Reversals a must?

rainwolf

Beru said:
A good book on dignities is Tarot Decoded by Elizabeth Hazel.
I was just about to post that because it is such a good book. I think its the only book every penny was worth to me (not that it was expensive). I studied and journaled on it for days...but anyways, I think supertarot.com is a little complicated and only makes sense when you know what they are talking about from the start.
 

priscilla

i use reversal when i start using tarot, but because i can't get clear vision with my reversed cards, i don't do it anymore. it's optional.
just like sun chariot, i get confuse when a positive cards fall for obstacle.
 

shaveling

I don't currently use reversals. But one advantage to doing so is this: say you have a card showing a person, a knight, for instance, facing (and riding) towards the reader's right; if you use reversals, you're giving that figure the opportunity to face and move in the other direction. Some readers prefer that possibility in some spreads.
 

mariaalaina

So for those of you who do not use reversals, you shuffle layout the cards and any card that is reversed you ignore it and read it as though it is upright? OR do you place every card upright in your stack then shuffle in a way that they do not reverse, so when you lay them out they are upright?
 

rwcarter

mariaalaina said:
So for those of you who do not use reversals, you shuffle layout the cards and any card that is reversed you ignore it and read it as though it is upright? OR do you place every card upright in your stack then shuffle in a way that they do not reverse, so when you lay them out they are upright?
The latter for me. If I'm not using reversals, all the cards are upright when I begin to shuffle and remain so through shuffling.

Rodney
 

Alamaris

mariaalaina said:
So for those of you who do not use reversals, you shuffle layout the cards and any card that is reversed you ignore it and read it as though it is upright? OR do you place every card upright in your stack then shuffle in a way that they do not reverse, so when you lay them out they are upright?

Personally, when a reversal comes up, I don't read it as a foretelling. I read it as more of a warning: "if you don't change your tune, such-and-such is a possibility". I sometimes see reversals as telling the hard truth about how we may see a situation, and rely on the surrounding cards or a clarifying card on advice on how to change my thoughts. (I'm a big believer in the power of one's thoughts, for positive or negative. ;) )

Most of the time, my deck is all upright, but sometimes the cards get flipped around and mixed up (especially if I'm doing readings with other people, who tend to shuffle differently). If a reversal comes up in a reading, I usually flip it the right way and just remember it was reversed when it comes to interpreting. Reversals can lend a lot of insight...they're not necessarily bad. (I remember my first reading for myself...Death came up reversed, and I freaked. I've learned a lot since then. [laughs] )
 

northsea

Reversals aren't a must, but I read with them to balance my objectivity, especially when doing self-readings. So most of the cards are 'positive' in the upright position for me, and 'negative' in the reverse. I cut the deck so it's roughly half&half upright/reversed. The World card is always 'positive' to me, and cancels 'negative' Minors cards. I don't use all of the typical reversed meanings. I don't see a reversed Temperance itself as intoxication since that's the Devil, but more of a nuance of the upright, 'blended' becomes 'bland' and 'moderation' becomes 'prudery'. The Magician's 'mastery' becomes 'perfectionism' and 'dexterity' becomes 'manipulation'.
 

Open Arms

I must admit - I don't use reversals - I just don't like them. I wonder if this comes from starting off mainly using oracle cards which generally don't have reversals anyway???

But then I read pretty much intuitively so if the meaning was the more negative(reverse) I would probably get it anyway!

And yes - all my cards are the right way up...from start to finish.

~ Blessings and Light ~
 

priscilla

rwcarter said:
.... all the cards are upright when I begin to shuffle and remain so through shuffling.

Rodney

me too. when i get the cards are reversed , i put it upward again