Reversed tarot cards are really straightforward and everyone agrees on how to approach them.
…said nobody, ever. 😉
As you may know, I wrote a series of (personal, unofficial) interpretations of the Wild Unknown Tarot deck. I’ve received lots of lovely comments and questions about those posts, and there’s one thing I’ve been asked again…and again…and again. Which is, of course: what about reversed (aka inverted or upside down) cards?
And so now, I present to you Carrie’s guide to tarot card reversals!
To reverse or not to reverse
Tarot is a highly personal art form. It is a system that is loosely tied by tradition, and it can be very useful to verse yourself in traditional approaches. But as with any other aspect of your tarot craft, there are no rights or wrongs. Some phenomenal readers use reversals. Some phenomenal readers do not use reversals. You can choose which camp you’d like to set up with and you’ll be in good company either way!
As with anything else in your practice, it’s useful to experiment. Try out reversals and see how they suit you…or don’t suit you. Refer to the golden rule of tarot: tune in to your intuition.
A caveat, though. Although experimentation is great, give yourself a chance to acclimate. If you’ve never read reversals and want to try, set the intention to use them for a set period of time (maybe a moon cycle). Reading reversals can be uncomfortable at first, but sometimes sitting with growing pains leads to evolving as a reader.
You may find yourself dipping in and out of using reversals. For example, I generally do read reversals, but I find them unnecessary in certain spreads. And even if you use reversals regularly, you may find they feel wonky with certain decks (I don’t read reversals at all with the Japaridze Tarot for this reason).
Here’s why you might want to use reversals: they can result in more complex, nuanced and clear readings. If this is how reading reversals feels for you, great! Keep using them.
Here’s why you might not want to use reversals: they can be distracting without adding anything valuable. If this is how reading reversals feels for you, stop. There’s no need to force things.
You could say incorporating reversals into a reading is like adding cilantro to a dish: some people LOVE the flavor it adds, other people think it tastes like soap. It’s okay to be in either one of these categories.
How to read reversed cards: a few methods
So, you’re ready to give it a go, eh? We’ll now consider some theories of interpreting reversed cards. These are my go-to approaches; cobbled from various books, teachers, and personal experience. This list is by no means complete or authoritative, but I do hope it will give you some lenses to try out. Tune into your intuition to choose which of these approaches to use with any given reversal.
Resistance to the lesson
It is not always easy for human beings to swallow the lessons life presents us. We are masters at evading, justifying, or just flat out ignoring the things we most need to learn. When a tarot card turns up reversed, it is sometimes a signal that you (or whomever you’re reading for) is experiencing some level of resistance to that card’s lesson.
Say, for example, that you are considering how you can increase your salary. You know you’re being underpaid but you are weary to broach the topic with your boss because you don’t want to be pushy. You do a reading for yourself and the Two of Wands comes up reversed. This card is traditionally associated with boldness and confidence. Therefore, this card could show that you are resisting this chance to learn about actively asserting yourself.
This is one of the most common methods I use for understanding reversed cards. I find it to be such an empowering approach. Once we know where our resistance lies, we can begin to understand it. And as we understand our resistance, we can learn to transform it. In this way, we can open ourselves fully to what the universe is teaching us.
The Shadow Spectrum
Each tarot card has an entire universe of meanings. It’s a bit of an oversimplification, but consider that each card’s set of meanings could be viewed on a spectrum, ranging from light to shadow. Light is not equivalent to positive and shadow is not equivalent to negative. Instead, meanings on the light side of the spectrum are more readily apparent, meanings on the shadow side of the spectrum are more unconscious and insidious. A reversal can be a sign that the card’s energy is currently manifesting on the shadow side of the spectrum.
Say you’ve been having doubts about undertaking a new venture. You ask for clarity on these doubts and receive the reversed Queen of Swords. If you consider the shadow spectrum of this card, you might find that you are being overly self-critical, cynical and snarky. It seems that your doubts are stemming from shadowy unconscious beliefs, as opposed to well-thought out critique.
The physical reversal here is just a stand-in for what your intuition alone might discern. Making the unconscious conscious is a profound magic that tarot evokes, and this method is just one way to add a psychological element to your readings.
