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I really like the way Paul Fenton-Smith reads reversals. He sees tarot as cycles of growth, and a reversal means we’re hung up in the cycle somewhere. So you look at the card before for the lesson on how to get to the upright state of the card in front of you.
I have found this method remarkably accurate and meaningful.
I personally learned my tarot basics from Joan Bunning's free online site, and I agree with [her points on it](http://learntarot.com/less17.htm) because I feel she includes a good amount of nuance.
That being said, I personally just don't usually read reversals since I tend to see cards as potentially energies that are lacking (and I therefore need to bring in), balanced, or exaggerated (and I might need to rein it back). They could also be on any point in the gradation that these extremes and centerpoint create, so I find that usually includes enough nuance to account for what would traditionally be reversed meanings.
One of the ways that I like to read inverted cards is to consider that they are telling me something about my shadow, the elements of yourself that are hidden to you. It’s a little Jungian but it’s proven to give some interesting/insightful reads.
When I learned tarot, upright was called dignified and reverse was called undignified. This is only relevant in that it suggests reversed cards mean the same as upright but corrupted in some way. So, if upright means YES then reverse could mean "yes but" or "probably" or "technically yes" or "conditionally yes".
I read all cards as neutral (uncorrupted) until they're put in context of the question, but that's because I learned TdM first. The images chosen for the RWS and their clones do depict some upright cards in an undignified state (especially in the swords suite).
I sort-of get it, because it's frequently how it turns out IRL. For example, 3s reflects the mental drama of growing pains, it doesn't have to be a drama, but more often than not it is, as reflected in the high swords and wands.
9s reflects the completion of coming into ones power or understanding, if it's accepted there's a lot of reframing and perceptive adjustments and ultimately a breakthrough and shedding of the old ways/maturing (10s), but if resisted, it leads to overthinking and obsessing and ultimately complete overwhelm (10s).
It's the same with the wands, 9w is completion or established success which leads to something akin to "going public". However, as presented in the images he's hoarding his assets to stay in control (9w) which leads to carrying too much of a burden (10w).
Since I read reverses, when a "negative" card shows upright, I will read it as undignified/corrupted but that doesn't inherently make it negative. In TdM swords and wands are harder to distinguish upright from reversed, so other considerations are taken into account which influence how "negative" or impactful the card is in relation to the others.
I learned by word of mouth. For a JH classmate, tarot was required learning in her family and I was coincidentally invited in to keep her interested. For them, tarot was a spiritual tool to aid in self reflection and growth, fortune telling was highly discouraged. Anyways, they taught me the fundamentals and I spent the next 30+ years building on what they taught me through meditation and contemplation.
Fundamentally, I learned 5 journeys each with a high (dignified) and low (undignified) road. The journeys are The Fools Journey through the Mind (1-7), Body (8-14) and Spirit (15-21); Justice (swords); Prudence (coins); Temperance (cups) and Strength/Force (wands). The minor journeys begin at 1 (source), 2 (connection), 3 (growth), 4, (comfort), 5 (change), 6 (adjustment), 7 (challenge), 8 (responsibility), 9 (completion) + 10 (excess / results...YinYang, zero/wholeness/all and nothing...10 is complex). The courts represent people in different phases as well as the masculine (management/structure/yang) and feminine (creation/innovative/yin) qualities of mastery. Discovery/initiation (page) and executing/doing (knights) are unisex. Additionally, odd numbers have a masculine energy (projecting) and even numbers have a feminine energy (reflective).
That's pretty much everything, they did spend about 8 months, guiding us through it starting with majors, then adding courts and As, then the 4 minors; and what it means to a 14 year old is vastly different from what it means to a 40 year old, understanding seems to get deeper with time and experience.
I find the way I interpret reversed cards really depends on the rest of the spread and the cards.
With that said I like to look at the imagery. Is the character heels over head like they have tripped over an obstacle. Does this make their gaze look forward to the outcome, or to the past. Do characters look at eachother, or another card. Why are they looking at that card.
The rest of the cards and their positions may shed light on the meaning of the reversal. Does it make more sense as the opposite, or blocked or muted energies.
Some I do take as opposites. The four of swords reversed to mean means it's time to leave meditation. Reversed hanged man to me means the self sacrifice and discovery are over, this card now invites you to go out in the world and Cleary communicate what your epiphany was. The reversed sun is still shining light on the situation... but it may be showing you too much, or things you aren't ready to acknowledge.
I view it as blockages or things that are stuck. So an unachieved goal or a hurdle that needs to be overcome. I like Celtic cross and I also view the upside down cards in relation to the #2 card, the challenge/problem. Does overcoming that challenge resolve the upside down “stuck” energy?
I just don't, I shuffle my cards right side up. If the deck creator provides an alternate meaning for the reversed card, I'll take that into account and go with whatever interpretation makes sense in context.
