Reversals. Am I missing something?

Barleywine

I'm not sure "loopy" is the word I would use to describe these phenomena; "anal" about our preferences seems closer to the truth. I stopped being obsessive about such things a long time ago. A tarot deck is just a convenient indexing system to catalogue meaning; it would probably work just as well if it was composed of simple cards with only numbers or titles on them (but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun from a story-telling standpoint). The core meaning is the thing, no matter how we derive it; everything else is just "packaging and presentation."
 

Carojulie

In tarot deck reviews, videos, and discussions I oftentimes hear people comment on the back of the cards. If the backs aren't perfectly symmetrical, they say that the deck is not good for reading reversals. You've heard this, or said this before, right?

Hi,

When someone does a deck review either on video or in written, it is not very surprising that they mention whether the backs are symetrical or not. A review's whole point is to describe the deck, and having symetrical or asymetrical backs is just one of the many deck's feature that deserves to be mentioned in the description.

I have seen many reviews and often I hear something along the lines of "the backs are not symetrical so that might be worth noting for some people who like dealing with symetrical backs in reversals"
This is not like saying "the deck has non symetrical backs so it cannot be used in reversals".... I have never heard that kind of harsh definitive statement personnaly (though I am not saying it cannot happen)

As has been noted in the thread, some people prefer symetrical backs for reversals and they have valid reasons, some other people work with reversals and are not bothered by non symetrical backs.....

I supposed I could see advantages in both situations :
- Symetrical backs can keep the card's whole identity including its position, completely hidden from the sitters view when fanned
- Non symetrical backs can help keep the deck orderly when one prefers to have all its deck upright
Not mentioning all the other artistic reasons for why the deck creator chose such and such disposition for its cards back.

I like to keep my deck upright as far as possible, but I do not have a preference regarding the backs, I like them both ways.
But I understand totally why some people would have a preference on way or the other.
I am sorry that you are turned off by reviewers who feel the need to mention it, but I suppose that they do it because since some readers do have a preference, then it deserves to be mentioned....

ETA this is out of the subject, but I just had a look at your channel and it's cool, you have beautiful crystals !
 

SunChariot

Okay, so I've wondered this for quite a long time and feel that it's time I got an answer. I don't really read reversals, so maybe there's something I'm not getting, but I feel like the Tarot community is a little loopy when it comes to this.

In tarot deck reviews, videos, and discussions I oftentimes hear people comment on the back of the cards. If the backs aren't perfectly symmetrical, they say that the deck is not good for reading reversals. You've heard this, or said this before, right?

What the heck does that have to do with reading reversals? How does knowing whether or not the card is in the reversed position before you turn it over affect the reading in any way, shape, or form? I have racked my brain for, like I said, a very long time and I cannot come up with one single, solitary reason why the card back could affect a reading in any way, or why an asymmetrical card back is not good for reading reversals.

Does anyone have an answer? I'm dying to know. Thanks.

As in all things Tarot, I think it depends on how you read.

I use reversals most times. Nothing is a rule to me as I follow my feelings. But when I DO use reversals, after reversing some...when shuffling I don't really look at the backs of the cards. I tend to go through them with my eyes closed and try to FEEL intutiively which cards are the right ones. In fact I do this with the deck face up. So the backs don't have any effect at all on me during this process.

I just hold the upright cards in my hands (reversed cards included), close my eyes and feel the right cards. I think, as in all things Tarot, it depends on your reading methods.

I think you can't make broad generalizations in Tarot, just because different readers read differently. You can't say that unsymmetrical decks render a deck unreadable for reversals...because I know this is not true for me. There are many ways to read. If you want to use a deck with unsymmetrical backs, choose a different method (at least for that deck. Problem solved.

And no, you don't really need to ever use reversals. They will also read well without them.

Babs
 

Tanga

...as has been said. I think it depends on the reader.

I care zero for the effect of reversed/symetrical backs - they make no difference to me.
Sometimes I read with reversals and sometimes I don't. I decide in the moment (intuition) - and knowing that a card is going to be reversed by the appearance of it's back - just makes me more enthusiastic because reversals are still more challenging to read at my stage.