Reverse Cards Are Not The Villain

The Elephant in the Room

Let's talk about reverse cards.

reversed = scary?

This is one of the top questions I see when people are first learning Tarot - it was for me too. For a long time. When a card shows up upside down, it can feel like something's gone wrong. The reaction is usually some combination of "Wait, is that bad? Is it good? Are all my worst fears about to happen?"

First of all, calm down.

And second of all - no. Reversed cards are not bad omens. They're not broken messages. They're not the evil twin of the upright meaning. And while they might point to challenges, they can also signal invitations, internal work, or just ... a different perspective.

A Short History of My Panic

When I first learned Tarot, I didn't read reversed cards. Not because I had a strong stance, but because it felt like one more thing to memorize and I was already overwhelmed. The deck was complicated enough without me flipping things upside down.

But as I got deeper into Tarot and started reading more seriously, I started to feel guilty for not including reversals. Was I cheating? Would other readers judge me? Would my reading be less accurate if I just turned the cards right side up and pretended nothing happened?

So I tried. I pulled reversals and left them. I did my best. I consulted multiple sources, tried to memorize separate meanings for every reversed card, and constantly second-guessed myself when one showed up. It made me anxious and more rigid in my readings, not more intuitive. But I stuck with it because ... that's what you're supposed to do, right?

The Book That Changed The Game

Very recently, Mary K. Greer's 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card came into my orbit through a friend and one of the main tent posts of the book really stuck with me. She talked about how there is no "right" or "wrong" way to read Tarot. What matters is consistency. No matter how you choose to read, if you consistently read that way every time, that's the important part.

reversed = scary?!

That's it. That was the advice. And honestly? It changed everything.

I immediately felt the pressure lift. Suddenly, I wasn't doing it wrong. There wasn't a secret reversed-codebook I'd failed to download into my brain. It was just about picking a lens and being consistent. That I can do.

How I Read Them Now

These days, when I pull a reversed card, here's what they mean to me: pay more attention to this card. It's a sign post.

So, if I'm reading and a reversed card comes up in the Personal Power spot on a spread, for example, I make a mental (or physical) note and then carry on. I finish the reading with that card upright. And then, afterward, I will do another, shorter reading looking specifically at the Personal Power aspect in more detail. Because that's what the reversed sign post was directing me to - there's more to look at here.

Like a little upside down magnifying glass.

Psychology, Not Magic

reversed = SCARY!

It's not magic. It's meaning making. Realistically, when I pull a reversal, it's because somewhere in the chaos of shuffling, a card got flipped upside down. But in the spread - in the story of the cards - that reversal needs a reason. Our brains crave reason and we do this through storytelling - we have since the days of seeing stories in the stars.

This is my way of making meaning. The card is reversed because of chaos, yes. But it's also reversed because maybe we could look a little closer here. It's not magic, but it is helpful.

One Last Thing

There's no Tarot police. If you don't want to read reversed cards, you don't have to. If you want to turn them upright but make a note, that's fine too. If you want to ignore them until The Tower reversed shows up in the Future position and you have a full-blown existential crisis - well, that's an option, but maybe not the recommended one.

Whatever you do, just be consistent. Choose a lens and stick with it. That's all you need.

Also, it's ok to change your mind.

reversed = unbothered