Internal Verses External Energy
This particular method of reading reversals carries some inherent contradictions, so I am drawn to it less frequently than some of the other methods here. However, once in a while my intuition is just like “BAM, this totally applies right now!”
Occasionally, a reversed card is a particularly strong sign that an energy shift is needed INTERNALLY verses externally. Now, this is a bit tricky to explain. The way I use it, tarot is always best equipped to speak directly to the seeker’s internal state (as opposed to giving third party information). That said, tarot can give us direct information about influencing our external world AND our internal world.
As the example here, let’s say you are feeling stifled by your relationship and ask for advice. You draw the Fool reversed. Under this lens of interpretation, the reversal suggests that the Fool’s energy is needed specifically in your inner world. You may not need to take leaps – such as leaving your partner – in your external world. This could help you realize that what you need is a sense of internal expansion. The liberation you are seeking starts within you.
The Exclamation Point
Last but not least, an open ended but useful theory. Sometimes a reversal is just a cue to pay extra attention to that card. In this case, the card in question may tie together a theme or highlight a recurring message, particularly in a bigger spread.
For example, let’s pretend you’re planning to start a new business and you lay out a spread for advice. Among the various cards is the Hierophant reversed. As you weave the story of the reading, various cards bring messages of new ideas, training and collaboration. In this case, the reversal of the Hierophant may just be an exclamation point asking you to pay particular attention to this card. You might then intuit that working with a business mentor is your next step.
The exclamation point is one of the most common theories I use for reversals. A reversal can be a powerful sign that we need to really sit with a particular card.
So, there you have it! I hope that this gives you some good perspectives to test out in your own tarot practices.
I’m curious to hear what works for you. Do you read reversed cards? What methods have you found the most effective? Comment and tell me about it, if you want.
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Thanks so much for this. Have been struggling with reversals and your ideas about exclamation points and resistance really hit home.
You’re welcome! I’m glad this was useful for you. 🙂
Hi Carrie,
This blog post comes at the perfect time, as you have just summed up pretty much everything I’ve been journaling about reversals recently! I must admit that I have been battling with myself about them a lot, and I can see that the reason for this is that they scare me. So I decided to simply ask myself this question every time I get one: Why does this card reversed make me feel uncomfortable? What is it inside of me that is being stirred/touched/irritated or whatever, that I don’t want to acknowledge? For now, I have found that the best “way in” for me is simply to add the word “Inner + keyword” or “Private + keyword” and that allows me to then relax and open up my intuition to the deeper meanings going on. After all, all resistance, shadows, blockages, etc… ARE all pretty private, inward directed energy, possibly suppressed, repressed, or just…brewing till they’re ready. So thank you for bringing this topic out in the open, because I really feel that if I can’t read with reversals, I’ll never reach the parts of myself that are most important to reach! I guess I’m “ready” for them now, even though it feels like standing on the edge of a cliff, waiting to jump off – I know I have a parachute, but it doesn’t make it any less scary! Tarot really is a journey, where we seem to plunge ever more profoundly into the far reaches of our subconscious, and I just kind of realize that without reversals, I can’t continue the journey.
Much love and blessings to you,
Nirmala
Ah, I really like the questions you’ve been asking yourself to dig into that discomfort! I think it’s really important to do that in general with things that make us uncomfortable, and it’s not always easy to do, so good for you! It’s very cool to see you heading bravely into your own subconscious, as you said. <3 <3 <3
I’ve been going with the extra attention/what lesson do I need to learn from this card way of doing reversals. Though, I find with the Wild Unknown deck, just looking at the reversals in terms of imagery gets me a good hit intuitively. I wish I could include a picture, but I just did a business-related reading for myself, and two of the cards (the top and bottom) were the eight of wands reversed and the seven of wands reversed. Reversed, the eight of wands looks like rather than the strike of energy coming from above, it’s coming from below or within, and also looks kind of like fireworks shooting out those wands in the sky. The seven of wands mirrors that somewhat, looking like a sacral fire igniting that one wand. And the really cool one was the reversed ace of cups for “what do I need to release” — reversed, it looks like stuff pouring out of the cup.
It’s funny because I heard that the creator of the Wild Unknown doesn’t use reversals – but I totally agree with you, reversals work well for me in that deck! It’s very hear to cool you visually describe the imagery on the cards you drew. You got a lot of fascinating intuitive info from that imagery!
