Reversals Revisited, or twelve ways to love reversals.

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 Aug 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

firemaiden	08 Aug 2003
(for Diana) The last person who inquired about reversals was orphiegryffindor (intriguing name)... I may have scared him away with this list . Perhaps it will scare you away too?. In Chapter two of her book, Reversals, Mary Greer examines twelve different ways to view reversals. Here are the headings for the twelve ways. [list=1] [*]Blocked or Resisted [*]Projected [*]Delayed, Difficult, 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 Okay, raise your hand if you just use the 'not' meaning. Hahahah, me too. I mean, that is, if I feel like it. Sometimes if I don't think the meaning fits as 'not' (read- I don't like it), I turn the card around. :D :D :D. I love this list, it gives me a lot of other possibilities, so I don't have to turn the card around and then feel guilty. For example, -- the sun reversed -- maybe it is not that the golden joy and success will end, maybe it will become excessive!! (hahah). I guess one really needs to read the book to understood what she means for each method, but I'd love to hear if some of you use any of these other methods, and especially, with EXAMPLES.

catti	08 Aug 2003
humourous..... now maybe it is just my sense of humour but i always thought the 9 of cups was funny reversed just in my primary deck (morgan greer)9 of cups is this very self satisfied slighty drunk fat man so upside down its like the morning after and he had a little too much and the cups are all running over him....what a mess! i love reversals and couldnt imagine not using them....someone on here said it would be like reading every other page of a novel..but too each his own. i wanted to add: #13 the Heads Up approach i read about it first here that a reversed card signifies something you need to pay more attention too, that is why the card fell reversed.

jog1118	08 Aug 2003
i use the following meanings for reversals: 1. No or Not (the upright meaning); Lacking 2. reduced effect or Delayed, Difficult, Unavailable 3. Misused or Misdirected examples: emperor rx - no structure / system; may appear in a reading about status of a company (or any organization) hanged man rx - learning / having difficulties in giving up something; may appear in a reading re forgetting a past love strength rx - use of strength to manipulate other people for one's own end; may appear in a reading describing a person thanks firemaiden for sharing the other implications of reversals!!! :smoker:

Mimers	08 Aug 2003
Firemaiden, Let me start by saying it was so thoughtful of you to start this thread to help Diana out ;) I am sure she will greatly appreciate it. Reversals for me usually come out as the negative aspect of the card. I don't always read them that way. There are some occations where my first impression is that it is something being blocked, or delayed. Or maybe if there is only one Rx card in the spread, I just give that card and that possition extra importance. Mimi

Moongold	09 Aug 2003
T try to use 10 and 11.

firemaiden	09 Aug 2003
Oh, I am so delighted with your feedback, this is really fun. I especially liked Catti's vision of the smug nine of cups guy with the spilled cups running all over him. (the cup runneth over :D :D)

Astra	09 Aug 2003
Maybe I should copy the list and memorize it.... I tend to see if I can get a direct meaning for the reversal, and usually have to back up and look at the card straight up, then add a "not", or an "un", or try to look at the scene from behind the symbols. When I'm behind the Magician, and he's therefore looking away from me I've moved away from the focus of power? Or the Chariot, leaving me in the dust...

Cerulean	09 Aug 2003
I've never dared to do it here, but there was once I posted to a group of friends 'readings from the worst reader in the world, Auntie ____'. Auntie___flipped cards upside down and deliberately reworded the fateful meanings to be deliberately off-target. A person fearing they would never find the ideal lover and faced with the devil card RX was recommended take up a superhero identity to beat the devil or to give in to material pleasure by baking gingersnap cookies for spicy aftertaste and buying multiple kittens as lapwarmers. Auntie__ recommended to an aspiring musician/songwriter to face the moon and sun RX cards by starting a cross-gender group that lip-synched their lyrics and target the commercial jingle market for residuals. Their mantra was supposed to be the 'thong song'. Auntie__ has retired, but once in awhile she appears inappropriately in my own alternate humor readings.

