So what’s the big deal with reversals? Are you truly reading the tarot correctly if you don’t include them? Who came up with reversals anyway?
When reading tarot cards all readers have their own style and preferences. How the cards are explained in a reading, to preferred tarot spreads, to deck styles can and likely will be different. So too are the preferences for reversals. And that is entirely what reading them or not reading them is: a preference.
Some readers will make sure their cards don’t allow for reversals, organizing and shuffling in a way that prohibits them. Others will simply read all cards as upright no matter how they’re pulled. Still, plenty of readers prefer the expansion from 78 cards to 156, to give a broader scope and perhaps a more nuanced or in depth reading.
The idea of reversals was brought about by Etteilla, aka Jean-Baptiste Alliette 1738 - 1791 (the irony of his public name being a reversal of his surname). Before this, the cards only had one direction and reversals are still considered a “modern idea” to the craft.
“Before the late 18th century, tarots were read upright. It is only in the modern books about the Tarot de Marseille that we find reversals. [...] It originated with Etteilla, who used reversals to enable a wider vocabulary in his Petit Etteilla, using only thirty-two playing cards. By so doing, he gained sixty-four upright and reversed meanings, as well as his further sideways combinations. Following his lead from Petit Etteilla and from his tarot pack Book of Thoth, taromancers have used reversals ever since.” , “Untold Tarot: The Lost Art of Reading Ancient Tarots” by Caitlín Matthews (c) 2018 Red Feather
There are pros and cons to reading the tarot with and without reversals. Many choose to go without because there are less card meanings to learn (a comforting fact to new readers), they feel that reversals can overly complicate a reading or that the cards can and will convey their given messages without reversals included, or that reversed cards lean towards a ‘negativity bias’ where the reader tends to focus less on whole of the spread and more on the cards that impact the reading negatively.
“First, when I started reading tarot I used reversals, but I found that the reversed cards that appeared in my spreads visually interfered with my interpretations. My eyes would be drawn to the reversed cards first, so I’d start with those and then interpret the upright cards after. My readings were falling victim to “negativity bias” ; human brains are hardwired to place greater weight on negative messages. (Note: This is why negative, clickbaity articles catch your attention). When I shifted to reading only upright, I realized that I could scoop up information from the entire spread at the beginning of a reading better. This allows me to see the “lay of the land” first before getting into the cards. Also, my readings have a better flow. A reversed card almost behaved like a speedbump during sessions.” - Rashunda Tramble, Staywoketarot.com
All of this being said, if these issues are not your own and you prefer the wider range of options for a more complex reading, here are some amazing insights into reversal readings.
Reversals can be read in a number of ways that are not all entirely negative, but instead insightful resources for you and your querent.
A reversal card might mean:
The opposite of the card.
The absence or withdrawing influence of the card.
The internalization of the card. Where upright cards are external manifestations.
Areas that need development.
A blockage or too little of an energy.
Struggles, delays, or conflicts.
Let your insight guide you. Did this card come up first? Last? Did it jump from the deck? What other cards are facing it? Does it have a clear space within the reading, or is it clearly outside of all the rest? When the image is upside down, does any of the imagery stand out to you? These details can help you read the reversal intuitively. Sometimes reversals are more about a gut feeling than a written explanation of their information.
My goal with this post was to either give you insight into how to further your practice with reversals or permission to let them stay outside of your readings. However you read your cards is valid!