Reversal or not? This is the question...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 May 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Marina	05 May 2005
Hi! While browsing around in the forums, i noticed that many (most of, i'd say) people here work with reversals. And i...well, i simply don't. Never did, for me reversals were always result of messy shuffling. I'm not throwing rocks in people who work with reversals - quite the opposite, actually. I'm reviewing *my* ways of doing things and all...i wonder if i do it wrong. Perhaps i should consider working with reversals but truth to be told, i'm kinda stubborn to change that since it has always worked fine with me. If you ask me, i always saw the negaive/positive meaning of a card based on it's position in the spread. If the card is in a 'negative' position (a, hum, 'what is lacking in the situation' position) then i'll look at it 'reversed' attributes. Geez, i hope i'm not too confusing. I wish to know if anyone else here also doesn't work with reversals and for those who do...well, what you think. Which way is better in your opinion. Some thoughts, that's it ;) Love, Yuko

dadsnook2000	05 May 2005
This question is one that seems to be asked every six or eight weeks. The keyword search will probably bring you more answers than you can read but they will mostly fall into two broad groups with a few variations: NO, I don't use reversals. YES, I do use reversals. SOMETIMES I use reversals, it depends upon . . . a) The question b) The deck I choose to use And, you will get lots of answers to this post. Enjoy. Dave.

autumn star	05 May 2005
Hi Miss Yuko, I'm a relative beginner to tarot and I started out using reversals. As a beginner I kind of wished that I hadn't ... because it just makes things a little more complicated. I just started using reversals because I just thought that everyone did and then I came onto the forum and realised that alot of people don't. I guess that it's just a personal preference. In the future I think that I might stop using them though. autumn

mike gorth	05 May 2005
I used reversals but my mentor pointed out that the meanings of the reversals can be found else where in the tarot.

Marina	05 May 2005
dadsnook2000 wrote: This question is one that seems to be asked every six or eight weeks. Oops...sorry, i didn't mean to repeat - my bad. If i made a mistake, i didn't mean to. Love, Yuko

Valkyriesong	05 May 2005
Well... One thing I had been taught is basically what is kind of like there is no night without day and no day without night. I think the reversals are needed to balance out the reading, but it depends on really the person's interpretations of the tarot I guess. Unless its an oracle or a deck that is made to have no reversals, I always read reversals. That's just my cup of tea. I've seen people give very good readings without using reversals and I have done some and seen some excellent readings with using them. Everyone works differently.

Free Flight	06 May 2005
To reverse or not to reverse is such a personal question and each person has a reason To or Not To. I am a lover of reversals and I know and respect many readers who do not reverse and will not under any circumstances. Everyone's reading style is different and non-reversers can get just as much info out of the cards as reversers... So the choice lies with you. I would think it would be an even 50-50 mix of people here and their preferences x FF

Citrin	06 May 2005
It doesn't seem like you actually want to start using reversals. ;) Seriously, if you don't think you're missing out on anything, you're probably not! I have never learnt/used reversals and I think I can get just as much from the cards as someone who does. Something comes to mind... I asked my RWS about a certain person in my class a few days ago, I got the 10 of Cups, among other cards. And instead of reading it as such a happy card as it is at first glance, I considered what the other cards in the spread were saying, and I picked up a vibe from the cup-card that told me "This is a person who really dislikes too much positivity/sillyness" (which later on turned out to be true!). So it's all good. :)

Eco74	06 May 2005
As a rule, I never use reversals. But I do read them sometimes in the "my readings" section or when giving input on readings others have made. I could also consider using reversals if the deck, situation or question called for it, so I suppose I feel comfortable enough with them to not shun them entierly. Still, the depth and feel I get from non-reversal-readings seems to give me most of the answers I need. A card can give a positive or negative feel depending on the situation, surrounding cards etc. and it does not need to be physically reversed for the "hindered energy" to shine through. Basically, personal preference is the way to go.

