baconwaffles
Pardon my ignorance but what do you mean by elemental dignities Richard? Are those elements associated with each suit? Thank you.
To reverse or not to reverse, that is the question.
AnemoneRosie
Elemental dignities is a supplementary way of reading the cards (the way some people use astrology to read with cards, for example). Here is a book review that explains the very basics on the subject. They're not really used in TdM reading as, as with many other supplementary styles, it wasn't added in for another few centuries.
Richard
Tarot was originally a game deck. We don't even know when divinatory meanings were "added in." Fortune telling is no more intrinsic to Tarot than it is to any other deck of playing cards, such as Uno, Rook, Authors, or Poker. Therefore, how Tarot cards are used is entirely up to the reader. There is no right or wrong way to go about it.
Carla
I don't use reversals with TdM. I sometimes use them with other decks but very rarely.
I've found I'm most comfortable with the reading style as taught by Camelia Elias, who is influenced by Enrique Enriquez and also takes pip card meanings from the work of Dawn R Jackson on playing cards. I love this reading style! It doesn't use reversals.
I've found I'm most comfortable with the reading style as taught by Camelia Elias, who is influenced by Enrique Enriquez and also takes pip card meanings from the work of Dawn R Jackson on playing cards. I love this reading style! It doesn't use reversals.
AnemoneRosie
I'm not saying that there's a right nor wrong way - just that ED are no more intrinsic than any other method, since they came around a few centuries after the cards did.
Philistine
Pretty much sums up my method, too.
In case anybody was wondering, the Wayback Machine seems to have finally ditched its archive of Dawn Jackson's defunct Hedgewytchery pages. I have a backup text file if anybody needs a copy.
_R_
To return to the OP's question, the basis for using reversals (or not) is actually fairly simple:
Do you consider the use of reversals to double the divinatory potential of each card or halve it?
If your answer is the former, use them; if it is the latter, don't.
Some people feel they are able to read cards more easily if the negative aspect is more clearly defined, whereas some authors recommend against reversals on the grounds that introducing a definitely negative meaning is counterproductive.
Furthermore, how to interpret reversals of already menacing-looking cards: Le Pendv, XIII, Maison-Diev, etc? Positive, or even worse than usual?
Give this kind of thought some consideration, read what some of your favourite authors have to say on the subject, and above all, experiment with your readings.
Nothing is set in stone.
Do you consider the use of reversals to double the divinatory potential of each card or halve it?
If your answer is the former, use them; if it is the latter, don't.
Some people feel they are able to read cards more easily if the negative aspect is more clearly defined, whereas some authors recommend against reversals on the grounds that introducing a definitely negative meaning is counterproductive.
Furthermore, how to interpret reversals of already menacing-looking cards: Le Pendv, XIII, Maison-Diev, etc? Positive, or even worse than usual?
Give this kind of thought some consideration, read what some of your favourite authors have to say on the subject, and above all, experiment with your readings.
Nothing is set in stone.
baconwaffles
I agree. I searched long for the deck and style that would truly resonate with me. The RWS never really clicked with me, I got frustrated for a little, then when I bought my first TDM I was hooked. My first TDM is still my favorite deck, the most beautiful work of art for me. Then I read Camelia Elias and it was a revelation. After that I have pretty much stuck to the non-reversal reading method they teach. It just makes sense to me.
baconwaffles
I would love a copy of this. Camelia Elias mentions this in her book on reading the Marseille.
Carla
