Newbie Question on Reversed Card in Deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 30 Mar 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

cormac	30 Mar 2005
i am new to all of this and i couldn't find an answer to this among the info here -- when i opened the deck and just started to thumb thru the cards looking at them, the Temperance card was 'upside-down' or reversed (i think that's the correct term) in the deck -- all the other cards faced the other way -- does this mean something or is it just a mistake at the printers? :) thanks :)

Foxyangel	30 Mar 2005
As the deck has not been used.. it was meant to come to you that way! Reversed cards have different meanings to upright ones (often the opposite I think... but I am only just learning the reversed meanings myself!) Temperance - meanings: Upright: Moderation, temperance, patience, harmony, fusion, good influence, confidence Reverse: Discord, conflict, disunion, hostility, frustration, impatience Were you impatient to get the cards? Or learn about them?... just a thought foxyangel :)

cormac	30 Mar 2005
thanks foxyangel :) -- i kind of thought that might mean something cuz it was kind of weird lol -- i don't know about impatient but eager certainly -- and i spent a long time looking thru everything they had at barnes & nobles -- so while i was ready to go, i tried to take my time and find a good place to start -- :) -- these cards, from what little i have seen so far, are fairly "plain" in their design and that did appeal to me -- i'm not really into a lot of flash and so forth for myself :) thanks for your help :) btw, has this happened to you? or anyone else?

Thirteen	30 Mar 2005
cormac wrote: i am new to all of this and i couldn't find an answer to this among the info here -- when i opened the deck and just started to thumb thru the cards looking at them, the Temperance card was 'upside-down' or reversed (i think that's the correct term) in the deck -- all the other cards faced the other way -- does this mean something or is it just a mistake at the printers? Hey, maybe it was the only one right-side up! It was the rest of the deck that was reversed ;) Honestly, it just got turned around when the cards were either printed up or stuffed away. Happens. Spin the card around so they all face the right way, settle down and get to know your cards. Don't worry about reversals for now. Just get to know your cards and their upright meanings. As for whatever this might mean for you--if you knew your cards, then the reversed meaning might mean something. But you're a newbie. So the only thing it could mean is that the deck wants you to pay attention to that card. It certainly got you focused on it right away, didn't it? So presume that Temperance has some special meaning for you--perhaps that is your card. You'll know better what it's all about as you get to know the tarot. Enjoy the journey!

cormac	30 Mar 2005
thank you for your insight 13 :) -- actually i put quotes on upside-down since that occured to me :D -- i will keep an eye out and won't forget the first deck ever had at least :)

SunChariot	02 Apr 2005
cormac wrote: i am new to all of this and i couldn't find an answer to this among the info here -- when i opened the deck and just started to thumb thru the cards looking at them, the Temperance card was 'upside-down' or reversed (i think that's the correct term) in the deck -- all the other cards faced the other way -- does this mean something or is it just a mistake at the printers? :) thanks :) Everything is a message. I no longer beleive in coincidences. I would say just that the card "wants you to pay attention to it". That there is something in it you need to learn. What I would do if I were you was to take that one card and do a meditation (or a series of meditations on it. Let me know if you need more info on methods for doing a Tarot card meditation. Bar

cormac	03 Apr 2005
SunChariot wrote: Everything is a message. I no longer beleive in coincidences. I would say just that the card "wants you to pay attention to it". That there is something in it you need to learn. What I would do if I were you was to take that one card and do a meditation (or a series of meditations on it. Let me know if you need more info on methods for doing a Tarot card meditation. Bar thanks for your input sunchariot -- i would greatly appreciate some info on tarot meditation -- it's not something i've read about yet and my beginner books don't have much on it really :) thanks

