To Reverse, or Not to Reverse?

Jackie Hope @jackieboylhart

In tarot, a reversal is where a card is dealt upside down instead of upright in a standard deck. There are several schools of thought on reversals.

One way of reading them is that the card has a different, almost opposite meaning. If the explanatory book that you are using (whether it came with the deck or is a more general tarot guide) lists reversal meanings, that's usually what you see. If the Six of Wands (a card of achievement) is upside-down, then it becomes a card of failure.

Some people don't use reversals — they either shuffle the deck in a way that keeps all the cards upright or flip them before they start reading. One of my tarot teachers uses the Thoth deck, which has no reversals — each card contains the potential meanings both positive and negative.

Consider The Devil card, often associated with taboo. That sounds bad on the surface, but sometimes exploring beyond societal expectation can free you from a mindset that's trapping you. Sometimes, however, you can violate social norms in ways that harm yourself or others.

The important question is this: what is this Devil trying to tell you at this particular time?

In my thinking, it depends more on the querent, the question, and the surrounding cards than whether that one card is upright or not. I read tarot for information, not fortune-telling. I don’t believe any specific future is carved in stone. Like Ebeneezer Scrooge, I ponder why, in that case, would the tarot show me anything? If there is no way out, if I am on the Express Train to Destiny, then why give me any false hope that I can exert any free will on the situation?

And I am a BIG believer in free will. I read tarot for information, yes, but also empowerment — a chance to use that information.

So you don't have to read reversals at all — just know that each card contains all expressions of its energy and decide which feels appropriate to the current situations. For readers (like me) who use a narrative, intuitive approach, this philosophy opens up readings in astounding ways.

I do note the overall number of reversed cards (half is average) and if the ratio is more or less, I pay attention. Less reversals can mean a clearer overall path, more can mean blockages and obstruction along the way.

And I do note which cards are reversed. I don't read the card's meaning differently, but I do consider if that energy might be being blocked or not coming through as strongly as possible for some reason. Another consideration is that the card's shadow energy is being expressed. Consider the Four of Pentacles, which is about protecting resources, especially those that matter to us like time and attention and finances. But if the Four of Pentacles were reversed, I might consider if there's some selfishness, over-protectiveness, or greed being expressed. NOT the opposite meaning — just a different flavor.

Experiment and see what feels right to you. That’s the key to tarot — discovering what techniques best serve you whether reading for yourself or others. And you can only discover that by getting your cards out on a regular basis.

For more information on reversals, I recommend Joan Bunning’s Learning Tarot Reversals. And I liked the way intuitive reader David Harvey explains the concept in his piece “Tarot Reversals: 3 Ways To Read” at Tarot Avenue.

Happy reading!

What To Expect from a Tarot Reading

Airis Nikolaeva @airis_n

Relax. It's not woo-woo.

My philosophy of tarot is grounded in intuition, the idea that you already have your own answers but may need a way to tap that personal wisdom. So I won't be casting spells or lighting incense or waving my hands around with my eyes closed.

What I do is this:

Before we actually start putting cards down, I'll ask you to think of what question you'd like to ask, or even if you want to ask a specific question at all. Some people just want what I call a "snapshot" of their lives at the present moment, a look at the various energies and forces at play and how they work together or work against each other. But if you have an area of specific concern — say, a job or relationship issue — I'll help you frame the question in a way that will get you the most useful information (and remember, in tarot, it's only fair to ask about yourself, not peek into other people's lives).

And if you’d prefer to keep your question to yourself, I can work with that. In these cases, you'll have to do more of the work, for while I can share possible interpretations, you'll be the one connecting the dots in the end. But that’s actually the “secret” of tarot — the querent is doing the hardest work, not the reader.

Next, we choose a spread (this is what a pattern of cards is called, with various meanings assigned to each card position). There are many different spreads to choose from, from one-card spreads to multi-branching fifteen-card spreads (or even spreads that use the entire deck, which is some INTENSE work). Which spread we choose depends on what kind of information the querent (that's the person getting the reading) wants to know. Some work well for comparing and contrasting two ideas — others show a central issue and all of the forces affecting it.

Next, we choose a deck. I have several decks for you to choose from — I want you to pick one that resonates with you. I use traditional decks in the sense that each has 78 cards broken into two categories, with one of those categories broken down into four suits, each suit consisting of ace through ten, with four court cards (like face cards in a regular deck). But aside from that, they're wildly different.

You are also welcome to bring your own deck to the reading (even virtual ones — I’ll simply lay down matching cards at my end, and we’ll discuss).

During the reading, our first step is to get comfortable with each other and the cards. I’ll ask if you have any questions or concerns. If you’d like to tweak your query, this is the time to do so.

Then, when you’re ready, we shuffle the deck. There’s no one correct way to do this. When I’m using my own cards, I do what I call the “mud pie” shuffle — just spread all the cards out in a pile and move them around randomly, like a kid playing in the dirt. But for your cards? You do you. As long as you have sufficiently randomized the cards, you’re good to go.

When you feel as if you've shuffled the cards enough — and for me there’s an energetic shift; that’s when I know the deck is “ready” — either you or I will cut the deck into three stacks and then restack them in any order that feels appropriate.

Now it's time to lay out the spread.

Once I have the cards laid out — one in each position — I'll flip them over and see what's there. At this point I'll give you an overview of the reading, noting what issues I see in the overall spread. This is where I take notice of patterns: the ratio of upright to reversed, projective to receptive, major arcana to minor to courts cards, plus how many of each suit are represented.

And then we card to card. I'll explain what each card means, how it functions within that particular position, and how it relates to your question (and to other cards).

You get to ask questions. I do too. So you'll hear a lot of "Does this make sense to you?" or "Is there anything in your situation that relates to this idea?" Like I said, I'm not psychic. My job is to help you see the patterns in the information, and the more I know, the better I can help you.

When we're done, I'll sum everything up. You get to ask more questions. And then we're done. If you'd like a record of your spread, I can also email that to you as a jpeg file. As for virtual readings on Zoom, we can record the entire reading, and I’ll share the video with you. Follow-up questions — even weeks or months later — are welcome.

And that's it. No woo-woo (unless you like woo-woo -- in that case, let me know and we'll talk woo-woo afterward).