REVERSALS: The Two's Reversed

[Thirteen]

Two's are about balance. Where there is one, now there is two--yin and yang, day and night forces that in all four suits find a kind of tension that holds them in status, both existing for a moment, as at twilight or dawn.

Reverse the twos and the yin/yang forces start vying for dominance rather than co-existing. This is the oppoiste of most of the cards. Blocked, likewise, suggests that something is keeping these two from co-existing and the result is upset or imbalance. Let's take a look at them:

2/Swords: Upright, this is a card about a temporary compromise. Opposing forces agree to put up their swords...for now. Clearly, if this is reversed, then no such compromise is or can be reached. The two keep on fighting.

2/Wands: Upright, this is a card about making an intuitive choice. There are two possiblities, equally good, and the querent judges them and goes with is instinct after one or the other. Reversed, it seems quite clear that a decision cannot be made. The blocked interpetation is most clear for this--something is preventing the person from seeing any difference in the two, from being able to tell which is the one to invest his energy in.

2/Cups: Upright this is one of the most romantic cards in the deck. Eyes across a room, recognition of a kindred soul, a friend or lover. Flirting even, and that spark of emotion in the Ace finds an object for it's new feelings. Reverse this and you can almost see the two figures not gazing at each other, but with their backs to each other, cups empty. Instead of magnetic attraction, they repell. Or, at best (blocked interpetation), fail to notice each other. Like a romantic comedy where the leads keep missing each other as they walk down the same streets.

2/Pents: Upright, our man juggles finances, luck or health. It's not easy and he can't keep it up forever, but he's managing. Reversed, however, he loses all coordination. Those pentacles go flying and he not only can't juggle them...he might not have them at all. Reversed this card could indicate that the finances our juggler was relying on have vanished. If one goes, there's no juggling the other one.

Other thoughts?

 

[Algerd]

Thank you, Thirteen for meanings. For me more hard looks 2 wands. I can't understand what does it mean. And besides my deck "Ramses: Tarot of Eternity" show this card with women who reaching hands to Goddess and they look like sobbing. Close I see 2 coffins or mummys. How are you think what does it mean?
2 cups reversed in my spreads never have opposition meanings. And I like your words: "Or, at best (blocked interpetation), fail to notice each other. Like a romantic comedy where the leads keep missing each other as they walk down the same streets". It sounds so I feel in my predictions.
ANd week ago I did a spread for unknown to me women and in spread "celtic cross" the 1 card was 2 of swords. And intuitively I sais that she was raped. She said that about it nobody knows. But when I looked in my books I didn't find where I read it.
Good luck!

 

[Lady Orchard]

2 of swords rev I have seen to represent somebody who is deliberately making trouble and conflict
and 2 of cups rev somebody having lots of meaningless affairs

 

[obsidian_queen]

What about this?

I read, I believe on Joan Bunning's site that the two of swords UPRIGHT can mean that someone is choosing not to acknowledge a situation; burying their heads in the sand or in denial, and this is how they maintain their balance in what would otherwise be a stressful position. I realize that this meaning is probably taken off of the literal appearance of the traditional card - denial (the blindfold), stressful situation or one that must be dealt with (the swords on either side of the woman's head) protecting oneself and achieving balance by choosing to NOT to deal with it (the defensive position the woman takes of crossing her hands over her chest)

If this is so, then this card can appear in certain contexts as a block while upright, say as a fear. What then would it mean if reversed? Would the opposite meaning come into play here? Would some kind of action be taken? Some decision made without seeing all sides clearly (she's still blindfolded right?) Or would it mean that the querent is about to cause himself/herself some serious damage by ignoring the situation? I sort of feel like reversed, if I look at the card literally, that the woman has held the swords crossed against her for so long she's become frozen or STUCK..and like in those cartoons..just TOUCH her and she'll just topple over still frozen in the same position. Maybe she would have done better to take just one step, no matter how small, no matter where it leads?

 

[star-lover]

2 of swords

upright = stalemate - perhaps after an argument - disagreement - neither party refuses to budge from their position - both think they are right - tension and distance and bit of grievance each side in a relationship but also leaving it for the moment and taking time out to reflect because ultimately its going to lead to compromise and reconciliation of differences

reversed = one of the two gives way prematurely? but not really happy about it, or the tension and distance are more accentuated and the tension remains for longer than necessary?

 

[full deck]

. . . Reverse the twos and the yin/yang forces start vying for dominance rather than co-existing. This is the oppoiste of most of the cards. Blocked, likewise, suggests that something is keeping these two from co-existing and the result is upset or imbalance.

