Reversal experiment ends...thank [insert diety here]!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 13 Feb 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

lawguy51	13 Feb 2003
I tried for about a month. Not every deck. Just my Toth, Universal Waite and Haindl. I tried not to pay attention to making reversals happen. I tried not to look at the cross on the Toth back cover or the Haindl eye. I tried to stare at those reverse cards and glean something from them. But the fact is, I dreaded every time I saw a reversal come up. Not because I didn't think I could read a reversed card. I don't know why, really. Maybe I just don't like the look. If I didn't have a ready interpretation, I had plenty of books to help me. But reversals were pulling my focus away from what I was trying to do. And I seemed to be giving satisfactory readings before I started using them. So that's it, I've re-sorted my decks. I've watched the debate on this forum. I respect the opinions on both sides of the issue. But I decided to give it a try mainly because both Mary Greer and Rachel Pollack eventually switched to reversals during their Tarot careers. I wanted to emulate them. But, alas, I must follow my own instincts, develop my own style and technique and be comfortable with my cards. So I'm back to the 'spectrum of meaning' technique. I've been reading a primer for the Toth deck, a book called Keywords for the Crowley Tarot by Banzhaf and Theler. They don't use reversals. But in their interpretations they have two little interpretation sections, one called "Encourages....." the other "Warns against...." I find with those two parameters in mind, a reverse meaning becomes clear to me if it's meant to. Well, ok, that's it. Upright people, I'm back in the fold! Lawguy51

Diana	13 Feb 2003
Going against the laws of gravity is a hard thing to do! And reversals do look so messy! :laugh: And welcome back to the fold. Prodigal sons are never turned away.

Dark Inquisitor	13 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by lawguy51 I tried for about a month. I tried not to pay attention I tried not to look I tried to stare I dreaded every time reversals were pulling my focus away So that's it, I've re-sorted my decks. Lawguy51 That last one must have felt really good!! Tarotphelia

Dark Inquisitor	13 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Diana reversals do look so messy! [/b] LOL- priceless, Diana !!! Tarotphelia

lawguy51	13 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Tarotphelia That last one must have felt really good!! Tarotphelia The best!!

Mimers	13 Feb 2003
I am with you Lawguy, I have the same problems with reversals. When I look at them it doesn't look like it should have a different meaning, it looks like it should be turned around. I am not saying I do not want to use reversals. I am saying that like manyother things, I am going to have to grow into it. All things in their own good time. Mimers :)

Mystica	13 Feb 2003
I have never been comfortable with reversals either. There are good arguements on both sides. As with so many things in Tarot, and life, I think you have to do what feels right for you.

jema	14 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Mimers When I look at them it doesn't look like it should have a different meaning, it looks like it should be turned around. *LOL* exactly! i also tried reading with reversals for almost a whole month but never did much with them. just turned my head in a really strange angle so i could see them and then tried to think what i could write about them.

lawguy51	14 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by jema *LOL* ...just turned my head in a really strange angle so i could see them and then tried to think what i could write about them. Eureka! Now I know why my neck's been hurting so much! Ok, gotta go, I've got an appointment with my chiro. LG51 :D

Major Tom	14 Feb 2003
All those years ago when I started with the 22 Majors, I read reversals. After a while I got that crick in my neck too. Then I realised I didn't need to see them upside down to get it. So I gave it up too. }) I wonder if age and flexibility contributes? ;) Welcome back. :)

Umbrae	14 Feb 2003
“muserhvourm sorusdfanero….damn toothpicks, which way is up asdfleru 0q34uldfk oh no we couldn’t buy the squares could we…asdfkjael;sruerk”

HOLMES	14 Feb 2003
why did the fox eat the gingerbread man when he promised to take him across the river? he had to follow his nature. :O) thusly you who have followed the uprightals can not go agianst thy natures.. while me i couldnt' bring myself to even try rightals :O) is it so bad for a musican to only play the blues ? (even bb king has expanded into the jazz modes a bit :O) however he sticks with the blues.. so it behooves us to know ourselves and play to our strengths to balance out our weakness. the system maniac in me has to automatialy shuffle the tarot to it is half reversed and half upright it is in my nature eheh :O)

Silverlotus	14 Feb 2003
I'm reading upright with my Robin Wood and Osho Zen and reversed with my other decks. I actually like the upright readings very much. I don't feel like I'm missing anything at all. *shrug* I guess it remains to be seen if I stick with the upright readings or not.

