Tarot Card Reversals

Pre-reversal era

For approximately 350 years following tarot's invention, the concept of reversed meanings was absent. Early tarot decks such as the Visconti-Sforza (c. 1450) were designed as works of art intended for viewing from a single upright perspective. The trump cards featured single-ended portraits that lost their aesthetic integrity when inverted.^[1]

The pip cards (numbered 2–10) in Latin-suited decks presented a different challenge: Swords and Batons were often interlaced in optically symmetrical patterns, rendering it impossible to distinguish upright from reversed orientation without marking the cards.

Early cartomancy derived meaning not from vertical orientation but from horizontal relationships and the directional "gaze" of figures. A King facing a Queen suggested dialogue; facing away suggested estrangement.^[2]This directional reading served a similar interpretive function to reversals-modifying meaning based on spatial context-while preserving image integrity.

The Etteilla system

The systematic tarot reversal is attributed to Jean-Baptiste Alliette, writing under the pseudonym Etteilla, who published the first book dedicated to tarot divination in 1783–1785.^[5] Etteilla's cards were revolutionary: the first printed with keywords directly on the face, with one keyword at the top and a different, often opposing, keyword at the bottom.

Etteilla's system was predictive and event-based. The reversal functioned as a distinct variable producing a specific, often fatalistic outcome rather than merely indicating blockage (a modern concept). This "dictionary" approach required memorizing 156 distinct meanings (78 upright plus 78 reversed).^[6]

Etteilla's influence dominated for decades, establishing the foundation for the French school of tarot and influencing successors including Marie Anne Lenormand and Eliphas Lévi.

Golden Dawn and elemental dignities

Dignities vs. reversals

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (founded 1888) undertook significant restructuring of tarot theory. The Order viewed tarot not merely as a divination device but as a coherent system of Qabalistic and astrological correspondence. In this framework, the "upside-down" card was considered crude and unsophisticated.^[7]

The Golden Dawn's metaphysical argument against reversals questioned whether cosmic forces could truly be reversed: if a card represents a cosmic force (e.g., The Emperor represents the path of Heh, Aries, the Constituting Intelligence), can such a force be inverted? The Order concluded that forces are always present, but their operation is modified by surrounding cards.

Instead of physically inverting cards, Golden Dawn readers analyzed elemental interactions (Fire, Water, Air, Earth) within spreads. A card could be "well-dignified" (strong) or "ill-dignified" (weak/negative) based on neighbors:

• Strengthening: Active elements strengthen active (Fire + Air); Passive strengthen Passive (Water + Earth)
• Neutral: Fire + Earth or Air + Water
• Weakening: Fire + Water (Water extinguishes Fire); Air + Earth (Earth stifles Air)

If the Ace of Wands (Fire) appears adjacent to the Ace of Cups (Water), the Fire is "ill-dignified"-its energy is being suppressed. This achieves similar interpretive nuance to reversals without physical manipulation.^[7]

Crowley's rejection

Aleister Crowley, in his Book of Thoth (1944), rejected reversals entirely. He viewed tarot as a dynamic, fluid system where every card contained its own shadow. The "negative" aspect was accessed through surrounding cards and reader intuition, not by shuffling accident. Crowley's system relies heavily on astrological attributes; a card representing Mars in Scorpio carries the full weight of that placement, including both constructive drive and destructive aggression. To reverse it would break the astrological logic.

Tarot de Marseille approach

The Continental tradition rooted in the Tarot de Marseille (TdM) developed a different relationship with card orientation. The TdM's defining feature is optical symmetry in the pip cards: a Two of Coins or Five of Swords often appears identical whether upright or reversed. Before corner indices became standard, readers could not definitively determine if a card was inverted.^[9]

Filmmaker and tarologist Alejandro Jodorowsky proposed an "optical language" rejecting both Etteilla's binary and the Golden Dawn's dignities. Jodorowsky argues meaning is generated by the gaze and directionality of figures: if a figure looks up, it connects to spirit; if it looks down, it risks falling.

In Jodorowsky's framework, a reversed card is not "bad" but represents energy moving inward or downward-essential for balance. The Hanged Man, for instance, requires inversion to function; standing upright, he would lose spiritual perspective.

