Oh great... another reversed card question.

While doing a reading for myself I drew the Empress for my "Present Position" card in the Celtic Cross. My gut tells me that this concerns my mother since I'm in her custody during these later parts of the holidays. Here's where I've reached some confusion: the card was reversed. Now I've heard that reversed cards can weaken their meaning. But I know for a fact that the Empress also embodies the negative qualities of a mother; mainly over-possessiveness and smothering. I'm wondering if this reversed card weakens the card's overall meaning, or in this case evokes its negative aspects. What do you think?

A reversed card may or may not hint at negative connotations, and the Empress is not necessarily reflective of motherhood and its various implied associations.

For example, in the position of the 'self', the card may point that it is creativity - or indeed control of oneself - that is at stake here, and that reversed may be simply an unwillingness to have a look at this sense of personal responsibility, but rather be prone to finger-point to another person (a mother-figure may be a good scapegoat, perhaps).

JMD's right. Think of reversed cards as the energy of the card being blocked--like a river with a big bolder stopping up the flow. The implication could be creative energy blocked, or, yes, it could imply a reversal, rather than nurturing mom, helping you grow, you get smothering mom, who's trying to keep you a child and not let you grow.

What seems the more likely possiblity?

Ouch JMD. Haha but you raise a very good point. I can see the Empress as representing self-control. However I don't really see her as a symbol of creativity. Can you explain your views on this?

Perhaps, with reference to creativity, I may quote from Thirteen:

Like newly planted grain or a child in the womb, a new life, a new love, a new creation is fragile. It requires fertile soil, patience and nurturing, it needs love and attention. Only this will bring it to fruition." Understanding at last that his future will take time to build and create [...]

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In both traditional decks and in many decks that have appeared over the last 100 or so years, one may see an aspect of the Empress as someone who represents the fertile womb - and as such can be seen symbolically connected to creativity.

This, of course, need not always be taken in that manner in a reading - but am here mentioning one aspect that may be viewed of the card.

The Mother archetype as in the Empress -love and death, creation and destruction, tenderness and cruelty, protection and betrayal. A reversed card cannot make it a bad card, so I prefer to word it as- there is more potential for good when upright, a card is improved by being right way up. ~Rosanne

The Empress doesn't just give birth to children and nurture them, she gives birth to anything creatively comeing from you, and nutures and grows that as well. So a project created by you (you gave birth to it, in many ways) would be covered by the Empress as well as sewing, drawing, a new organization at work you may sponsor, a new business venture, anything coming from you that's new and has the potential to grow, would be associated with this card.

The smothering mother, for me, is represented by the Queen of Cups reversed rather than the Empress, since the Empress is all the Queens together and the separate Queens represent parts of the Empress--with the Cups being the people intereaction one with the love/guiding/I'm Mom side.

There are many methods for looking at and using reversed cards. All are equally valid. Personally, I use reversed cards(when I use them, sometimes I do sometimes I don't depending on the question), to show a blockage, i.e the energy of the upright card is there, but something is blocking it from manifesting itself. The task then becomes to find what it is that is blocking the energy and to find the best way to deal with that,

All that being said, to me here is the most important pary, as with anything in Tarot, we have to find the method that feels most right to us.

I think the main problem you are having is that you need to decide what reversed cards mean to you and how you intend to use them BEFORE you use them in a reading and stick to that. You don't have to decide for all time, but at least for that reading. There is no reason you can't decide something is not working for you and change it later on. But I think it would be helpful for you to know how you intend to use them before you start.

That way the universe will be clear on your intentions and will know how to send you the answers in the way you can understand the easiest. I don't think it matters which way you choose to use reversals as much as your making a clear decision in your head how you will do so before you reverse cards in your deck,

Those are my opinions.

Bar

Sometimes when a card representing a person is reversed, it means that person is upset at the present time . Might be upset at the querent, or might be just upset in general over something else.

SunChariot said:

I think the main problem you are having is that you need to decide what reversed cards mean to you and how you intend to use them BEFORE you use them in a reading and stick to that.

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I disagree . I would say be open to any and all meanings , and be willing to look at the cards in very unorthodox ways. Imagine how difficult it might be to get a message across about a complicated concept to someone who had their mind fixed in a limited way .