Macavity	09 Aug 2003
I think Mary K's book is excellent - for non-inverted meanings too! :) Occasionally I work on this idea that you needn't use reversals at all (I don't) and that the cards assume some meaning which is entirely flexible between the positive and negative, dependent on situation. A bit like Mr. Banzhaf's notion of cards "favouring" or "warning against" etc. You can make use of Mary K's excellent "reversal" descriptions in this context to simply add to a spectrum of meaning. Probably if formalised (and I knew what I was doing!) this would be fairly akin to using elemental dignities... :D Macavity

Marion	09 Aug 2003
Thanks for the list, it should be seen by all. Even if it doesn't change anyone's mind about reversals, it is food for thought. I have read Greer's book and used it as a starting point many times. After you read it a lot you can generally move into reversals quite easily. The inversion of a characteristic is not straightforward. Say, Page of Wands. A clever youth, quick thinking, quick acting. Reversed possibilities: A youth who lies and is rash in action. Too quick, firey in temper and likely to do things s/he regrets later. That is not just 'no' to the upright page. It is the shadow side of the same qualities. Three of swords, reversed. Just the swords falling out? Not necessarily. The swords now lodged deep into the unconscious affecting future actions with an unhealed wound. hehe, I am one who does use reversals, no surprise eh?

catti	09 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Marion .The inversion of a characteristic is not straightforward. Say, Page of Wands. A clever youth, quick thinking, quick acting. Reversed possibilities: A youth who lies and is rash in action. Too quick, firey in temper and likely to do things s/he regrets later. That is not just 'no' to the upright page. It is the shadow side of the same qualities. These are the most challenging reversals, IMO. For instance, the Page of Swords(rx) in alot of LWB and big books is a spy. how do you work that into a sincere reading? and what about the good news /bad news take with the Page of Wands? What I found myself doing with Court Cards reversed is using the #1, #8 , #9 meanings , as they apply to the upright card. ie: question will i get the job im looking for knight of wands rx shows up, i would read this something along the lines of "you need to put more energy into your search' or 'bolster your self esteem and really GO and get the job" of course depending on the rest of the spread... so the knight of wands is the same just blocked or repressed. ps. VERY funny Mari.....Auntie_____ worst readings ever.....i have a book of that proclaims the most disasterous poetry ever...perhaps Auntie was a fan?

firemaiden	09 Aug 2003
Too bad this isn't a party thread. If this were a party thread, I would say, "feeling articulate today, are we, eh, Diana?" and then I would add, "want ice?" ... but since this isn't a party thread, -- (and its not, because, if it were, it would be in chat) -- (and if I go on much longer, I will have to delete myself and send myself a warning) -- I would say, " come on gals, lets tie her down, and rip that muzzle from her mouth... (hope its not duck tape, but if it is... ouch...). But Diana, what are you worried about? We are all friends here! Come on, speak, sister. Or is it, all you can say is ? * ------ * "get thee gone, miserable one"

Elle	09 Aug 2003
The Page of Swords RX is the use of caustic speech, malicious gossip, or "silent treatment"/mute. The upright Page of Swords is the quick -thinking, quick- speaking, and perceptive person. One who is used to watching other's behavior carefully and is good at judging how to act from that reference point. Warmest, Elle

Red Emma	09 Aug 2003
My favorite reversal, if one HAS to get the tower, is tower Rx, which I take to mean that the worst is over and now you only have to pick up the pieces.

Elle	09 Aug 2003
Yeah, I am relieved when I see the Tower RX as opposed to the upright - it means there is still time to bail out before the explosion! Warmest, Elle

firemaiden	09 Aug 2003
OKay, how bout the ten of swords? Is it worse? or better? If you turn it upside down, either the swords fall out, or you are lying on a bed of nails!!!

Marion	09 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by firemaiden OKay, how bout the ten of swords? Is it worse? or better? If you turn it upside down, either the swords fall out, or you are lying on a bed of nails!!! bwhahaha, answers don't come cheap!

catti	09 Aug 2003
reversed or not that scythe its weilding is still swinging around. just reversed you are stagnant *eewwww* and another the wheel reversed what do you all say Bad Luck? things out of your control?(but that can be an upright interpretation too) do you point to the little guy under the wheel and say " see that guy , that is you right now" i think i am going to have to print that list out what has me really stumped is the "shamanic " interpretation how does that go?