I absolutely loved this post! I have read a lot about reversals, but your blog post was the one that explained better for me…
I dont read reversals because I have been reading tarot only for about 2 years, so I am still learning the 78 meanings. The double would be too much! I have tried the “exclamation point” and I like it, but when a card appears reversed, I already feel my body going tense, so…yeah. For me, tarot is complex enough to not “have” to do reversals, I feel it can pass whatever message I might need even without reversals.
But as you said, sometimes growing pains are good, so I will be trying your methods =) thanks a lot!
Hi Flavia! I’m glad this was helpful, thanks for the kind comment! <3 I think it's great that you are trusting your gut when it comes to reversals, and I do hope that when you try some of these strategies you'll find them interesting. Good luck!
Hi Carrie,
(Posting this here because the CAPTCHA
I always read your emails and I feel bad that I did not notice you missed sending one last week. I subscribe to so many email lists, probably too many. I am trying to thin the tarot herd but each one offers different info. I enjoy and learn from so many I still end up with too many emails. Recipes are even worse, so many saved and never used. There are also hard copies of recipes living in several corners of my home.
I read the reviews about your readings and mentoring and was very impressed. YOU GO, GIRL!!! I especially like your approach involving both the unconscious and conscious. You have so much on your site to read. I have read your Ethics and Morals section, not offered very often. I read it first. Very impressive and as one of your reviewers said, everything is always spelled correctly and as near as I can tell, it is grammatically correct. I have been using the free version of Grammarly and would love the full version (this email has 18 advanced issues according to Grammarly and my errors or “issues” will have to remain. It is too pricey for me and advanced issues are not revealed in the free program. I only send emails so it might be overkill to purchase it but I don’t like mistakes.
I want to read the material you supply about mentoring. Then I might send you another email as I see you request one prior to beginning the mentoring. I do really enjoy and learn from the tarot wisdom you share
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for your kind words! That is weird about the CAPTCHA. Like you said it might be a MR glitch. You can read all the details about my mentoring here http://carriemallon.com/services/mentoring/ There’s a link on that page to book a free Skype session, which would be the first step if you’re interested. Thank you and take care! <3
I meant to add I posted this here because captcha code would not work where you ask us to add a comment because you would love to hear from us. I also tried 2 different emails and they were returned.
Mercury Retrograde!!!
Not sure if you still are actively running those blog but I am so grateful I have discovered. I love the quality of your writing it is so relatable. I also feel like everything I currently need on my tarot journey I find on your site. Thank you for so generously sharing in such an organized and clear fashion. What an amazing compilation of resources and wisdom!
Hi Candace, thanks so much for your kind words! I’m so glad my site has been useful. Yes, I’m still actively blogging! I usually post every other week these days, you can find the latest posts on the homepage at carriemallon.com. 🙂
This was super handy, I did one of my first readings with my tarot yesterday with a four card spread (overall situation for the first card, and here’s what’s causing it for the other three cards) and all three cards came up reversed so I’m happy that this cleared up reversals a bit so that I can read them better
Nice, I’m glad this was useful!
I’m desperate to find any sort of link or info about the spirit animal cards reversed!!! Please help.
I use them with my tarot spreads at times. And I did a Celtics cross for my state of mind atm and did a spread for each suit of my spirit animal cards… All five. And I got them all upside down. The whale, sea serpent, gazelle, vulture, and the wolf. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I’ve tried several decks and the wild unknown tarot and spirit animal decks… I haven’t gotten a wrong reading. I’m very intuitive and this is sending me on an amazing spiritual journey. Thank you.
Hi Jade, I don’t have the Spirit Animal deck so I couldn’t offer many thoughts, unfortunately. You could try applying some of the reversal tactics mentioned in this post and see if it helps. Good luck!
This was a really lovely blog post and I not only 100% agree with everything you laid out here as a card reader myself, but also gained a lot of insight and felt more empowered for my own practice. I’ve included reversals from the very start, I just felt very called to include them in my readings. I especially enjoyed the way you dived into the “exclamation point” approach. Thank you!
You’re so welcome, I appreciate your feedback!
Great help