Daily tarot

So I'm just starting to learn about tarot. I bought a book (Learning the Tarot) and it suggested taking a card out from the deck everyday either consciously or by shuffling and picking through your inner guide. I decided to take the inner guide approach as it might help connect the cards to daily events and strengthen my understanding of them. The first card I picked was the seven of cups reversed.

I'm a bit confused. Should I ignore the position of the cards at first and just learn about them generally or should I learn both the upright and reversed positions? I was thinking maybe I should learn about the upright postion first, but note in a journal that I pulled it out reversed.

Dear Metra ~

Many people will say that if you got a reversed card then that is the way you should view the card and it's message. If you receive a reversed card but ignore it and learn the upright card meaning instead - why bother drawing a daily card?

Three things; 1) Cards are reversed because somewhere in the shuffle process you reversed them, even if you are unaware you are doing it. Realistically, all cards should be uprighted each day before you shuffle. 2) If you shuffle the cards 'overhand' and not 'casino riffle' you will keep upright cards upright. {People who are used to shuffling regular playing cards flip half the deck over when shuffling without realizing it since it doesn't matter with playing cards.} 3) If you uprighted all the cards and shuffle them overhand (which will keep them upright) then you need to flip the top card side-to-side like flipping a page in a book, not end-over-end which will turn an upright card reversed and vice versa.

Good luck!

tarotbear said:

Three things; 1) Cards are reversed because somewhere in the shuffle process you reversed them, even if you are unaware you are doing it. Realistically, all cards should be uprighted each day before you shuffle. 2) If you shuffle the cards 'overhand' and not 'casino riffle' you will keep upright cards upright. {People who are used to shuffling regular playing cards flip half the deck over when shuffling without realizing it since it doesn't matter with playing cards.} 3) If you uprighted all the cards and shuffle them overhand (which will keep them upright) then you need to flip the top card side-to-side like flipping a page in a book, not end-over-end which will turn an upright card reversed and vice versa.

Good luck!

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So should I always upright the cards each day before doing any readings or is that not very necessary? Also does it matter which way I shuffle them? Whenever people have read me they just hand me the deck and say "shuffle it how you please" and I just mix all the cards around with no particular shuffling method. I feel like if I shuffle them in a method that keeps them all upright or reversed it wouldn't seem as accurate of a reading as I'm making sure the cards are all one way.

Thanks though, I'm just really trying to understand it all!

Remember - you are only trying to read one card, and for a learning exercise. This is different when you are doing spreads of multiple cards, or doing multiple readings in a single day for yourself or others...because it has to do with not wanting the cards from the last shuffle to influence or interfere with the next question. Some people never bother - they just pick up the deck and shuffle and never 'upright' anything; that is fine if that is how they have always done it ... but these are people with an understanding of the deck and the cards - not beginners. Keeping things as simple as possible while you are learning might be the best way to learn.

Hi Metra,

With learning tarot, there is no right or wrong way to study the cards and no particular order in which you "should" do it. Study your daily draws in whatever way you know you will learn it best. So if reversals are confusing right now, keep all the cards upright and learn those meanings first. If you decide to use reversals and you happen to draw one for your daily studies, then: for purposes of READING the card, the reversed meaning holds true. For purposes of STUDYING the card, there's no reason you can't refer to both the upright and reversed meanings.

As for putting all the cards upright, I think tarotbear meant that you do that each time you use the cards so the deck is "fresh" and doesn't carry over old messages from your last reading. If you are choosing to use reversals, then you would just proceed to shuffle in a way that would cause reversals to occur.

Best of luck with your tarot studies!

It's really whatever you feel comfortable with, how you think you will learn best. You get to decide what works for you. You can always change your mind if you find a particular method doesn't feel right to you. It's not uncommon to start by reading upright meanings only until you have a feel for them and then adding reversals.

Some people purposely shuffle to include reversals, and some people (like me) purposely shuffle to avoid reversals. I do read reversals if they show up, rare as they are. Because I take steps to avoid them I feel if they show up they are quite significant. But that's me. Some people just flip the card right side up and read it, choosing not to give significance to reversed cards. Everyone has their own style!

Metra,

I'd advise you to go with what feels most manageable for you right now. Many readers never bother ascribing different meanings to reversals, and there's nothing wrong with that. Also the reversed meanings relate to the upright meanings, so if it's easier for you to focus on learning the upright meanings first, and add reversed meanings to your repertoire as you progress, go for it!

Personally, I like having reversed meanings because that gives me twice the possible meanings/messages within a single deck. I learned to read cards very gradually and observed reversed meanings from day 1, but everyone has a different approach. Just because something works for one reader, doesn't mean it will be the best way for you to learn. You can even try out different methods until you find an approach that clicks. Whatever you choose, you'll be learning, and that's what really counts.

If you are just learning, I see no harm in studying the upright meanings first, and then learning how reversals modify that. Mary Greer's book on reversals is a must.

If anyone tells you there is only one right way to do this all, they are lying.

Honestly thank you to everyone, this was all really helpful and now I don't feel so overwhelmed!!

Lycanthropos said:

Some people purposely shuffle to include reversals, and some people (like me) purposely shuffle to avoid reversals. I do read reversals if they show up, rare as they are. Because I take steps to avoid them I feel if they show up they are quite significant. But that's me. Some people just flip the card right side up and read it, choosing not to give significance to reversed cards. Everyone has their own style!

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I do exactly this. Exactly! But at the beginning, once I'd got the card meanings under my belt, I did use reversals. Also I read without a spread most of the time, now, but for a long time didn't know that was an option. My point is that we go through phases of doing it one way and then another; I think most people try out techniques as they hear of them, and you have to DO it to give it a fair trial - and then either incorporate the technique or reject it (I did this with dignities for example; but I may go back to them one day).

Oh, I also do it differently when I'm reading for myself. For others I'm more "free form" but for myself I need more "rules" - to avoid bias, mainly, I mean to avoid mixing up intuition with wishful thinking.

The important thing when reading is to know which way you're using, for this particular reading, before you begin to read. That avoids the temptation to switch halfway through interpreting because the cards are confusing, or are saying something you hope isn't true.

RiverRunsDeep said:

happen to draw one for your daily studies, then: for purposes of READING the card, the reversed meaning holds true. For purposes of STUDYING the card, there's no reason you can't refer to both the upright and reversed meanings.

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EXACTLY.

As for righting the whole deck, in my opinion that's one of those questions, like allowing other people to handle your cards - some people are fine with that, others avoid it. Also wrapping them in silk etc; it's a matter of do what you feel like doing.

Metra said:

Honestly thank you to everyone, this was all really helpful and now I don't feel so overwhelmed!!

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Overwhelmed = your Self telling you that you're trying to force something which isn't right for you, at this time. Try out different things and something will feel right. It's foolish to persist when something doesn't feel right.

Enjoy!