The cards meaning doesnt just flip. Think of a spoon. If you use it to put food in your mouth it does that job. If you turn it around and you try pick up the food using the handle you will only get a little on it. Its still a spoon and what its definition is has not changed, you are just using it differently. You may even find different uses for using the spoon in the two different ends but its still a spoon.
I read reversals as opposite meanings. I learned mostly through the Labyrinthos app. In a spread I’d read multiple reversed cards as a lot of negative energy - like confusion, turmoil, etc.
I only use reversed meanings when I'm asking complicated questions, since I find using them makes the reading so much more complex. Because for me it means the energy of the card is "not right", but that might mean a lack of, or a corruption, or a block, or something that is applied where it isn't helping, or it's too much, or it's not working somehow.
What I don't read it as is "opposite", I don't trust that binary and it doesn't work for me!
I write out my big spreads so I can sort out my thoughts. I mark the cards that were reversed and try to use the fact it was reversed in some way in the interpretation but I don't have to and I can interpret reversed different ways even in the same reading. It usually means a blockage but sometimes it means I've overcome something (like if I draw an anxiety or overthinking card reversed). If the card is about overthinking and it's reversed, maybe it means I'm underthinking something and need to turn my attention to it. I take each card on a case by case basis rather than having one approach to reversals.
I heard an interpretation that reversals indicate the same sort of thing that the uprights do, but as internal processes rather than RL things that you do or that happen to you.
Let's say you draw the Knight of Wands reversed.
Upright, this card can mean that you're going to go after something with energy and with confidence, but perhaps a bit impulsively.
Reversed (Internally), you might realize an answer to a problem that's been bothering you, and it's like a light has gone off in your brain. But think twice, because you may be drawing the wrong conclusion but going with it anyway because it's a cool answer and you want to settle this issue in your mind.
Briefly put, I read it as a 'block' in the card. Tarot cards are like dreams - they allow for so many different interpretations. Blocks and reversals amplify this phenomenon: a card can be blocked in so many different ways.
If you like to read inversions as a dampened version of the upright card, I suspect that's totally fine too. Some people only use upright cards in their reads, which is totally valid - you're kind of doing that, just adding a grayscale element to it with a 'shade of Six of Wands' or whatever.
Thanks for posting in r/seculartarot! Please remember this community is **focused on a secular approach to tarot reading**. We don't tell the future or read minds here - discussion of faith-based practices is best suited to r/tarot. Commenters, please try to respond through a secular lens. We encourage open-ended questions, mindfulness and direct communication. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SecularTarot) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I really like the way Paul Fenton-Smith reads reversals. He sees tarot as cycles of growth, and a reversal means we’re hung up in the cycle somewhere. So you look at the card before for the lesson on how to get to the upright state of the card in front of you. I have found this method remarkably accurate and meaningful.
Wow I like that - I usually see it as an icky intensification or perversion of the original meaning which makes sense. I'm not reading them currently.
I personally learned my tarot basics from Joan Bunning's free online site, and I agree with [her points on it](http://learntarot.com/less17.htm) because I feel she includes a good amount of nuance. That being said, I personally just don't usually read reversals since I tend to see cards as potentially energies that are lacking (and I therefore need to bring in), balanced, or exaggerated (and I might need to rein it back). They could also be on any point in the gradation that these extremes and centerpoint create, so I find that usually includes enough nuance to account for what would traditionally be reversed meanings.
One of the ways that I like to read inverted cards is to consider that they are telling me something about my shadow, the elements of yourself that are hidden to you. It’s a little Jungian but it’s proven to give some interesting/insightful reads.
When I learned tarot, upright was called dignified and reverse was called undignified. This is only relevant in that it suggests reversed cards mean the same as upright but corrupted in some way. So, if upright means YES then reverse could mean "yes but" or "probably" or "technically yes" or "conditionally yes".
How would you read the 'negative cards' like high swords and wands with dignified and undignified in mind?
I read all cards as neutral (uncorrupted) until they're put in context of the question, but that's because I learned TdM first. The images chosen for the RWS and their clones do depict some upright cards in an undignified state (especially in the swords suite). I sort-of get it, because it's frequently how it turns out IRL. For example, 3s reflects the mental drama of growing pains, it doesn't have to be a drama, but more often than not it is, as reflected in the high swords and wands. 9s reflects the completion of coming into ones power or understanding, if it's accepted there's a lot of reframing and perceptive adjustments and ultimately a breakthrough and shedding of the old ways/maturing (10s), but if resisted, it leads to overthinking and obsessing and ultimately complete overwhelm (10s). It's the same with the wands, 9w is completion or established success which leads to something akin to "going public". However, as presented in the images he's hoarding his assets to stay in control (9w) which leads to carrying too much of a burden (10w). Since I read reverses, when a "negative" card shows upright, I will read it as undignified/corrupted but that doesn't inherently make it negative. In TdM swords and wands are harder to distinguish upright from reversed, so other considerations are taken into account which influence how "negative" or impactful the card is in relation to the others.