psychic sue	06 May 2005
I learned with reversals, so I use them. However, I don't INTENTIONALLY reverse any cards, as this seems to me like manipulation (there's a thread on this somewhere) - having said that, every now and again a reversal pops up anyway, so I suppose they are there when they need to be. I think you will get the same message overall (but with different cards) if you don't use reversals, but to me, the reversal "cuts to the chase" and clarifies the situation for me. Its a personal thing. Sue x

Sulis	06 May 2005
I think that when you're just starting to use the cards it's best to stick to the upright meanings - it's difficult enough to get to grips with them without flipping some of them around. I didn't use reversals for the first couple of years but I use them now and I find they help me to just nail what a particular card is trying to say. I find reversals very useful. Love Sulis xx

Rogan	06 May 2005
I chuckled when I first saw this thread - Because I posted the same thing when I first joined up to Aeclectic... I realised that, yeah, it IS a personal choice... I dont use reversals. I dont think it hinders my reading/interpretations at all... I believe that in a spread, the cards will tell me what they need to - I dont interpret them one by one, I compare and read them all at once, because they compliment and bounce off each other - So reversals dont matter to me... BUT there are a lot of people that would argue that - Its totally up to you! Cheers, Rogan.

Nydia	06 May 2005
I don't use reversals. It is up to the individual to decide. I agree with the reasons already given. It's ok to change your mind in the future, too. I think we all at one time or another have tried reversals at least a little.

Marina	06 May 2005
Rogan wrote: I dont use reversals. I dont think it hinders my reading/interpretations at all... I believe that in a spread, the cards will tell me what they need to - I dont interpret them one by one, I compare and read them all at once, because they compliment and bounce off each other You know Rogan, i read exactly the same way. All cards at once because alone they don't give so many details (except if i took only one card). I never worked with reversals because i learnt this way and it has always worked for me. But i see so many using and i wonder...is it better? Or not? I guess i'll just stick to the way i'm used. Someday i might try reversals but for now i'll do what has always worked for me. Love, Yuko

Valkyriesong	06 May 2005
Eco74 wrote: learned with reversals, so I use them. However, I don't INTENTIONALLY reverse any cards, as this seems to me like manipulation (there's a thread on this somewhere) - having said that, every now and again a reversal pops up anyway, so I suppose they are there when they need to be. Well... this is pretty weird, and ya'll might think this is strange or you may think I'm making this up. When my grandmother worked with tarot she worked with spirit. When she layed the cards out she would get a dull pain or tingling feeling shoot up her arm when spirit wanted her to reverse the card as she was laying them out. I never put too much faith into that (even tho she was on point) until it started happening to me after she passed away 7 years ago. Then readings like always make more sense to the person being read but its like only the cards in the present, past and outside influences posistions and it only happens to me like once in a while not all the time.

Marina	07 May 2005
Valkyriesong wrote: Well... this is pretty weird, and ya'll might think this is strange or you may think I'm making this up. When my grandmother worked with tarot she worked with spirit. When she layed the cards out she would get a dull pain or tingling feeling shoot up her arm when spirit wanted her to reverse the card as she was laying them out. I never put too much faith into that (even tho she was on point) until it started happening to me after she passed away 7 years ago. Then readings like always make more sense to the person being read but its like only the cards in the present, past and outside influences posistions and it only happens to me like once in a while not all the time. My, that's a weird story...never happened to me. Perhaps it's a family thing...a gift to know when to reverse the cards ;) Very interesting indeed, Valkyriesong! Love, Yuko