SunChariot	03 Apr 2005
This is the meditation I use (taken from my book Complete Illustrated Guide to Tarot, by Rachel Pollack). I find it works very well for me. It’s great for getting to know a card better and/or for developing qualities in yourself. Like if I felt I needed to have more courage, I would meditate on the Strength card. By the way where it says "pause" or "brief pause" those are instructions for it you are tape recording the exercise... Please excuse any typos I make, Here is the meditation. Meditation allows us to engage the pictures on the cards in a very direct way. There are many forms of meditation. We will look at a “program” that will allow you to enter and explore any card. We begin with relaxation. A relaxed state allows you to step outside the usual movement of your life. Choose a place where you can sit comfortably so that you will have to shift around, but try to sit with your back straight (personally I tend to lie down). Place the card you want to explore close by so you can easily pick it up. Since you do not want to stop and consult the book, or even have to remind yourself what comes next, you might want to make a tape of the following directions. Speak softly without rush. When you have found a comfortable position close your eyes. Feel that you are coming to a rest, still. Let thoughts and plans and problems begin to slide away from you. Begin to breath deeply and easily. Allow the breath to go right the way down to the center of your body. As you take a breath out, release it entirely, in the confidence that your next breath will be there for you when you are ready for it (Brief pause). As you breathe in, breathe in a deep calm all through your body. Let it radiate through you. And as you breathe out, let the breath carry away any distractions or worries. And as you breathe in, let your breath bring you the light of the stars. Let it fill you, shine in you. You are a creature of light. And when you breathe out, send the light down into the Earth. Send it through the floor, the dirt, the rock, deep into the Earth. With each breath you become a link between the stars and the Earth (Pause) Now, with your eyes closed, and staying with your breath, reach out for the card. Hold it in both hands and feel its energy. Quietly open your eyes and look at it. See it for the first time. Absorb all the details, colours and characteristics. When you have seen it fully, close your eyes again and visualize the card in front of you (Brief pause) Open your eyes and look again. What details did you miss? What small form or gesture did you leave out? Now close your eyes again and set down the card. Once more see it in front of you, Let the picture become bigger, the size of a book, then a window. And bigger still, until it becomes like a doorway. A doorway to a living world. Motionless, with your eyes closed, imagine yourself standing before the doorway. Now step through it. Now you find yourself inside that world. Let yourself look around. The world has grown beyond the picture. Feel the ground, the breezes, smell the air, hear any noises of birds, people or wind (Brief pause). As you look around, you see the characters from the original picture. They are active now, and you watch them move and speak (Pause) Now you find yourself drawn to them. You approach them and one figure, a person, or animal, or object draws you still closer. You feel a special bond with this figure, this ally. Allow yourself to explore than (Pause). And now this powerful figure asks you to come very close. You approach the figure and the being offers you a precious gift. Allow yourself to discover this gift and accept it. (Puase). Now your give your ally a gift in return (Brief pause). Your recognize that the time has come to leave. You say goodbye to your ally and let yourself step back. As you move away the scene becomes the way it was before you entered it. You look and see the doorway behind you. You step back through it, so that the scene once more lies on the other side. And not the doorway begins to shrink—the size of a window, a large book, a card. Now the picture you have created dissolves before you. Sit quietly for a moment, then take a deep breath, and when you let it out, open your eyes. Write or draw in your journal what you have experienced.

SunChariot	03 Apr 2005
PS, while you are there you can always ask the character any questions you have. I have asked the Strength figure about strength, what it means and how you get it....I find it works great for me. Bar

Little Baron	03 Apr 2005
I always think of Temperance as 'mixing things together' or getting the right combination. Maybe she is telling you to be open to stuff as you learn with your deck; taking a little bit here and mixing it with what you have either learnt or feel about the cards yourself. Getting the mix right to suit you. I do that with my cards as I journal. I read what others say here, taking what makes sense to me. I look at the image and see what connects with me - what reminds me of things in my past, how it relates to the day that I draw them. I read snippets from books and use bits that feel right to me. My cards are all a 'mix' of this and that - they have many layers from different sources and experiences. Maybe she is saying, don't take the books word as gospel - make this deck personal to 'you'. LB

cormac	03 Apr 2005
thank you for your input and advice -- i didn't see 78 degrees at the bookstore but did pick up a nice little journal for a pittance so i'm letting '78' wait for another day :) sunchariot thanks so much for the meditation info you provided -- i have done a chi breathing exercise for several years and so i have a bit of background in simple meditation -- this will definately help with my tarot study :) littlebuddha -- that is a very good way to think of temperance as from what i have read -- thank you :)

SunChariot	03 Apr 2005
cormac wrote: thank you for your input and advice -- i didn't see 78 degrees at the bookstore but did pick up a nice little journal for a pittance so i'm letting '78' wait for another day :) sunchariot thanks so much for the meditation info you provided -- i have done a chi breathing exercise for several years and so i have a bit of background in simple meditation -- this will definately help with my tarot study :) littlebuddha -- that is a very good way to think of temperance as from what i have read -- thank you :) always glad to help when I can. :-) Bar

The Newbie Question on Reversed Card in Deck thread was originally posted on 30 Mar 2005 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.