Please help!!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Aug 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

ophiegryffindor	05 Aug 2003
I got my first set of Tarot card this past June for my birthday. I have become rather good at them for a beginner, but i have had a card show up upside down in a reading before and i member that meant something, and i dont believe it was good, but i dont know what it means. Can any one please help me by telling me why a card would be upside down out of no where and, what it can mean for one card out the whole deck show up in a reading upside down???

fairyhedgehog	05 Aug 2003
That's a very good question ophie :) Upside down cards are called 'reversed' and different people handle them differently. The main choices are to ignore the reversal, just turn the card right way up and read as usual. Or to read a reversed meaning, which could be any of these meanings: - that the card is less intense in meaning, or more intense, or that there is blocked energy about it, or that it means the opposite of the usual meaning. It's up to you :) People get very heated about reversals and we have had some interesting discussions on this. You might like to look at this search for 'reversals' and check out some of those threads :) Hope this helps.

Logiatrix	05 Aug 2003
...personally, I don't read anything into a single reversed card, unless I have decided before the reading to read reversals. There are other opinions that hold to significant meaning behind such an occurrence, along the same lines as when a card falls out while shuffling. All such practices are equally valid. Basically, I think that if you're a reader of reversals, adhere the reversed meaning to this card, but if you don't read reversals, just turn the card around. It might also be fun to just make a note of the card and see if its attention-calling behavior DOES reflect some significance in a later analysis of the reading. :)

Umbrae	05 Aug 2003
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15119

firemaiden	05 Aug 2003
ophiegryffindor, I am very glad you brought up this question for us to review again, because I just bought a book called "Tarot Reversals" by Mary K. Greer. In Chapter Two "Using Reversals" she details TWELVE different ways to read reversals!!! I suggest reading this book for many reasons, not just to learn about reversals, but to whet your appetite, I will list here the twelve ways here. If reversed, the energy of the card may be: [list=1] [*]Blocked or Resisted [*]Projected [*]Delayed, Dfficult, Unavailable [*]Inner, Unconscious, Private [*]New or Dark Moon (and other round deck variations) [*]Breaking Through, Overturning, Refusing, Changing Direction [*]No or Not (the upright meaning); Lacking [*]Excessive, Over- or Undercompensation [*]Misused or Misdirected [*]"Re-"Words: Retried, Retracted, Reviewed, Reconsidered [*]Rectification: Disease into Remedy [*]Unconventional, Shamanic, Magical, Humourous[/list=1] from The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals, by Mary K. Greer, Llewellyn Publications, Special Topics in Tarot series, 2002 - isbn 1-56718-285-2

Trogon	05 Aug 2003
Hi ophiegryffindor, Welcome to Aeclectic Tarot. I am quite certain that you'll get a lot of help with your journey into Tarot from the people here. Very glad to have you with us. Now... on to your question. As already mentioned, your upside down card is a "reversal". Personally, I have always used reversals. In some respects this was not necessarily a good idea. ;) For one thing, I do believe, now, that it slowed me down with my learning how to do readings. But, I also believe that, in the long run, it has worked out very well for me because now the idea of the reversals is just a normal part of the Tarot. Anyway, Firemaiden makes the same suggestion I would make. Get Mary K. Greer's "The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals"... it is an excellent resource and learning tool. The great thing about it is that Ms. Greer gives extremely good explanations of card meanings for both upright as well as reversed. I believe that it is a very good idea to know the upright meaning before you learn the reversed meaning. She covers both in a very clear manner.

firemaiden	05 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by fairyhedgehog You might like to look at this search for 'reversals' hmmmmm, don't forget about my Table of Contents!!

Elle	05 Aug 2003
I agree; the Greer Tarot Reversals is an excellent guide. I read reversals differently now because of this book - I use the either blocked energy/background-unconscious thought of the Querent or if it pertains to someone else in the spread.

jog1118	06 Aug 2003
ophiegryffindor you're obviously a harry potter fan...i am one too :smoker:

The Please help!! thread was originally posted on 05 Aug 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.