How (and Why) to Read Reversed Tarot Cards
You crack open your first deck of tarot cards and start shuffling. But as soon as you're ready to pull, the sucker comes out upside down!
You may be thinking "What the hell is an upside down tarot card supposed to mean?" You may have even Google searched exactly that and found yourself here on this blog post.
(If so, welcome! I'm as friendly as can be expected from a world wise autistic adult. Join the newsletter if you love tarot or get the Liberation Tarot Starter Kit. :))
You may also be wondering exactly why you would need to read the weird upside down card that fell out of your deck.
Consider this your (short!) introduction to reading the upside-downies, or reversals, whatever. Regardless of what you call them, here's some strategies for making sense of them.
Why You Should Read Tarot Reversals
I don't know that you should read tarot reversals, but I do think you should know how to read them.
Tarot reversals can come around at important moments. Like all things tarot, context matters.
I would never read a spread that was more than half reversals, but some readers I trust do. Again, like most things in tarot, reversals or no reversals is a matter of personal preference.
You should read reversed tarot cards when the fall in significant places within a spread.
You may also want to read tarot reversals when they suddenly fall out of your deck as you shuffle. Everybody knows the ones that fall will read you for FILTH and BLOOD (and other words in all caps.)
You should also read tarot reversals if you just, like, want to read them. It's really up to you.
Why You Shouldn't Read Tarot Reversals
I very rarely read reversed tarot cards here at Temperance Queer Tarot.
I don't think it's necessary! There's 78 cards. I've been reading for 22 years and running this service for 12. I could even predict without the cards if I wanted. 78 cards is quite enough to predict things.
Moreover, all of the cards contain their positive and negative meanings. Tarot is full of nuanced, rich archetypes.
You don't have to read reversals to have detailed meanings. Or maybe you do. Do what you want.
How to Read Reversed Tarot Cards
Ok, I guess you still want to read tarot reversals. Cool! Here's three easy methods for reading reversed tarot cards.
Let's get into it!
1. As a Shadow of the Upright Tarot Card
Every card has a part of itself that's hidden or underdeveloped or fucked up. Yes, even cards that everyone seems to adore like The Lovers or The Empress.
Perhaps even especially The Lovers and The Empress. You've met a Gemini, so I won't belabor the point on The Lovers. And everyone knows that Venus, who rules The Empress, was absolutely awful.
She made her daughter-in-law, Psyche, sort grains from seeds on a stone floor. Did I mention the daughter-in-law was pregnant? Did I mention the daughter-in-law's whole deal was that she looked exactly like her MIL. Why? Because everyone thought Psyche was pretty. Which, again, she ju-
Ok fine, I'll stop there because I think you get the point. The Empress? She's thinks the sun shines out of her ass and never completes her part of a group project. The Lovers can barely stop tonguing each other down long enough to get a damn job.
No archetype is all rainbows and butterflies. Even if they were, rainbows last a couple minutes and butterflies spend a third of their lives as a sack of goo.
For every picturesque beauty, a shadow. A reversed tarot card can familiarize us with that shadow.
2. As a Return to the Tarot Card that Precedes it in the Deck
This one is pretty simple. If you pull the overfamiliar sneak-diss of the Five of Wands reversed, your work is to return to the peaceful, fun Four of Wands. If you pull The Magician reversed, you can restart your journey with The Fool, or return to The World to settle unfinished business.
The only difficulty with this method is that you have to know the deck pretty well. Or have a book on hand, which for a beginner is completely fine. Yes, even if it's the little booklet that came with the deck.
What's probably not cool is having to wreck your whole spread and scramble through your deck. So keep the book around if you're a newbie. Let yourself learn.
3. As an Intensifier
Another very simple way to think about reversals that reversals are the card, but more so.
If the Four of Pentacles is stingy, the Four of Pentacles reversed can pinch a penny until it screams. If The Hierophant is devout, The Hierophant reversed is a zealot.
This method of reading reversals often works for beginners. That's because it vibes with the card meaning's you're learning. (You are learning card meanings, right?)
This is the way that I would suggest if you just cracked open your first pack of cards.
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That's it! If you have questions, you can hit me up at temperancequeertarot@gmail.com. You can also join the newsletter, or grab the Liberation Tarot Starter Kit if you're so inclined.
Wishing you well,
Cyree Jarelle
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