I’ve been puzzling over this during my recent readings and it’s such a practical question that never seems to get a straight answer online.
When I lay out cards for clients, I’ve always read them from my perspective behind the table. So what’s upright to me is technically “reversed” from where they’re sitting. This felt natural since I’m the one interpreting the energy, but I’ve noticed some readers physically turn their cards to face the querent.
I’m curious how others handle this, especially when doing readings where the client is actively participating or pulling their own cards. Do you stick to one consistent viewpoint throughout the reading, or does it shift based on who’s interacting with the deck?
I’d love to hear about different approaches because this seemingly simple detail can really change the entire message of a spread.
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Reversed cards kind of show how we physically turn away from stuff we don’t want to deal with. When a card is facing away from me, it usually means the person has turned their back on something in their life.
Started having people turn the reversed cards right-side up themselves during readings. There’s something about physically turning the card that seems to help them face whatever they’ve been avoiding. The physical part of it leads to breakthroughs that just talking about the cards doesn’t always get to.
Video calls make tarot readings weird sometimes. The camera flips everything around, so you’re dealing with three different views - what you see, what they see, and what the camera shows.
I just tell people at the start which way the cards are facing. Like if The Tower shows upside down on their screen but it’s actually right side up for me, I’ll say that. Seems to work fine. People appreciate knowing what’s going on with the technical stuff.
I’ve been reading reversed Sun cards in relationship spreads as fake happiness lately. Like when someone’s pretending everything’s fine but it’s not.
The default reversed meanings in most apps are pretty useless. Death reversed doesn’t mean you’ll live forever. Reversed Tower might mean internal collapse instead of external, or someone digging their heels in when they need to let go. You get double the meanings when you use reversals. For positioning, I read from where I’m sitting because I’m doing the interpretation. I just make sure to say which cards came up reversed. Funny story, I set up on the wrong side of the table once and read all the reversals backwards.
The reading still worked out fine, which was weird.
I’ve heard this advice a lot about needing to know uprights perfectly before reversals, but that wasn’t how it worked for me.
When I started looking at reversed meanings early on, it helped me get the upright ones. It’s like seeing the flip side gave me more context for what the card was really about. People stress about the nuances, but I found it easier to understand the cards when I could see both interpretations.
Someone asked that thread about how the Tarot actually works? Well, it doesn’t really matter whether the cards are physically upside down or not. It’s about the message it conveys to the person reading it. That’s it.
Reader works best for me but I know people do it all kinds of different ways. Whatever works, right?
There’s also the option of just ignoring reversed cards completely. Some people don’t use them and, if nothing else, understanding why they choose not to might help your own understanding of your spreads. Even if you do keep using them.
I’ve started doing what I call orientation prayers before readings. Found out some people really need that extra bit of guidance when dealing with reversals. It came from my time doing spiritual work. I noticed how different people react to the cards.
I used to flip cards constantly, thinking reversals would add depth to my readings. After years of this, I noticed they were actually boxing me in. The reversed meanings kept acting like roadblocks. I’d hit a reversed card and the reading would stall out.
Now I read everything upright from where I sit. The cards can show their full complexity, the challenging aspects are still there, but they’re part of a bigger picture instead of the only thing I see.
I use clear nail polish to put little dots on my card backs! Just one dot at the top so I know which way they’re oriented when I shuffle. My hands get stiff from arthritis and I was dropping cards all the time. The dots let me feel the orientation without looking, super helpful when I’m reading in low light.
Used to be really strict about reading from the querent’s angle. Then Death showed up in a spread. Client insisted it was upright from their seat. I could see it was reversed from mine but didn’t say anything.
Later found out they’d been avoiding some major life decisions for ages. Should’ve trusted what I saw.
When I do readings, I look at the cards from where I’m sitting.
Base toward me = upright, base toward them = reversed. That said, lots of readers go the other way and read from the querent’s perspective. Makes sense since they’re the ones receiving the reading.
There’s no right or wrong way here. Just pick one approach and stick with it. I think that’s the only bit that matters.
Started using reversals in my readings recently. Used to avoid them because they seemed complicated. I’ve been treating them as cards that reveal blocked energy or internal issues.
Keeping my perspective consistent (always reading from behind the table) makes it easier to interpret them. If I kept switching viewpoints I’d confuse myself. The reversed cards do add another layer to readings. Sometimes they’re tough to work with but that’s just how it goes.
Always from the POV of the reader in my opinion. If the cards are reversed toward me then they’re reversed.
I don’t typically incorporate reversals into my practice, but when I come across them, I prefer to read from my perspective as the interpreter.
After all, were the ones channeling the message through intuition. Pairing certain herbal teas with readings can upgrade the connection. For example, when The Hermit appears, whether reversed or not, I like to sip chamomile to tap into that introspective energy. If reversed Court cards show up, peppermint tea helps clear mental fog.
For spreads with lots of reversals, I might try mugwort tea beforehand for psychic clarity. My interpretations feel more grounded like this since I see us as the bridge between the cards and their meaning.
This bugs me, people think reversals always mean the opposite. I’ve found they usually mean the energy is internal or on a smaller level.
Pull The Empress reversed? Maybe they’re nurturing themselves privately or working on creative stuff they’re not ready to show anyone. Once you get that reversals show where energy flows instead of just being ‘bad versions’ of upright cards, the whole reader/querent angle makes more sense.
Been experimenting with a technique for reversed cards where I rotate my entire reading cloth 180 degrees during the reading. It’s been helpful for seeing different angles without losing track of my position as the reader.
So reversed cards from my reading position - I see them as the querent wanting that energy but hitting a wall. Had this reading once where The Sun reversed came up for someone trying to get promoted.
They were confident enough but the whole office politics thing was blocking them. That’s when I stopped stressing about whose perspective matters. Now I just check if the energy’s accessible or stuck somewhere. Makes more sense than worrying about the physical direction of the card.
I’ve been wondering if all this deck cleansing creates problems with reversals. You know how you build up this connection with your cards over time? That might be what makes readings clearer.
When you keep wiping the slate clean before every session, you lose that accumulated energy. Maybe people get confused because they’re focused on all these cleansing rituals when they could just trust what happens naturally with their deck.