Moongold	09 Aug 2003
No dear firemaiden.........10 Swords Rx is a recommendation to take up complementary therapies such as yoga and acupuncture when things get tough. These approaches enable one to bear the pain as a stoic, transform it into something else, or repress it all together. You've heard of those Mystics who walk on burning coals? Same principle. I suppose it really means just change your direction otherwise you'll end up as pincushion in the tapestry of life.

Elle	09 Aug 2003
Catti: I am quoting from Greer's Tarot Reversals , Page 10: "Shaman/Shamanic: from a Tungus word meaning 'one who is excited, moved or raised'. A man or woman who, as an inspired priest, enters into an estatic trance state to access nonordinary reality (ususally percived as an upper or lower world) in order to gain knowledge, protection, healing energy, and /or support for self and others". Greer's Shamanic expalation for 9 Cups RX, for example: (p.135): "...this can represent a sweat lodge or steam bath in which toxins are released from both body and soul. It can also indicate a giveaway at which your true wealth and well- being is publicly demonstrated by your ability to give everything away".

firemaiden	09 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Moongold No dear firemaiden.........10 Swords Rx is a recommendation to take up complementary therapies such as yoga and acupuncture when things get tough. These approaches enable one to bear the pain as a stoic, transform it into something else, or repress it all together. You've heard of those Mystics who walk on burning coals? Same principle. er... you mean, a bikini wax?

catti	09 Aug 2003
brasilian bikini wax- that would be like the hanged man? willing sacrifice to be renewed.. firemaiden : you mean, a bikini wax?

Moongold	10 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by firemaiden er... you mean, a bikini wax? Duh? (Is that American for ?) No...I've just realised...... that pain is nothing like 10 Swords pain I suspect. Lying on a bed of 10 Swords would be nearly so bad if you put yourself into a Yogi type state of mind, and then you would be so blissed out, nothing would matter anyway. So practice Yoga and meditation and you will get through a lot of situations differently. Now the acupuncture. The card could simply be recommending this as a way of dealing with the pain. Acupuncture is very effective. We use ear acupuncture to help people in drug withdrawal. It's tremendously powerful and folk really like it. I may be seen as trivialising the thread. My apologies. Sometimes, though, a fresh view is useful :D :joke: :) And of course, laughter is the best medicine.

firemaiden	10 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Moongold And of course, laughter is the best medicine. exactly my point!! and then again, isn't that one way to view reversals? As humourous? (but I would need some examples)

Moongold	10 Aug 2003
And Tower Rx is when God says Sorry, I didn't really mean it but you needed some renovation anyway, and there is a good market for antique bricks... My favorite is the Devil Rx, which I take to mean that I can go out and sin again.

firemaiden	10 Aug 2003
Moongold, you're on a roll! That was hilarious!

Moongold	10 Aug 2003
God and I have decided to speak to each other again. S/he is actually very witty, and extremely good company. Especially on Sundays. God believes that the human race takes itself much too seriously. The Hanged Man Rx illustrates the level of His/Her frustration in this regard. :joke: S/he would like us all to reconsider how much fun things can be, and that we don't always have to go to such pits of suffering.

Umbrae	10 Aug 2003
Pshaw – reversals. I don’t use a hard and fast rule for a reversed meaning. Depends on the reading. 10 of swords reversed? In a Marseilles deck? Reversed minors of pre-1909 is a joke. Kinda like Bikini Wax. Great fun unless it’s you…”Hear that scream? Oh yah…that’s the sound of smooooooth.” Just my opinion, but reversals really are an art form (similar to laying on a bed of nails). Try to pin the meanings down to a codified set of rules, and sooner or later you’re dealing with ingrown hairs. Just my opinion. :smoker:

Moongold	10 Aug 2003
Umbrae............. How dare you try to restore some respectability to this thread :D I think I may have rendered firemaiden speechless, a fairly amazing feat. Warmest regards, dear firemaiden. It is always fun when you are around :)