Modern psychological methods

The late 20th century saw tarot migrate from occult lodges to therapeutic settings. Influenced by Jungian psychology, authors including Rachel Pollack and Mary K. Greer redefined the reversed card as a signifier of the unconscious and the shadow.^[10]

Greer's twelve methods

Mary K. Greer's 2002 treatise The Complete Book of Tarot Reversalscatalogued twelve distinct methods for interpretation, providing a flexible framework beyond the "bad luck" fallacy:^[10]

Same card, different lens

The power of Greer's framework becomes clear when the same reversed card is read through multiple methods. Consider The Magician reversed:

• Blocked (Method 1): The querent has the skill but lacks the confidence to start the project.
• Projected (Method 2): Complaining that a partner is manipulative while acting manipulatively oneself.
• Inner/Unconscious (Method 4): Internal self-mastery; working on skills in private; the "magic" of the mind rather than outward action.
• Excessive (Method 8): Workaholic energy; using power to dominate rather than create.
• Rectification (Method 11): Recognizing that one's "trickster" nature is actually a survival mechanism, not a flaw to be fixed.

Each interpretation is valid-the reader selects the method that resonates with the question, the querent's situation, and the surrounding cards. Compare this nuanced approach with the typical competitor interpretation of reversed cards, which rarely goes beyond "it means the opposite."

The WIND method

Contemporary author Benebell Wen introduced the WIND mnemonic for practical application:^[11]

• W – Weakened: Energy present but low-voltage
• I – Inverted: Classic opposite meaning
• N – Negative: Shadow or vice aspect
• D – Delayed: Timing aspect

This heuristic demonstrates the modern trend toward flexible interpretation rather than fixed dictionary definitions.

The Waite-Smith paradox

The tension between the French (reversal) and English (dignity) schools is encapsulated in Arthur Edward Waite's work. As a Golden Dawn member, Waite was trained in elemental dignities, yet in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) he included specific reversed meanings.^[8]

Scholars argue that Waite's inclusion of reversals was a concession to public marketability rather than a reflection of his esoteric beliefs. His reversed meanings are often terse, cryptic, or seemingly disconnected from the imagery (e.g., The Magician reversed: "Physician, Magus, Mental disease, disgrace, disquiet"). This inconsistency has generated a century of confusion, with purists arguing the Rider-Waite-Smith deck was designed for dignity-based reading while the public adopted Waite's book as proof that reversals were "official."

Choosing your approach

Research demonstrates that there is no single "correct" meaning for a reversed card. The meaning depends on the system the reader employs:

• Etteilla system: The reversal is an event (often negative)
• Golden Dawn system: The reversal is an illusion (corrected by dignities)
• Tarot de Marseille system: The reversal is a perspective (an optical shift)
• Modern psychological system: The reversal is an internal process (the unconscious)

Beginners may benefit from starting with the WIND mnemonic for simplicity, then exploring Greer's twelve methods as their practice deepens. Readers who find reversals disruptive should consider elemental dignities as an alternative that achieves similar interpretive nuance without physical inversion.

Practical considerations

Standard playing card orientation means that basic shuffling techniques (riffle, overhand) will not produce reversed cards if the deck is stored upright. Introducing reversals requires deliberate randomization:^[14]

The "messy pile" or wash

Spreading the entire deck face-down and swirling cards in chaotic circular motion ensures true statistical randomization of orientation but requires large surface area and may scuff cards.

The cut-and-flip

Dividing the deck into stacks, physically rotating one stack 180 degrees, then combining. Less random than the wash, as large blocks may remain oriented together.

Digital applications

Mobile applications use pseudo-random number generators to simulate orientation. However, digital reversed meanings are often displayed as single keywords, potentially losing the nuance of multiple interpretive methods.^[12] Online tarot decks with reversal support attempt to address this limitation by providing comprehensive card meanings for both orientations.

Artistic innovations

Some practitioners reject reversals on aesthetic grounds, arguing that inverted cards disrupt visual narrative and create interpretive "noise."^[13]Several artistic solutions have emerged:

Reversible artwork (Revelations Tarot)

Zach Wong's Revelations Tarot (2005) features fully reversible artwork with distinct symbolic narratives. The card has a central waistline: the top image depicts upright meaning; the bottom image, printed inverted, depicts reversed meaning. When the card is reversed, the "shadow" image becomes upright and dominant, integrating reversed meaning into the visual field.

Round decks (Motherpeace Tarot)

Circular decks introduce degrees of reversal. Because cards can be read based on angle (90 degrees left, 45 degrees right), this supports "moon phase" interpretation where angle indicates whether energy is waxing (growing) or waning (fading), moving beyond the upright/reversed binary into a 360-degree spectrum.