SunChariot	08 May 2005
miss_yuko wrote: Hi! While browsing around in the forums, i noticed that many (most of, i'd say) people here work with reversals. And i...well, i simply don't. Never did, for me reversals were always result of messy shuffling. I'm not throwing rocks in people who work with reversals - quite the opposite, actually. I'm reviewing *my* ways of doing things and all...i wonder if i do it wrong. Perhaps i should consider working with reversals but truth to be told, i'm kinda stubborn to change that since it has always worked fine with me. If you ask me, i always saw the negaive/positive meaning of a card based on it's position in the spread. If the card is in a 'negative' position (a, hum, 'what is lacking in the situation' position) then i'll look at it 'reversed' attributes. Geez, i hope i'm not too confusing. I wish to know if anyone else here also doesn't work with reversals and for those who do...well, what you think. Which way is better in your opinion. Some thoughts, that's it ;) Love, Yuko Personally here is what I think. It is irrelevant what other people do. Some use reversals with great results, some don't with great results. Either way will work. What really matters is what is right for you, what your intuition tells you is the right way. If you are not sure, try it a couple of times and see if it works better for you with the reversals or not. It is certainly not messy shuffling: there is an art to making some come up reversed. It is planned and orchstrated that way. In case this helps sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It is not clearly a black and white issue for me. It depends on the deck and the question. Some of my decks do not seem to be designed to work as well with reversals as others. With those decks I do not use them. To me a reversal simply means that the energy of the card is present and trying to exert itself but there will be a delay or there is something currently blocking it and when that is removed the card will fulfill itself. Some days I want to know this so I can help remove the blockage and help the event happen sooner. Then I would use reversals. Sometimes I just want to know in general what will happen in the future do not care when or do not feel it requires me to invest as much in it....It depends on how you are feeling, the deck, the question... Like if I ask a question about how I can learn to be more patient...all I need is the advice so I can take it and follow it. I do not need to know if there will be a delay... But if I am interested in changing a situation in my life... And ask something like "What can I change in my current situation to get a certain result?", then knowing what a blockage is so I can deal with it is a necessary part of the process, if you see what I mean... Hope this does not sound too confusing....I guess I just sense when I need reverals and when I don't. Bar

jmd	08 May 2005
Allowing reversals to arise in a spread also allows for various depicted imagery to show a particular relationship that may not otherwise be as easily apparent. For example, if one has two cards with figures depicted thereon, allowing reversals may show their common glance, or their respective glance either towards or away from each other, something that may not otherwise be apparent with those same two cards. If one simply allows for the imagery to guide what is narrated, then allowing for reversals certainly does not make a spread any more difficult than not allowing the same. Personally, I tend to allow reversals, and have personally favoured a shuffling method that places about half the cards reversed in relation to the other half with each handling... which means that each shuffling may in fact either increase or decrease the number of cards appearing reversed in any spread.

Moonbow*	08 May 2005
I can see why jmd uses reversals with the Marseilles because when those cards are reversed it is possible to see many different images depicted and I feel a different type of imagination is used in reading those cards, one that involves more of the reader's imagination, than the artist's. But in comparision with scenic decks, to have a picture up-side-down is near impossible (to me) to read. It's like looking at a painting up-side-down. If it were a scene, it would be difficult to see what the painting was saying. If, on the other hand, the painting were abstract art, then reversing it could let the imagination go wild (and to me, some look better that way!) :) I like to look at scenic decks the right way up, the way the artist meant for them to be seen, but I use reversal meanings when I read them and well as the upright meanings (and any in between) :). With Marseilles decks and even some other pip type decks the cards can be reversed and the mind opened up when interpreting

jmd	08 May 2005
It is actually quite interesting that even amongst Marseille-style deck users, there is quite wide variety. And I of course agree with Moonbow* that with images not having human figures, a variety of ways of looking at them is not only easier, but at times makes for an 'upside down' a little difficult to even observe (examples include many from the Coin suit). Nonetheless, Diana, for example, and I clearly had (and perhaps still have) opposite views as to whether the cards should be permitted to have their images being reversed - as the thread Card reversals? shows. I was actually imagining a couple of court cards as I wrote my previous post. As an example, simply focus on the relative places where the same two figures have their gaze - in the attachment, I have simply put together the same two cards (the Queens of Cup and Sword) in three different arrangements. In a full reading, a careful observation of the gaze of the figures may also reveal what, for example, may need to be looked at. Of course, I am only adding this for the sake of further discussion, and know others who simply prefer to not use reversals :)

