Do you read reversals with the Marseilles?

Hello Marseilles lovers!

I'm curious how many of you read reversals with the Marseilles and how many don't. I have been reading with reversals for a while, but the Wands are generally symmetrical, meaning that for part of the deck there will be no reversals.

Obviously some other cards are also symmetrical (e.g. the 6 of Coins); but you can still tell if it's reversed by looking at the watermark on the cards (at least in my version.) Still, looking for a reversal in this way doesn't "feel" right to me, as the watermark isn't really part of the card in my view, just an artist's credit.

For these reasons I am considering going back to my old way of reading the Marseilles - with no reversals, turning all cards right side up. At the same time, I like the versatility of using reversals in my reading*, so I am kind of on the fence.

Basically, my current system of only reading reversals for non-symmetrical cards feels right and wrong at the same time. Anyone else have similar feelings? What have you decided on?

*Note that this does include reversals with the pips. In particular, reversed Cups appear quite different, as if they are empty or being poured out. Then there are cards like the 7 of Coins where the 3 set-apart coins appear to form a sort of arrow (to me anyway) that either points up or down. Nonetheless, I can see a compromise of ignoring reversals for pips, while reading them for Majors and courts. Anybody use this system? If so, do you turn pips right-side up as they come out?

For aesthetic reasons I don't use reversals. I took the vertical symmetry of some of the pips to be a sign that perhaps reversals were not appropriate for me to use with the Marseille. Nowadays I never use reversals with any deck, because upside down pictures really annoy the hell out of me.

I use reversals with my Marseille deck. I have the Universal by Lo Scarabeo.

I think using reversals helps me a lot. It seems only natural to use them with Majors and Courts. As for pips, I don't find it absolutely necessary. Right-side-up or upside down, the meaning is the same -- more or less, I could say.

On my deck the pips have numbers on them, so I always know if a card is reversed or not. When I do a reading, I start off reading the pip cards upright, and see how that goes. But if I get stuck, and I have trouble figuring out what the cards are saying, I'll look at the pips that came out reversed. And I'll try to see if there's something they can tell me. Sometimes it does point to a problem, or some kind of obstacle or blockage, or something gone wrong somehow.

I guess I could say that I keep the reversed meanings on a back burner with Marseille (or other decks with non-illustrated minors).

I don't use reversals for anything. I let my intuition tell me what the card wants to say, and upside-down cards throw me straight into thinking mode. Also, as an artist, it bugs the heck out of me to see the artwork the wrong way around.

I still use my TdM with an RWS brain, so I do rely on Reversals. The decks I use have stamps or other indicators to make it easier to tell if the pips are reversed.

I don't do reversals; I guess it's intuition that tells me which way to go with the reading... I tend to just go with the flow.

I do read reversals on all readings. One of my TdM deck has wee stamps on the base of the each card, so it is easy to tell the pip cards for RX or upright position.

Sometimes when I see most of the cards coming up reversed, I do feel huge negative energy from the reading. Regardless what the cards are, there are obvious difficulties / conflicts in the situation, I sense.

I don't read reversals with anything either. I rely on other things, such as EDs or the 'negative' positions in a spread, to tell me how strong or weak the influence of each card is, and if that influence is positive or negative.

dancing_moon said:

I don't read reversals with anything either. I rely on other things, such as EDs or the 'negative' positions in a spread, to tell me how strong or weak the influence of each card is, and if that influence is positive or negative.

Click to expand...

What do you mean by EDs?

I think ED means Elementary Dignities. But I don't know anything about what they are, and don't use them.