Moongold	10 Aug 2003
On a serious note.................... Perhaps reversals are a way of saying Play it again Sam.... In other words, have another look at this. It may be the Tarot's way of jolting us out of our comfort zones. Mary Greer has given many thoughtful ways of seeing reversals. I am sure she would agree that her suggestions are only the beginning. Another message of reversals is Think outside the Square turn the situation upside down and round about. Or maybe they say, sometimes, you're just gonna have to hang there for a while, honey, and see the world from another perspective. It's only a day at a time. My personal world has sometimes looked as if the entire landscape was made up of Towers, old ruins with streaners attached in mockery :). In such situations, the only thing to be done is often to laugh. And then to set about reversing the situation or moving through it. Isn't there a film called Life Rx?

carrielynnsim	10 Aug 2003
umm... I don't mean to argue, but I take yoga, & I get pretty "blissed out", however I think if I had 10 swords sticking out of me I think I'd feel it! As for the bikini wax, maybe yoga... nah never mind... I don't think that would help there either. Carrie

Moongold	10 Aug 2003
Blessed be, I'm sure you are right :) I was being metaphoric but perhapsa little on the edge. Have had too many Sundays this year. Not good for the mind obviously. my best wishes, carrielynsimm.

firemaiden	10 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by carrielynnsim maybe yoga... nah never mind... I don't think that would help there either. Not wanting to dévergonder* my own thread even further, I have only this to say: it did. *fr. corrupt, lead astray

Diana	10 Aug 2003
Come on duckies: the pond is this way! Hey look! One of the ducks is standing on his head!

Moongold	10 Aug 2003
kcauq kcauq :D I think this reversal more accurately reflects the sound. Diana, I didn't know that you disliked reversals. I do take them quite seriously myself.

Diana	10 Aug 2003
Oh Moongold! I do like reversals. Only I don't do upsidedown cards. But all the "reversed" interpretations need to be taken into account when one does a reading. Only some people read them with cards upsidedown and others not. It's just a question of personal preference. kcauq.

firemaiden	10 Aug 2003
hsalps, hsilps! Bottoms up, everyone, what a lovely pond, the duckweed is underneath us, lets plumb the depths. Gosh, you know, of course all the "reversed meanings" are included in the upright card all the time, that's why Uncle Crowley reminds us that every concept includes its opposite at the same time :) I mean, we are not just talking about physically turned upside down cards here, are we, actually, we are talking about reversals, inversions, photo-negatives, and inside-outs, finally -- opening up the field of interpretive possibilities exponentially, so no, Diana, you are not exempt from this par... uh... discussion. I just love Mary Greer, and how she plays with the images -- this one, her example of the ten of swords reversed - suggesting lying on a bed of nails, -- this kind of mental association of words/phrases to the images is so close to the kind of puns and jokes Freud talks about in dream language. -- often the image in our dream is a pun, you know, (desperately trying to think of an example here... I will).

Moongold	10 Aug 2003
Ah..........firemaiden! This is indeed rich territory but before we move on I'd like to acknowledge the subtlety of Diana's approach. You don’t really have to be reversed to be considered reversed. That seems quite European to me. I really like it, coming as I do from the reversed side of the world. To be SERIOUS again, one of the best visual puns is the Hanged Man card in Tarot although this varies from deck to deck. The Hanged Man is reversed but seems to feel no pain or discomfort. In fact the reversal seems to have released him from something. Whatever, it has given him peace. He may not have had a choice. Who knows? But he is comfortable in a position that would not ordinarily be so unless one was yoga fanatic. Which ever way you look at this card - Rx or upright - it has a message about looking at and experiencing things differently. About contemplation and self-examination The Hanged Man should really be the archetype of Reversals. Odin went on to become a magician and reader of runes after his sacrificial hanging from the feet.. Christ rose from the dead after his crucifixion. The Tree of Life has its roots in heaven and grows towards the earth. (All the above attributed to Gadd: " Tarot and Individuation"). And there are some rather nicely comforting things on a mundane earthly level about REVERSALS as well such as upside down cake, little fruit bats that hang from their feet, Australians who live on the reverse side of the world but who are the world's nicest people.......and so on :).