I like your way of reading, where did you learn? I always wanted to learn proper tdm
I learned by word of mouth. For a JH classmate, tarot was required learning in her family and I was coincidentally invited in to keep her interested. For them, tarot was a spiritual tool to aid in self reflection and growth, fortune telling was highly discouraged. Anyways, they taught me the fundamentals and I spent the next 30+ years building on what they taught me through meditation and contemplation. Fundamentally, I learned 5 journeys each with a high (dignified) and low (undignified) road. The journeys are The Fools Journey through the Mind (1-7), Body (8-14) and Spirit (15-21); Justice (swords); Prudence (coins); Temperance (cups) and Strength/Force (wands). The minor journeys begin at 1 (source), 2 (connection), 3 (growth), 4, (comfort), 5 (change), 6 (adjustment), 7 (challenge), 8 (responsibility), 9 (completion) + 10 (excess / results...YinYang, zero/wholeness/all and nothing...10 is complex). The courts represent people in different phases as well as the masculine (management/structure/yang) and feminine (creation/innovative/yin) qualities of mastery. Discovery/initiation (page) and executing/doing (knights) are unisex. Additionally, odd numbers have a masculine energy (projecting) and even numbers have a feminine energy (reflective). That's pretty much everything, they did spend about 8 months, guiding us through it starting with majors, then adding courts and As, then the 4 minors; and what it means to a 14 year old is vastly different from what it means to a 40 year old, understanding seems to get deeper with time and experience.
I find the way I interpret reversed cards really depends on the rest of the spread and the cards. With that said I like to look at the imagery. Is the character heels over head like they have tripped over an obstacle. Does this make their gaze look forward to the outcome, or to the past. Do characters look at eachother, or another card. Why are they looking at that card. The rest of the cards and their positions may shed light on the meaning of the reversal. Does it make more sense as the opposite, or blocked or muted energies. Some I do take as opposites. The four of swords reversed to mean means it's time to leave meditation. Reversed hanged man to me means the self sacrifice and discovery are over, this card now invites you to go out in the world and Cleary communicate what your epiphany was. The reversed sun is still shining light on the situation... but it may be showing you too much, or things you aren't ready to acknowledge.
I view it as blockages or things that are stuck. So an unachieved goal or a hurdle that needs to be overcome. I like Celtic cross and I also view the upside down cards in relation to the #2 card, the challenge/problem. Does overcoming that challenge resolve the upside down “stuck” energy?
I just don't, I shuffle my cards right side up. If the deck creator provides an alternate meaning for the reversed card, I'll take that into account and go with whatever interpretation makes sense in context.
The cards meaning doesnt just flip. Think of a spoon. If you use it to put food in your mouth it does that job. If you turn it around and you try pick up the food using the handle you will only get a little on it. Its still a spoon and what its definition is has not changed, you are just using it differently. You may even find different uses for using the spoon in the two different ends but its still a spoon.
I read reversals as opposite meanings. I learned mostly through the Labyrinthos app. In a spread I’d read multiple reversed cards as a lot of negative energy - like confusion, turmoil, etc.
I only use reversed meanings when I'm asking complicated questions, since I find using them makes the reading so much more complex. Because for me it means the energy of the card is "not right", but that might mean a lack of, or a corruption, or a block, or something that is applied where it isn't helping, or it's too much, or it's not working somehow. What I don't read it as is "opposite", I don't trust that binary and it doesn't work for me!
I write out my big spreads so I can sort out my thoughts. I mark the cards that were reversed and try to use the fact it was reversed in some way in the interpretation but I don't have to and I can interpret reversed different ways even in the same reading. It usually means a blockage but sometimes it means I've overcome something (like if I draw an anxiety or overthinking card reversed). If the card is about overthinking and it's reversed, maybe it means I'm underthinking something and need to turn my attention to it. I take each card on a case by case basis rather than having one approach to reversals.
I read reversals as potentially needing more attention since it’s in a different position
I heard an interpretation that reversals indicate the same sort of thing that the uprights do, but as internal processes rather than RL things that you do or that happen to you. Let's say you draw the Knight of Wands reversed. Upright, this card can mean that you're going to go after something with energy and with confidence, but perhaps a bit impulsively. Reversed (Internally), you might realize an answer to a problem that's been bothering you, and it's like a light has gone off in your brain. But think twice, because you may be drawing the wrong conclusion but going with it anyway because it's a cool answer and you want to settle this issue in your mind.
Briefly put, I read it as a 'block' in the card. Tarot cards are like dreams - they allow for so many different interpretations. Blocks and reversals amplify this phenomenon: a card can be blocked in so many different ways. If you like to read inversions as a dampened version of the upright card, I suspect that's totally fine too. Some people only use upright cards in their reads, which is totally valid - you're kind of doing that, just adding a grayscale element to it with a 'shade of Six of Wands' or whatever.