I had just discussed the notion of "2" the other day and had this observation:

Regarding "2", I might add, from WordNet:

duality
n 1: being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or
subclasses; "the dichotomy between eastern and western
culture" [syn: {dichotomy}]

This strikes me as a concept that is very much rooted in the empirical nature of reality in this world. Yes/no, on/off, etcetera, and is the basis for computer programming even. This is a very basic and useful concept. People, by their nature, tend to prefer this sort of concept since it often implies balance. People do like to seek order -- order, which seems to be so against the "arrow of time" concept of why things happen like they do in this world, i.e., ice melting, gas disperses, etcetera.

. . . this balance, while sometimes being a state of equilibrim, could be sometimes considered an unnatural state of no change, a stasis brought about by the static balance between opposing forces. This could be considered the "dark side" or unnatural and, in the human body, can be used to describe certain illnesses:

Gr. sta`sis a standing still.] (Physiol.)
A slackening or arrest of the blood current in the vessels,
due not to a lessening of the heart's beat, but presumably to
some abnormal resistance of the capillary walls. It is one of
the phenomena observed in the capillaries in inflammation.

Thanks for the great post too.

 

[Baroli]

i liken the two of cups as upright - "Some Enchanted Evening." Reversed it is "Your as Cold as Ice." Two people looking at each other and through each other like they don't see each other at all. No recognition, no nothing. Instead of the feelings of love represented in the cups upright, no feelings at all. Very cold, indeed.

Baroli

 

[Thirteen]

Thank you, Thirteen for meanings. For me more hard looks 2 wands. I can't understand what does it mean. And besides my deck "Ramses: Tarot of Eternity" show this card with women who reaching hands to Goddess and they look like sobbing. Close I see 2 coffins or mummys. How are you think what does it mean?

Algerd, would you be able to provide a link to the picture? It would help if we could actually see the card.

Also, I assume it came with a special book? What does the book say?

ANd week ago I did a spread for unknown to me women and in spread "celtic cross" the 1 card was 2 of swords. And intuitively I sais that she was raped. She said that about it nobody knows. But when I looked in my books I didn't find where I read it.

I have not heard of this interpetation for that card, but the fact that the woman hasn't told anyone certainly reverberates with that feeling spoken about of holding back a conflict, in this case, a deep internal conflict. So I think you weren't reading about rape so much as the woman's refusal to speak about it in order to maintain a kind of artificial peace--either inside herself or with others in her family/community.

 

[Thirteen]

I read, I believe on Joan Bunning's site that the two of swords UPRIGHT can mean that someone is choosing not to acknowledge a situation; burying their heads in the sand or in denial, and this is how they maintain their balance in what would otherwise be a stressful position.

A valid interpetation. This is the "peace at any price" view of the card. The querent (person in the middle) will do anything to keep the two sides from fighting--or to keep conflict from occuring. Including keep silent or lie or sweet-talk around the truth.

She's in the middle and hates that. So she finds a way to maintain the peace (her peace) at any price. Which is why I think that upright meaning has more of the "stuck" quality you speak of. The querent has worked so hard to keep the swords apart that she dare not move. And she dare not show partiality (hence the blindfold, favoring neither side). She thinks if she just stays this way, peace will continue--which is the real denial. The peace is temporary.

Reversed, I would say that that there is no keeping those swords apart. The querent can't keep things quiet--the truth comes out--she can't keep the two from fighting--and, maybe worse, has been caught lying to them. So the querent really finds herself in the middle of things.

 

[Thirteen]

. . . this balance, while sometimes being a state of equilibrim, could be sometimes considered an unnatural state of no change, a stasis brought about by the static balance between opposing forces.

Very true! The twos are all about unique if unnatural moment when, if you will, matter and anti-matter can exist together without blowing each other up. There is a stillness to all the twos, as if the moment were very precariously balance. You know that depending on what happens next there will, indeed, be a change to everything.

Rather like dawn or twilight, there is a pause, and then you get day or night. Or like the Equinox, there is balance of night and day before the seasons fall over into winter or spring. There is, for that moment, quiet anticipation. What change will come? How will things shift and transform?

Thus, reversing a "two" means that you don't get that moment, and the result is that the forces battle instead of holding off so that the change can occur. If they battle you get a different status quo--things can't change because the two won't stop fighting long enough for a third item to be created--a third which will stabilize that unnatural balance.