REVERSALS: The Four's Reversed

[Thirteen]

Fours are emblematic of stability or stagnation. Either the foundation completed and ready to be built upon, or a time which, for better or worse, there is a status quo being maintained. Reversed:

4/Swords: Upright this is a card of rest, recouperation or meditation--a retreat to regain health and mental sharpness. Reverse this and the man falls off his pallet. Clearly, the reversed card indicates that there is no rest, no retreat and no recouperation. The querent may want or need it, but they are not going to get it.

4/Wands: Often called "The marriage card" this is the card of foundations laid and ready to be built upon. Reversed would indicate a blockage of this energy. The foundation is not laid or not ready--the cement, perhaps, is still wet. Certainly if a reader got this for a querent engaged to be married, the reader would want to warn the querent that they ought to pospone the wedding. Something is not solid about the relationship and the couple are not ready to marry yet. Possibly the families aren't united either. All in all, if this card is reversed, it suggests that there is quicksand underneath rather than solid stone.

4/Cups: A card where the status quo, pleasant as it is, has become boring and the person has begun to dream of other things. The card can suggest either laziness or restlessness. Reversed, our cup of dreams spills out its temptation. But all the other cups are emptied too, and the seated dreamer is unseated. This suggests that life is not so restful and good that the person can become discontent with it. In fact, things are so emotionally empty that the dreamer can't even imagine a better life.

4/Pents: Often called the Miser card the 4/pents suggests that the person is hanging on to what they have, perhaps too much so. Reversed this card would suggest the opposite, the person is profligate, throwing away all their money, spending it and keeping nothing for a rainy day. This might suggest a gambler or spendthrift, someone who is lending out money with abandon, or buying drinks for everyone at the bar or just buying things they don't need. Likewise, they might be ruining their health or pressing their luck.

All in all, reversed 4's suggest a lack of something solid and dependable. A lack of anything reliable be it love (cups), money/health (pents), spiritual/philosophical foundation (wands), a way to gather up their thoughts and rest their mind (swords).

Other thoughts?

 

[rachelcat]

These are very enlightening ideas. I have a bit of a different look at possible meanings for reversed 4 Swords and reversed 4 Cups. (I don't read reversals, so this is just a thought experiment at this point.)

Yes, 4s are stability or stagnation, but I also think "closed." So a reversed 4 Swords, instead of resting your mind would take on the more negative meaning of closed mind. Prejudice or unwillingness to listen to someone else's point of view.

Similarly, reversed 4 Cups could be a closed, or cold, heart. Either closed off completely or closed off to one person or group of people.

I'm not sure how the "closed" sense would work with reversed wands and coins. 4 Coins upright already means a closed wallet!

4 Wands reversed--not willing to put the energy into something. Stingy with your time and efforts, maybe?

 

[Lady Orchard]

as the 4 of swords upright is voluntary rest and retreat, if reversed could it be imposed upon the querent?
for example somebody packed off to rehab against their will
or even imprisonment - being held hostage came to mind

 

[pumog]

Rather shocked at the meanings for 4 cups reversed - negative upon negative?!! I read lots of explanations saying it was about someone finally realising a blessing that they had been ignoring, and that's how the card looks to me... but still I'm too new to tarot reading to say, especially as I rarely read for others.

 

[tink27]

Four of Swords

I have seen this card indicating renewed action regarding a stressful situation from the past. This action could be strikes, boycotts, protests and possibly even riots and revolutions, depending on the cards surrounding it.

tink

 

[Morgan Le Fei]

4 of Pentacles Rx

I was told in a reading that this card meant "intrigues, separations and quarreling." I had never heard that before.

 

[Thirteen]

I was told in a reading that this card meant "intrigues, separations and quarreling." I had never heard that before.

Greetings, Morgan.

I never heard of this before either, but keep in mind that when I wrote up the reversals I did not examine any book or traditional meanings. What we did in that "class" was simply explore how to read a reversal given the upright meaning.

Given that 4/Pents is about holding on, I can certainly see why a reversed meaning might be separations and quarreling--if the person is not holding onto money but a person, then 4/Pents reversed is about losing that person. Likewise, this could also refer to losing the money to someone, leading to quarrels, separation and intrigue.

 

[Morgan Le Fei]

Hello Thirteen,
Put that way, it makes more sense to me than it did. She also mentioned jealousy, so someone trying to hold on to another unnsuccessfully may very well feel jealousy.
Reversals tend to confuse me. In Joan Bunning's book - Learning Tarot Reversals - she speaks about reversals as being in one of three phases of the upright meaning: absent, early, or late. That resonates with me, but it's challenging to figure out which phase it represents. I think it has much to do with the surrounding cards.

 

[Elnor]

I have sometimes felt, (depending on the reading) that the Four of Pentacles can indicate a need for self-protection... I use the RWS, and the figure in the card has covered his crown, heart, and base chakras. I've had it turn up for people who leave themselves too open to exploitation by friends, family, colleagues- and they have said that they often feel like they have nothing left for themselves.

Perhaps a reversed card, (in this context) could mean that they aren't even AWARE of this exploitation going on- and if the Four of Swords were to appear in the same spread, I would think that their mental and physical health could be under threat from the stress.

elnor

 

[wytchwood]

I don't use reversals, but use the reversed meanings for ill-dignified cards and those indicated to have a negative meaning by the surrounding cards, or the position in the spread.

I think the fours 'reversed' have a different spin for each suit. I think the four of wands is only slightly changed from the dignified meaning, but perhaps the querent is unable to appreciate what they have, or taking a situation for granted and needs to look around to see how fortunate they are.

The Four of Cups 'reversed' can mean that there is a chance to break away from the stagnant situation indicated by the upright meaning, or that they are not seeing such an opportunity and will lose out if they miss it.

the Four of Swords may mean that a period of recuperation or difficulty is over, or that it's time to get back into circulation.

The four of Pentacles reversed can sometimes mean a person is too concerned with worldly power and material things, and lacks generosity, or the ability to see the bigger picture. Also, I have sometimes read this card to mean that a person will not let their guard down and keep people at arm's length, and are not engaging with people around them.

These are a few of the ways I have interpreted them anyway.

Zoe