Understanding Tarot: Reversals

So you’re getting better at tarot. You have a decent understanding of what the cards mean and how to apply them in a spread. You might even feel like you’re getting the hang of it now.

Then the dreaded reversal appears.

Like the card itself, your reading - your whole world, if you’re feeling particularly dramatic - gets turned upside down. What does this mean? Should you ignore it? Does this mean all of the “good” cards are for nothing?

Worry not, dear reader; reversals aren’t as scary as they sound. In fact, they can be used to take a reading to a whole new level. Sometimes a card coming out reversed can give you or your client the lightbulb moment they needed to make the whole reading click for them.

So what are reversals, anyway?

Reversals are just as they sound - a card coming out reversed in a reading. It’s a quicker, fancier way of saying that the card is upside down. When you or your clients shuffle your cards, it’s not out of the ordinary for about half of your deck to get reversed, depending on how its shuffled. This makes it incredibly likely that you’ll do a reading with reversals in the spread sooner rather than later.

Do I have to read reversals?

I’m going to give you a controversial answer - who cares? Your practice and your style of reading is yours. If you don’t feel comfortable reading reversals, you don’t have to. If you change your mind down the line, it’s never too late to learn. The only person who can decide the format of your readings is you - what a freeing and terrifying experience.

All that being said, I do strongly encourage every newer reader to at least try to read reversals when they come up. While they can be trickier, especially if it’s a more passive card like The Hanged Man or The Eight of Swords, they can add a whole new layer to what may have been a simple reading. Learning the more complicated styles of reading can help you find what works and doesn’t work for you.

How do I read reversals?

This, like many things in the world of tarot, is a matter of debate. Some argue that reversals mean the opposite of the card when it’s upright. Others see them as a neglected area in life that you or your client needs to address. I personally read reversals as a blockage. Something is causing that card to come out reversed, rather than upright.

For example, if I were to pull The High Priestess reversed, I would interpret that as something blocking mine or my client’s intuition. There’s something going on that’s causing self doubt, lack of direction, and avoiding conversations with themself. I could use the other cards in the spread to get some more context for this. If The Hermit is in the spread as well, maybe they need to spend some time alone to do some soul searching and get to know themselves and their intuition. Or, depending on the placement, maybe they’re isolating themselves to the point where their intuition is merely an echo chamber and they need to go out and experience the world to hone their intuition.

Another thing I like to do with reversals is pull an extra card to see how the blockage can be cleared. If we’re sticking with our High Priestess reversed example, I would place another card above her to see how my client can regain confidence in their inner compass. As an example, I pulled The King of Swords as a solution to releasing this blockage. This suggests that an older and/or wisened figure in my life can give me guidance. I need someone with a no-nonsense attitude to set me straight and help me look at things clearly and objectively.

Overall, reversals don’t have to be intimidating. Like learning the cards upright, it’s simply another tool that you can use to gain as much insight as you can from your readings. No matter how you choose to interpret them, reversals can provide endless potential for your readings - it’s up to you to decide what to do with it.