Cerulean	10 Aug 2003
Firemaiden says... I just love Mary Greer, and how she plays with the images -- this one, her example of the ten of swords reversed - suggesting lying on a bed of nails, -- this kind of mental association of words/phrases to the images is so close to the kind of puns and jokes Freud talks about in dream language. -- often the image in our dream is a pun, you know, (desperately trying to think of an example here... I will). ---------------------------------------------------- Ah yes, I have a good-bahhhd, sheepish example....lately I've been looking at Mary Greer's Tarot Reversals and her Women of the Golden Dawn and interspersed it with Yeats poetry in my journal entries. So because I'm remembering more of my dreams because of my intermittent sleeping (sinuses), I remember seeing an image of a half-covered bubbling pot (think of a rice cooker) and a dismayed profile expression of a woman holding the pot. It reminded me of the Queen of Cups, which in the Rider Waite is similar to my dream memory. (In the actual card, the cup looks more like a trophy, not an electric rice cooker). I remember asking the woman about what was fermenting or cooking in the pot. Was it rice? Oh no, it was yeast gone awry, she said, to make good bread. The starter was infected. When I woke up, I remember that I hoped it wasn't a sign of an an internal disturbance. I hoped it meant the Queen of Cups was being invoked in my ideas and maybe it means...a Yeats infection? That's my hope. Mari H.

Moongold	10 Aug 2003
Ah..........yes! So elegant :)

firemaiden	10 Aug 2003
Ohmigod! hilarious! She's studying Yeats, so she has a 'Yeats infection'!! Thanks Mari! what a great example!

Marion	10 Aug 2003
Agree with Diana that you always need to consider a reversed meaning in an upright card. There is a throw in Your Readings right now with a Page of Wands in it, upright. But the more I look at the throw, the more I see the reversed meaning. Generally wherever the light side, the shadow side is there as well. "Yeats infection" okay, that is *very* good. I like the comparison of the cup of the Qof C in RW to a rice cooker. hahaha

lawguy51	10 Aug 2003
Mary Greer's book, yes, excellent read, helps when a card in its upright position just doesn't make sense to me. But looking at all of that lovely artwork upside down makes me dizzy. I get this nauseous feeling in my stomach when I draw a card reversed. So I'd like to add method number 13 to Mary's list. I first learned this method reading Rachel Pollack's Shining Tribe book. I studied and studied her method until I mastered it. And now I feel confident enough with this method to be able to competently describe it to you all. Ready... When I (inadvertently) get a reversed card....I turn it around. :) But seriously folks, I've been fooling around with Reversals again with the Shining Tribe deck, and I do turn them around then just pay special attention to them. But I just can't warm up to reversals. Too much deck management for me. No matter, with my Thoth deck I don't give reversals a second thought. I am just mindful of the shadow nature of each card. Lawguy51

Cerulean	10 Aug 2003
Is it because the designs also have a symmetrical look on many of the minors...or the fact, cards such as the Princess of Wands, reversed, actually look just as interesting? There's something about the Thoth designs that seem to work both ways. Makes me wonder what Crowley/Harris new about 'sacred geometry'...I think they were much more advanced--perhaps being younger-- than Yeats and others in investigating yoga and Asian practises and symbols. Mari H.

lawguy51	10 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Mari_Hoshizaki Is it because the designs also have a symmetrical look on many of the minors...Mari H. Sorry Mari, my syntaxi was a bit off in my note. I meant I don't give reversals a second thought because I don't use reversals with my Thoth deck. But now that you mention it, cards like the 5 of disks or 5 of cups, with their upsidedown pentagram configurations might look pretty interesting reversed. Oh god, don't put ideas like that into my head! Lawguy51

firemaiden	10 Aug 2003
Well, there is nothing quite as amazing as the Thoth Queen of Cups on her head... Quote: ...The Crowley Queen of Cups is a very interesting card to see reversed, because it almost looks the same upside down as right side up. It is a very beautiful and mysterious card: the geometric patterns of swirling light imitate the "retrograde" motion of planets (when the earth is imagined to be the center of the universe) in telescoping, concentric ovals, intersected with a half-cirle arc of light and ten yellow rays. The queens face is barely discernable in the center of all the intersecting ovals, swirling patterns and rays. She stands at the shore of a lake or some clear pool of water, in which all is reflected. When the card is reversed [...] what is world and what is reflection of the world is now reversed - as though dreams have become real, and real has become dreams plagiarized from Queen of cups reversed (esp. Crowley)

