Do you read with reversals? - Poll

[Morwenna]

I said most of the time, because even though I can't remember ever not using them, I'm sure it has happened. 

[Esclarmonde]

I use reversals because that's how I learned when I started with Tarot. Of course that increases the number of interpretations of the cards, but I find the reversals add to the message of the reading, and don't always interpret them as negative. I find Mary Greer's Tarot Reversals   a very useful interpretation guide. I use reversals with all my Tarot decks except the Dark Angels - for some reason it never felt "right" to use reversals with that particular deck. I also never use reversals with any oracle deck.

Edited October 2, 2024 by Esclarmonde

[geoxena]

I never read reversals and always make sure to shuffle in a way that keeps the cards upright.  I started out reading them, but stopped ever since a mentor of mine opened my eyes and told me I didn't have to!  Plus I read mostly intuitively and can spend a long time discussing what I see in just one card. Since each card can mean something totally different for a different querent, and depending on the question, reading reversals just doesn't make sense to me - but seeing how the elements of each card relate to the elements in other cards within the spread makes a lot of sense to me. 

 

I usually need cards that are detailed and fully illustrated, because I want to see what the figures in the illustrations are doing, what they're wearing, where they're going.  I need to see a story in order to relate it to the person I am reading for in that moment.  So, with the way I do it, it just seems that reading reversals would make it unnecessarily clunky for me.

Edited December 14, 2024 by geoxena

[TinySpark]

On 8/8/2024 at 11:31 PM, Natural Mystic Guide said:

'Half of the time I use them, half the time not' seemed the most appropriate choice for me regarding how often I may use reversals.  To elaborate:  There are some decks where it may not be appropriate to use reversals because of the nature of the deck.  Then, with a circular deck, depending on where the card lines up in relationship to truly reversed or truly upright, I get a more 'nuanced' reversal meaning.

 

 

@Natural Mystic Guide  Yes this!  I don't always use reversals, but if I do it's more of a look-at-me & "Pay Attention" what significance does this card have in the spread I'm using or the situation/mood/query I'm reading about.

 

However, there are some decks I turn right side up before I even lay the card down. Pretty much all decks that use Arabic numerals - sixes & nines are NOT the same as 6's & 9's.

 

I prefer decks that spell out the words or use Roman numerals e.g. Six of Swords, The Hermit IX. It's why I take a hard pass on all those Lo Scarabeo decks with multi-lingual titles & arabic numerals. Some of the art is so pretty but the verbiage on them is so distracting.

[Saturn Celeste]

I voted for occasionally.  Once in a while, there are certain types of questions that I feel need reversals.  But usually I just look at both sides of the card for the message.

[ravailan]

I don't because I never learned how to. The Shadowscapes Tarot deck that I started with and continue to use primarily doesn't mention anything about them so I pretend reversals don't exist in my practice.

[Croat]

Always.  I like the added nuance reversals provide.

[Sar]

Yes, I do. I find it gives another 78 cards in a way.

[Fairy666tale]

I always do, and I don't interpret them as negative. Usually in a reading, I will ask what I should do (upright) and what I should be wary of (reversed). And if I ask what the outcome might be, I usually spin the card around without looking, so it may or may not end up reversed. I have no idea if that is a thing you're supposed to do, but it works for me😅

[AnomalyTempest]

I rarely do because I see all the cards as a spectrum of experience. That being said, if somehow or another I end up with a reversed card I do pay attention unless they are all reversed in which case I assume I just had my deck upside down, 

[IngridG]

I mostly don't read reversals because/when they make no sense to me in the context of the reading, if it does speak to me then I'll work it in. Tarot is more a means to get to one's own intuition for me. So I look the whole reading over and decide what it's saying. I guess over the years it's been about 90% true that the reversal was not meaningful. Most people's lives continue much the same as they have been most of time. Every once in a while is a major upset, so if I see the tower or a change of residence or relationship, I'm more likely to consider reversed positions.

 

[Wyrdkiss]

I started with Thoth, so no. Stuck with that decision. I feel every card's depth, along with specific spread positions, can more than convey the info contained in reversal definitions / implications.

[Nnaiad]

I used to use them, but I stopped and I've been reading without them. I feel that my readings are just as good either way. Maybe I will go back to them some day. I have not made up my mind yet. 

[Chariot]

The creator of one of my favourite and most-used decks, Anna K ...The  Anna K Tarot ...does not intend reversals to be used.  Her book accompanying the deck makes that clear.  So, when I read with her deck I try to keep her intention in mind.  However, I still do use the 'opposite' meaning for any card that pops up reversed, if that opposite meaning makes sense at the time.  However, I usually attempt to shuffle The Anna K Tarot cards upright.  

 

Although I normally DO read reversals (as opposite meaning to the upright meaning) it does me good to occasionally try a different method that forces me to react differently to the cards I dealt.