Reversals

[Ruby Jewel]

I think the thing that bugged me most with reversals was I always felt like I had picked the deck up the wrong way....especially if the cards turned out to be all or almost all reversed.....but I don't mind reading a reversal if it happens in spite of my straightening them....then I can believe it was meant to be reversed...and had nothing to do with the way I picked up the deck. Another thing that bugs me is that there are so many "gimmicky" ways people have for reading them...no established method other than what seems to be just made up by various persons...albeit some are quite famous.

 

[Barleywine]

I think the thing that bugged me most with reversals was I always felt like I had picked the deck up the wrong way....especially if the cards turned out to be all or almost all reversed.....but I don't mind reading a reversal if it happens in spite of my straightening them....then I can believe it was meant to be reversed...and had nothing to do with the way I picked up the deck. Another thing that bugs me is that there are so many "gimmicky" ways people have for reading them...no established method other than what seems to be just made up by various persons...albeit some are quite famous.

Some good points here. If I suspect I picked the deck up the wrong way (which used to happen with new decks), I start over and get more vigorous with the randomizing. Also, just making things up on the fly because "my intuition told me to" never worked for me either. I worked over the whole concept thoroughly to see how many different categories I could come up with (blocked, delayed, internalized, redirected, etc.) and captured everything for my own use. I still haven't read any of the famous books on the subject, just smatterings by other writers within more general texts, none of which were in disagreement with my own thoughts.

 

[Tanga]

I know some advanced professional readers who don't use reversals.
(haven't read through the rest of this thread. Will do later...looks like some interesting discussion from cursory glance ).

Sometimes I read with them and sometimes not. Depends on my mood.
And upside down cards are not necessarily negative. Both ends of the spectrum
can be read from a card - whether it's upright or reversed, in my opinion.
Just depends on who you're reading for, what the question is etc. etc. etc.

When I first started learning - I didn't attempt reversals because I had enough
on my plate to learn as it was.

 

[Sztar]

I think the thing that bugged me most with reversals was I always felt like I had picked the deck up the wrong way....especially if the cards turned out to be all or almost all reversed.....but I don't mind reading a reversal if it happens in spite of my straightening them....then I can believe it was meant to be reversed...and had nothing to do with the way I picked up the deck. Another thing that bugs me is that there are so many "gimmicky" ways people have for reading them...no established method other than what seems to be just made up by various persons...albeit some are quite famous.

There are many interpretations for each card, so I don't see how deciding intuitively which reversed meaning to use is any different. Like I said, at the end of the day, for me, it's easier. It's a tool to trigger our intuition, right?

Mainly I'm commenting again because a few people have said things about worrying if the cards were in the right order and indicate that they restructure the deck when they're finished with it. I just can't fathom doing that. I shuffle each time, taking half the deck and shuffling into itself, so the number of reversed cards is pretty random. Then I almost *never* deal from the top. I just pick cards out at random according to whatever my fingers decide in the moment. The only purpose for shuffling is so that my conscious mind doesn't try to pick a particular card, but my higher self knows the answers before I ask the question, so it automatically goes for the right card in the right position (upright or reversed).

 

[Sztar]

When I first started learning - I didn't attempt reversals because I had enough on my plate to learn as it was.

Yes, I remember that feeling well! It was so overwhelming that I told myself I didn't need reversals, but the truth is just that I avoided them because they were scary. Now, before any reading where I worry I might have to face something uncomfortable, I say out loud, "The cards don't lie." I then feel resolved to confront anything I might see without fretting over reversed cards. The only way to approach the cards (for me) is with an attitude of blunt honesty.

 

[Ruby Jewel]

There are many interpretations for each card, so I don't see how deciding intuitively which reversed meaning to use is any different. Like I said, at the end of the day, for me, it's easier. It's a tool to trigger our intuition, right?

