How to look at outcome Cards? (using reversals)

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Jun 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kahlie	02 Jun 2004
Hello, For a while now I have been trying to find the common ground with reversals and how to read them. I have read several threads here about it from people who use them/don't use them/don't like them and all the possible points of view about them. I'd like to give an example and see what people's point of view about it is. If it should be moved to Your Readings or if the title if misleading, please edit/move it moderators. I did a little reading for me today, just asking questions and drawing 1 card. Lesson for today: Ace of Wands (Indeed I was busy with my "career" as student and having a lot of ideas/ambition today) What I should watch out for/What would help 10 of Swords:Ruin rx (Normally I don't see reversals as the opposite meanings, yet here I had the distinct idea that my Thoth deck was chiding my negative thinking. Like it was telling me that I was not that broken sword/"dead" man with 10 swords in my back) Ok, again, What would help me also? Knight of Disks Ok Ok, I get it. Be hardworking and realistic. What would be the outcome? 5 of Cups: Disappointment rx Now this has me going ??? If it was going to be a succes, why didn't I draw 6/9 or 10 of Disks? After all it was a work/earth related question. Or why didn't I draw a 4 or 6 of Wands? After all it's about an ambition. So I kept thinking, why these 5 of Cups? My thought where: 1) It's indeed a very emotional thing for me 2) I am indeed worrying about Disappointment, is my deck telling me that I should not worry about it? Because it came out reversed and not "normal". I wonder if other people ever specifically thought about the "outcome" card and specifically why it was that one, and if the meaning should be opposite because it came out reversed =) I hope I made clear what I mean, but I don't know, because I am still on painkillers and rather fuzzy.

Imagemaker	02 Jun 2004
Your post is perfectly clear :) As you develop a relationship with tarot, you develop a mutual language of understanding. To get the 5 of cups as "you won't be disappointed" is perfectly clear. Yes, wands are about ambition, but our feelings about success or failure are tied in so closely to action, you can't split the suit's messages into tight, separate categories. Other cards will appear for you that convey other levels or varieties of "success" and over time, you'll become more and more clear on what the deck is saying with each subtle nuance. Reading tarot is literally learning a language--the dictionary meanings of words and the subtle tones of body language too!

raeanne	02 Jun 2004
Hi Kahlie, For me, each card has a full circle of meanings. Using circular cards can help show the nuances that are available for each card. Rarely is a card’s meaning totally upright or totally reversed but it is usually somewhere in between. The upright meaning of the five of Cups is about grief, loneliness, ostracism, rejection, despair, etc. Reversed, the meaning focuses more on the two remaining full cups instead of on the three spilled cups. A reversed five of Cups can be about learning to accept and deal with the grief. While there is a pain that comes from being left alone, there is also a power that comes from learning to face that pain alone. I try to look at each card as yin/yang. The yin/yang symbol isn’t just black and white but one side gradually decreases while the other side increases. Also, in the center of the largest black area is a dot of white and at the center of the largest white area is a dot of black. This shows that in the greatest positive, there is a seed of negative and in the greatest negative, a seed of positive. I believe that the outcome card (and other cards as well) should be looked at closely to fully understand the nuance of meaning that the card is trying to express.

Kahlie	02 Jun 2004
Quote: To get the 5 of cups as "you won't be disappointed" is perfectly clear. I hope I won't be =) I am just going to work as hard as I can. To raeanne: It was a study related question =) There isn't much loneliness or grief in that. I guess I should just trust what I feel with the card. For some reason 5 of Cups never looks bad/sad to me. (I use Thoth so I don't see a lone figure, but 5 Cups with leaves). For me it seems to focus more on fear of disappoinment and partial disappoinment then total loss.

inanna_tarot	02 Jun 2004
woah, i never thought about reversals and the particular suit it would be, just thought oh erm, whats it say in the LWB and had done with it. Recently i've not worked with reversals at all, but you've got me thinking now. Maybe i'll experiment in my daily readings or think well it easily have been this card, and ponder WHY it wasnt. Ohh lots of thinking, i like that (with a cuppa, naturally!) Thats what i love about AT, it gets you thinking and re evaluating the way I tarot Cheers for the thread luv! Sezo x

The How to look at outcome Cards? (using reversals) thread was originally posted on 02 Jun 2004 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.