deck at a 45-degree angle, lengthwise along a "northwest-southeast" line. Cut the deck and turn the top half 90 degrees to the right to form a V. As you shuffle, let the two halves overlap where the corners touch. Before you push the deck back together, "flatten the V" by rotating the left half counterclockwise and the right half clockwise, so that you're pushing the "bottom" of the right half of the V toward the "top" of the left half. Give the deck another 45-degree turn clockwise; lather, rinse, repeat. (As with any riffle shuffling method, you should always cut the deck before you start drawing cards—otherwise, cards can get stuck at the bottom.)

HudsonGray	12 May 2002
Anytime it 'feels' like I should reverse a section of the deck I'm 'chunking' then I do it. I also shuffle & turn at random also. They get pretty mixed after a few minutes. And when I'm done reading, each card gets added back into the deck at a different area & shuffled once or twice before being put into the box. I feel that it helps to randomize during each shuffling period.

Rhiannon	13 May 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae Rhiannon...you scare me sometimes. Goddess knows I'm trying! LOL Rhiannon :) (runs off again.....)

Zhritza	15 May 2002
Whne I get a new deck and am ready to start reading with it, I get it thoroughly shuffled by dealing it into at least five piles (face down), and then stacking those at random and shuffling normally. For reversals I have tried just dealing every other card upside down, but I'm thinking I should alter that because it's not random enough... I should probably do the "when it feels right, turn" thing.

tmgrl2	13 Jun 2004
I tell my Q that I will lay out the cards upright...so I don't have to worry when I shuffle about direction of cards...like Umbrae saying, with a new deck, just don't drop them all...so I keep it simple and turn them up and into their places in the spread.... terri

Red Emma	13 Jun 2004
It never occurred to me to "add" reversals. I shuffle the deck as many times as it wants to be shuffled. I figure that if the Goddess wants to tell me something with a reversed card, the card will be reversed. They don't need to be specifically manipulated in any manner. Just shuffle and lay them out. Those which need to be reversed to answer your query, will be. Just to be a bit redundant.

Jeanette	13 Jun 2004
I still am not comfortable with reversals, in and of themselves, because I like to keep everything orderly and tidy, and that means all the cards upright. I know, I'm just that way. But, I do recommend Greer's Tarot Reversals. Even though I don't actually use reversals, it's a nice book to have because it covers all the bases. So, even though my cards VERY RARELY come up reversed (practically never), I still like knowing all the different meanings contained in the cards.

Sillanza	14 Jun 2004
Even though I rarely intentionally reverse cards, I can report that on those instances when they have appeared reversed (and in one case when almost alll the cards were, yet the rest of the deck was not) they have had a lot to say. I usually will give the querant the choice of reversed cards or not, explaining that even if they don't choose, where the cards fall in the spread will usually tell the story.

tmgrl2	14 Jun 2004
OK...next time, I'll start with my deck in order...shuffle, however, cut and draw...and READ reversals..just because I want to see how my style fits...I do agree with those that have said that since the cards themselves contain all the elements whether upright or not, we should be able to read...but I want to try for myself. Best way to find out. terri

The Adding reversals? thread was originally posted on 11 May 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.