Mainly I'm commenting again because a few people have said things about worrying if the cards were in the right order and indicate that they restructure the deck when they're finished with it. I just can't fathom doing that. I shuffle each time, taking half the deck and shuffling into itself, so the number of reversed cards is pretty random. Then I almost *never* deal from the top. I just pick cards out at random according to whatever my fingers decide in the moment. The only purpose for shuffling is so that my conscious mind doesn't try to pick a particular card, but my higher self knows the answers before I ask the question, so it automatically goes for the right card in the right position (upright or reversed).

There are standard core meanings for cards in the upright position which can be expanded upon intuitively, but not for, reversed. I see a lot of struggle with Rx cards because the options are myriad and pretty much arbitrary. I don't necessarily restructure the deck each time, but I organize the deck a lot for studying the cards.

 

[Ruby Jewel]

I know some advanced professional readers who don't use reversals.
(haven't read through the rest of this thread. Will do later...looks like some interesting discussion from cursory glance ).

Sometimes I read with them and sometimes not. Depends on my mood.
And upside down cards are not necessarily negative. Both ends of the spectrum
can be read from a card - whether it's upright or reversed, in my opinion.
Just depends on who you're reading for, what the question is etc. etc. etc.

When I first started learning - I didn't attempt reversals because I had enough
on my plate to learn as it was.

My "guru" tarot teacher is Nancy Shavick and she doesn't use reversals. She had a whole lot to do with my decision to drop them....but, since I once read with them, if a Rx card pops into the reading accidentally, I will try the Rx version for fit. For instance, if the Ace of Swords is Rx, I will wonder, is this a lack of focus or a lie? If it is clarified by a card like the Devil, Moon or High Priestess I will consider the negative, but if it is clarified by the Sun, I don't buy the Rx.

 

[Ruby Jewel]

Some good points here. If I suspect I picked the deck up the wrong way (which used to happen with new decks), I start over and get more vigorous with the randomizing. Also, just making things up on the fly because "my intuition told me to" never worked for me either. I worked over the whole concept thoroughly to see how many different categories I could come up with (blocked, delayed, internalized, redirected, etc.) and captured everything for my own use. I still haven't read any of the famous books on the subject, just smatterings by other writers within more general texts, none of which were in disagreement with my own thoughts.

I'm too lazy to be so diligent (laugh). I actually find the meanings of the upright cards keep expanding and deepening the more I study them....which pretty much keeps me focused on upright. I'm constantly having one of those "aha" moments over a single word someone uses or I see in my studies. I find a single word is like a diamond in the rough sometimes. I guess you could call my studies at this point "word mining" ..... something that takes me deeper into the etymology of the word or the mythology of the concept or idea stimulated by the planets and their relationships. I pick up a lot of the negative connotations in that way and many times there are the most unexpected connections that happen because one "feels" into the meanings. For instance, one can feel how Venus really does not like Mars (Hephaestus) because he was ugly and lame; and she resented the fact that Zeus/Jupiter gave her to him. In other words there was no love between them. In a reading that comes into play with the Emperor and Empress (Mars and Venus). I can actually see that in their cards as well. Those are the intuitions that come into play when I do a reading, and in a way serve a purpose similar to reversals. It is a given in the upright cards, but if the Empress came up reversed, or ignoring the Emperor....what a delightful coincidence. One that has always perplexed me though is how much Saturn and Venus like each other....but she is rather promiscuous, so maybe it's not so perplexing after all (laugh). I like to think of the Empress as promiscuous...especially since she is pregnant. (LOL). Imagine a Celtic Cross reading where the first two cards were the Empress crossed by the Devil!! Now, that's better than any reversal I could pull. The Empress is not all that she appears to be, even upright.

 

[Sztar]

There are standard core meanings for cards in the upright position which can be expanded upon intuitively, but not for, reversed. I see a lot of struggle with Rx cards because the options are myriad and pretty much arbitrary. I don't necessarily restructure the deck each time, but I organize the deck a lot for studying the cards.

Even the standard interpretations have many shades of meaning.

 

[Ruby Jewel]

Even the standard interpretations have many shades of meaning.

Oh yes, indeed they do.