Reversed tarot cards — how to read them against the upright
updated · 5 min read
A tarot card falls either upright or reversed. Most commentaries describe upright as the card's quality working straight through, and reversed as that quality running to excess, or not yet having come out.
Reversed is another way out, not the opposite
When a card of strength falls reversed, it does not necessarily mean weakness. It can be read as force running to excess, or as force applied in the wrong place. The quality is the same; how it comes out has changed.
| Orientation | How it is usually taken | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Upright | The card's quality working straight through | It does not only mean good things |
| Reversed | Running to excess, or not yet moving | Do not decide it means something bad |
How this service decides the orientation
This service decides the orientation of each of the ten cards on the server. Upright and reversed come up at the same probability, with no weighting either way. You cannot draw again or turn a card round.
Making the orientation impossible to redraw is what protects the premise of reading from chance. If a card you disliked could be turned, a reading that finds meaning in chance would stop making sense.
Some schools do not use reversals at all. Reading every card as upright is also widely practised, and neither is more correct. This service follows the manner that uses orientation.
Position and orientation are separate things
These get confused. The position in the Celtic Cross and the orientation of a card are two different matters. The position is the role of each of the ten places; the orientation is how that card has come out. When reading, check the role of the position first and look at the orientation second.
Say a card of strength falls reversed in the position of what stands in the way. That reads less as the obstacle being weak than as your own use of force not yet being settled. Multiplying position by orientation widens the reading considerably.
Until you are used to it, read the roles of the positions alone and add the orientations afterwards. Trying to read all ten at once leaves you with nowhere to start.
Note: the person asking questions in this article is fictional. This is not a record of a real consultation.
Common questions
- May I ignore reversals when I read?
- You may. Some schools read every card as upright. Mixing the two approaches partway leaves the interpretation unsettled, so keep to one.
- Does drawing mostly reversed cards mean something?
- Each orientation is decided independently, so they can fall unevenly. Rather than looking for meaning in the count, look at which positions they landed in.
- Drawing for myself, how do I decide the orientation?
- The usual way is to turn part of the deck around while shuffling. Avoid deliberately changing a card's orientation as you lay it out.