Cerulean	11 Aug 2003
So has anyone done a book of Crowley/Harris Thoth Reversed? I bet it would be rather fun. If there were 78 of us interested in this, we could take one card and describe it reversed. I have the court cards essay, so I'd love to plagerize and rewrite for a court card...say start another Thoth Group thread?? If more, maybe it doesn't matter how many contribute...because everyone would write the reversal in a different way. What a fun take, Firemaiden, and an interesting idea for any of us...take your favorite deck...reverse it...rewrite the meanings...but the Thoth and abstract tarots might yield the most fun...although in the Mermaids Tarot, I started reading the reversals as reflections. In rare instances of reflections among mist and near bodies of water, sometimes atmospheric conditions will show scenes in the sky or projected against hills...like castles in the air, sailing ships in the sky...so I thought of reversed scenes as what the mermaids might be projecting of land creatures, for instance. I'm going to search for mirage reflections in the air and see if there were myths... Mari H.

firemaiden	11 Aug 2003
Hmmmm, Mari. Well, it could be like one of those books of articles compiled from different authors. There would have to be one very good editor to put it all together. I am not sure what the rest of the Thoth deck looks like reversed. But it could be very promising to research. My deck is in Berlin :( One deck which works amazingly well physically reversed is the Margarete Petersen deck, as was pointed out by CompassRose . She wrote: Quote: Oh, wow. That's all I've got to say to this. [...] These cards are MADE to be turned upside-down! Turning them is not a reversal; it's a further revelation -- new images, shifts, a whole different perspective, things suddenly revealed. [...]

Elle	11 Aug 2003
You know, sometimes I read reversals as "background voices", like the ones we say to ourselves. For example, the 7 Wands-Rx - could be an embarrassed, self-conscious feeling that we don't admit out loud. Warmest, Elle

firemaiden	12 Aug 2003
Oooooooh, Elle, you mean, we need to add a number 14 to Mary Greer's list? I'd love to hear more about Reversals as Background Voices. Care to elaborate and share a few examples?

Elle	12 Aug 2003
Well, it is like an inner thought of the upright card: say it is the King of Pentacles in the 10th position of a Celtic Cross - I cheat and use not one but two clarifiers on either side of the 7, 8, 9, and 10 position of this spread (I guess that works out to be a lot of cards all told). Okay so the King of P with 2 clarifiers flanking him - one on his left, say the 7 Wands-RX ( he feels embarrrassed and self-conscious), but the right flanking card say is the 6 of Wands upright - he outwardly projects confidence and claims a victory. I read it this way all the time with Courts, especially- hmmm...or a Queen of Wands shown with a 4 of Swords RX (she is thinking to herself that she is really getting her act together) but outwardly she shows a 5 of Cups to the outside world. I get the real deal in my own readings when I see a Court I can identify from the surrounding cards (work situ, etc) and then a see a flanking reversal and know how they Really Feel about the situation (9 Cups-RX Tell the Truth, already!) My mother the Empress invades my readings all the time (ugh) today she appeared with the Star RX and the Hermit RX - she is concerned about old age, living alone - exactly what she has been thinking about by the mere hints she has been dropping (with positive spins for our benefit-does not outwardly discuss or admit that she is concerned) about retirement and not having a life-partner to share it with. Thoughts? Elle

Moongold	13 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Elle I cheat and use not one but two clarifiers on either side of the 7, 8, 9, and 10 position of this spread (I guess that works out to be a lot of cards all told). I read it this way all the time with Courts, especially- hmmm...or a Queen of Wands shown with a 4 of Swords RX (she is thinking to herself that she is really getting her act together) but outwardly she shows a 5 of Cups to the outside world. This is fascinating. Thank you for sharing it. It is as though you think there is always an inner thought, another agenda. For me it might complicate things immensely to do something like this all the time. That probably says something about me :laugh:. I prefer to take people on face value, otherwise get into deep and murky waters. I can see why you would do it with Courts. Do you do it with ALL Courts, including the "younger" Courts? What if the clarifier is not reversed?