Elven	08 May 2005
Hi miss Yuko, I never learnt with reversals and when I shuffle I put the cards the right way up, but sometimes when a reversed card appears I do have a look at the book to see what the interpreted meaning represents. I have found that some meanings are more positive than the upright position, so I dont tend to see reversals as the negative side of a card, but just an adjustment of the upright position meaning. Blessings Elven x

Moonbow*	08 May 2005
I understand what you are saying jmd and realised that you were thinking specifically about the courts. I've attached a reversed card from Legends - The Arthurian deck. The image is difficult to interpret reversed (to me) I think each deck needs to be seen clearly to be interpreted, and in some, reversals just don't work (unless the card is upright) if that makes sense!

Elven	08 May 2005
Hi All, jmd wrote: I was actually imagining a couple of court cards as I wrote my previous post. As an example, simply focus on the relative places where the same two figures have their gaze - in the attachment, I have simply put together the same two cards (the Queens of Cup and Sword) in three different arrangements. In a full reading, a careful observation of the gaze of the figures may also reveal what, for example, may need to be looked at. Of course, I am only adding this for the sake of further discussion, and know others who simply prefer to not use reversals :) I think this is an important slant on the way in which the cards you have shown work with each other. This is only my quick glance interpretation of these pictures but they certainly give the impression of a different atmosphere or regard to each other. The first jpeg - both upright has a feel of unison, an affirmative feel given to the card meanings. The second jpeg - where the queen of swords is reversed and looking away - seems to have a distracted, aloof, ignorant, self centred feeling about it. The third jpeg - where the queen of cups is reversed seems to give the impression of either challenge, conflict, perceiving, truce, and support. I grabbed my Gilded Tarot deck and had a look through the entire deck upside down to see what or if any cards stood out by the way of the 'glance' from the person pictured. I found that there are certainly some cards look back to the reader quite intently and give a different impression in the reversal position. These were The Magician - a very piercing and intent stare - a warning. The Five of Swords - a very confident look - winning of a challenge. All the Queens with exception of the Cups - look straight at the enquirer - very personal and deeply impressioned. The Hanged Man looks very balanced and skilled. and lastley - the High Priestess who looks as if she is in motion. If used in the reversed position, I see these cards as more intentional and intense. You cant help but be struck by the gaze of each. Interesting observations jmd, thanks for the insight!!! Blessings Elven x

-=Light=-	08 May 2005
Hiya :) I prefer reversals myself. I started out learning reversed meanings right from the get go. Most books that you buy do have the author's interpretation of what the reversals mean as well as some books that are dedicated to reversals. I have and really like the book Learning Tarot Reversals by Joan Bunning. At first I would look at the book for the meaning however by just glancing at some of the cards now, I just get my own feeling now of what they mean. It's the same feeling I guess that people get when they don't use reversals, however they just end up getting the reversed meaning for the querant. I believe that no matter what you decide on using .......... intuition takes over and can just tell you the answer. It's a personal style I guess, and I personally like using them because I get the interpretation quicker, instead of staring at the card and waiting for it to make sense. Just like Jmd I either put half of the cards in the deck reversed or what I would do is rifle them together. I switch back and forth but as I'm asking for guidance with interpretating the spread, I also let the tarot (or my spirit guide) know what I'm doing before I shuffle. Sometimes I'm very happy to see a reversed card. For instance ..... I have been doing some relationship spreads on myself lately for the last 3 months. I used to come up with the 3 of Swords and the 9 of swords. Pain, agony, betrayal, lonliness, heartbreak, mental stress and not sleeping is really what the cards meant specific to me. Now when I do the spreads ...... in the future category I see the same cards but reversed. The pain and heartache are going to lessen and the mental anguish for me that I have been under in my breakup will go away. Soon those feelings are going to lessen and it will soon become a card of the past. Light :)

The Reversal or not? This is the question... thread was originally posted on 05 May 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.