Aoife	15 Feb 2003
When I get a new deck, after ordering the cards I 'muss' shuffle/ mix them flat on a table, shuffle, cut three ways - inverting one. So I end up with a lot of reversals but over time I get less and less because I return the cards to the deck after a reading in an upright position and I don't seem to remember [prefer not to remember?] to invert one third each time I cut. Time I think to accept that I don't want to read reversals and to concentrate more on the shades of meaning suggested by surrounding cards.

WolfSpirit	15 Feb 2003
lawguy- this is my story too ! I tried to do reversals with two of my decks just so that i had tried. I had read the discussions on reversals at AT and I thought to really form a good opinion, I had at least to have tried to do reversals but... it just did not look right, did not feel right. I did not want to use the decks I had reversed anymore (well that's a way to solve it I guess LOL) I had no problems interpreting them, I do use reversed meanings in upright readings too. But I did not like the way my spreads looked anymore. So I turned my cards back too before I got my neck dislocated :)

Kiama	15 Feb 2003
I used reversals for quite a few years... 4 or 5 I think, before switching to 'Uprightals' (Holmes, I love that term! :*:D) And I tried using reversals once more a couple of weeks ago, but found myself switching out of my intuitive method of reading and nearly wanted to reach for a Tarot book! So, I know that it's Uprightals for me! Kiama

lawguy51	15 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Kiama So, I know that it's Uprightals for me! Kiama I feel buoyed by all of these Uprightal responses. :) Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae “muserhvourm sorusdfanero….damn toothpicks, which way is up asdfleru 0q34uldfk oh no we couldn’t buy the squares could we…asdfkjael;sruerk” I've sent Umbrae's note away to be decyphered so I can figure out exactly how he was making fun of us Uprightals :D.

Xarokys	16 Feb 2003
I'm glad I found this thread. I've been trying to read with reversals because I thought Real Tarot Readers Use Reversals, but they give me a headache. Well, I am now giving myself permission to use only uprightals because a) it feels more natural, b) I don't need to twist my neck, and c) its not really neccessary since there are shades of meaning from positive to negative in each upright card. I'm going to use only uprights for at least a year and then assess my progress. I may try reversals again at that time or I may not. I feel so relieved!

Karenwhe	16 Feb 2003
Funny enough I don't hate reversals but I don’t do them often. I like them as much as upright readings. However I would use reversals in certain cases, I don't get a neck ache for some reason. But I do think that learning to use reversals is a process and it must be taken slowly. Otherwise is gets confusing and you just give up. I didn't start with reversals, but I know in certain cases reversals do help to find blockages especially if you also use EDs. After 15 years of reading cards I still find myself doing reversals occasionally when I feel it is needed. When I used to read with regular playing cards I never did reversals. Today I would say that out of 50 readings I would do 7 to 10 times reversals. But I don't think that they are necessary to do all the time. Maybe that is why I don’t get a neck ache.

Trogon	18 Feb 2003
Oh Lawguy! Another backsliding reversalist.... ;) One thing is for sure... you can now add a great deal to this discussion when it comes up again (I'm betting it will eventually). I find this very interesting in light of the fact that I've been having trouble reading reversals with my Victoria Regina deck, so I'm considering putting those all back upright. Hmmm....

Aerin	18 Feb 2003
I don't use reversals either. However, I found Mary Greer's book on reversals an excellent way of really appreciating the full spectrum of card meanings. I tried to use them too. And it just didn't seem right. My Arthurian deck tells you not to anyway (or rather the book does, and also the backs aren't reversible). Aerin

Lee	18 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Aerin My Arthurian deck tells you not to anyway (or rather the book does, and also the backs aren't reversible). Interestingly enough, the author of the Arthurian, Caitlin Matthews, in her subsequent Celtic Wisdom Tarot says that we *should* use reversals otherwise we're not getting the whole story. I guess she changed her mind! :) Personally, reversals just don't feel right to me, so, like many others who have posted here, I've decided to stop trying. -- Lee

Alex	19 Feb 2003
because I'm incompetent when it comes to read reversed cards. Alex.

Macavity	19 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Alex because I'm incompetent when it comes to read reversed cards. Alex. Awww. On the other hand they afford you more "wiggle room", if someone challenges you on your interpretation? }) But I'm another who finds them "untidy" to look at as well! My latest hero - Clive Barrett (of Ancient Egyptian fame) say EDs make you to take a wider view of surrounding cards and the spread as a whole. Good enough for me - Uhm... Plus the fact he only gives upright meanings in his book :D Macavity (looking for loopholes)

The Reversal experiment ends...thank [insert diety here]! thread was originally posted on 13 Feb 2003 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.