Elle	13 Aug 2003
In answer to Moongold's question on the Courts and reversals, etc: If the clarifiers are not reversed than the message is loud and clear and strongly expressed. I am especially careful reading the 6 and 10 positions. If the card plus 2 clarifiers are reversed, those are just thoughts, not an actual outcome. It like low-level, blocked energy/thoughts. That outcome is something I am only thinking might happen. In the 6 and 10, only uprights are "real". I usually read Pages as messengers or messages - especially the page of Wands - that is communication via telephone, etc. I like to read the Page of Swords RX as someone giving the "silent treatment, or preferring to stay mute rather than cause further argument. Otherwise Pages could be children. The Knights I read as movement or a character type, usually. Try it for yourself and see how you like it! Warmest, Elle edit to add: The environment position of the CC: position 8 I am careful with as well (how others see querent)

firemaiden	24 Mar 2004
bump

Phoenyx*	24 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Marion Three of swords, reversed. Just the swords falling out? Not necessarily. The swords now lodged deep into the unconscious affecting future actions with an unhealed wound. No no no, let's let the swords fall out. But look around the heart (Refering to the RW). There are dark clouds, its raining....every good health practitioner knows that moisture breeds bacteria! It's like their favorite place to do the dirty and multiply like crazy. Ever opened a CO2 incubator? Woooosh! Out comes the humidity! And what grows best in that sort of humidity?! Gonorrhea! Now, I'm not saying that this heart is going to start festering with gonorrhea, no no no! Something much worse. First of all, you've got the fact that you've got three swords stuck in a heart. Think about it, imagine if a guy was in front of you with three swords stuck in his heart....what? Yeah, you're right, the human heart isn't big enough to handle three swords at once. Alright, let's just say, a guy with three swords stuck in random places of his body. Are you going to just go around pulling them out? Oh NO NO NO! You'll prolly end up doing more harm than good. So, now, you've got a heart, the swords have prolly been ripped out dramatically, doing more harm than good, and...the rain is pouring down, so now, you'll prolly get the most dreaded bacteria of them all....which unfortunately is getting more common by the day....Methicillin Resistant Staph aureus. Well, it really isn't the most dreaded, but, it's a pain in the arse to fix. :/ So, now instead of cleanly healing, you're going to be getting bloodstream infections, and what if those were dirty swords?! You might even be getting Tetanus! See how bad a reversal can get? And you thought 3/Swords upright was bad.... :D

brandi124	25 Mar 2004
firemaiden-- I just found this thread and wanted to say thanks! I wanted to get some more info on ways to read reversals but thought I was going to have to wait until I could go get a book on the topic but the list you put at the start of this thread will majorly come in handy.

tmgrl2	28 Mar 2004
another thread bumped up...another firemaiden thread bumped up...er, down.... I have the Greer book, too...I just like what the list did for me...gave me not infinite possibilities, but opened the door to so many more than I might have considered intitally...and agree that has to be in context of spread/reading... Three Swords RX in a CC I did for a close friend...I just saw those swords FALLING OUT...(just in this situation) ....and the pain of the whole situation Q was in being resolved with a "healed heart" I didn't do any reversals at first...try them now, but really get crazy when most of them come up RX...is it my shuffling and cutting? The one that really would puzzle me is RW 5 Pents...the one with the weary, disabled travelers , one with the bell around his neck...the crutches and the stained glass above with the pents in the window...I have a hard enough time with this one straight up...sometimes...I remember the long thread on it. So RX 5 Pents RW....I see these crippled people who are already suffering falling through the stain glass window in a blizzard....rags upside down...crutches flying everywhere.....maybe it's shouting at them....STOP ALREADY. YOU'RE THERE! I don't think it's a funny card, but somehow, RX, it makes me want to laugh at life...like people going around in pain when the answer is right there.... terri

The Reversals Revisited, or twelve ways to love reversals. thread was originally posted on 08 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.