Reversals are not about “bad meanings.”
They are not punishments, mistakes, or warnings that something has gone wrong.
Reversals are about resistance.
When read thoughtfully, reversals reveal where energy is blocked, internalized, distorted, delayed, suppressed, or trying to move in a way that hasn’t quite found its expression yet. They expose hidden layers of a situation that upright meanings alone sometimes glide past.
Used well, reversals don’t complicate tarot — they deepen it.
Why Reversals Exist at All
Tarot imagery is dynamic. Cards are filled with motion, flow, tension, and direction. Reversals simply acknowledge that energy doesn’t always move cleanly or externally.
Life isn’t always:
- forward
- obvious
- expressive
- resolved
Sometimes energy turns inward. Sometimes it stalls. Sometimes it twists itself into knots. Sometimes it shows up sideways.
Reversals exist because human experience exists in those in-between spaces.
The Biggest Misunderstanding About Reversals
The most common mistake readers make is assuming:
Upright = good
Reversed = bad
This flattens the tarot and turns a nuanced system into a binary one.
A reversed card is not automatically negative. In many cases, it can be:
- quieter
- internal
- unresolved
- resisted
- delayed
- softened
- redirected
Sometimes a reversed card is gentler than its upright counterpart. Other times, it points to deeper work that hasn’t surfaced yet.
Reversals don’t judge. They describe.
What Reversals Actually Show You
Reversed cards often indicate one or more of the following:
- Resistance – pushing against a lesson or truth
- Blockage – energy that wants to move but can’t
- Internalization – something happening inwardly rather than outwardly
- Suppression – emotion, desire, or truth being pushed down
- Distortion – a healthy trait becoming imbalanced
- Delay – timing issues rather than denial
- Unconscious patterns – things not yet acknowledged
The key is context. Reversals don’t exist in isolation — they interact with the question, the spread, and surrounding cards.
Reversals as Internal vs. External Energy
One of the most helpful ways to understand reversals is through direction of energy.
- Upright cards often reflect external action, expression, or events
- Reversed cards often reflect internal states, hidden dynamics, or internal conflict
For example:
- The Magician (upright) may show outward manifestation and action
- The Magician (reversed) may show self-doubt, blocked confidence, or internal misalignment
Nothing “bad” is happening — the energy just isn’t moving outward yet.
Reversals and Resistance
Resistance is one of the most powerful things reversals reveal.
Resistance can look like:
- Knowing what needs to change but avoiding it
- Wanting an outcome without wanting the work
- Intellectual understanding without emotional integration
- Fear disguised as logic or practicality
Reversals gently say: Something here wants attention before it can move forward.
They highlight where effort is being spent holding something back rather than allowing growth.
Reversals and Blockages
Blockages are not failures — they are information.
A reversed card may indicate:
- A boundary that hasn’t been acknowledged
- A fear that hasn’t been addressed
- An emotional wound that hasn’t healed
- A belief that contradicts stated goals
For example:
- The Ace of Pentacles (reversed) might point to missed opportunities due to self-doubt
- The Three of Cups (reversed) may show isolation or difficulty trusting community
- The Six of Wands (reversed) can reflect fear of visibility or success
These aren’t predictions — they’re mirrors.
Hidden Truths and What’s Not Being Said
Reversals often act like an X-ray. They reveal what isn’t being openly acknowledged.
This can include:
- Unspoken feelings
- Hidden motivations
- Suppressed resentment
- Unacknowledged needs
- Quiet fears driving loud behavior
A reversed card doesn’t shout. It whispers.
If a card appears reversed and feels subtle, that’s intentional. The message may be something the querent (or reader) hasn’t been ready to fully see yet.
Reversals Aren’t Always Negative
Sometimes reversals soften intensity.
Examples:
- The Tower (reversed) may show internal upheaval rather than external collapse
- The Devil (reversed) can indicate breaking free from unhealthy patterns
- The Ten of Swords (reversed) often suggests recovery, healing, or survival
In these cases, reversal isn’t blockage — it’s release.
This is why treating reversals as “bad” meanings does such a disservice to the cards.
How Reversals Change Based on Position
Position matters deeply.
A reversed card in the past may show:
- Something never fully processed
- A lesson that was avoided
- Emotional residue still influencing the present
A reversed card in the present often shows:
- Inner conflict
- Awareness without action
- Resistance to what’s currently unfolding
A reversed card in the future may suggest:
- A choice point
- An outcome that depends on engagement
- A delay rather than denial
Reversals don’t remove possibility — they highlight agency.
Reversals and Shadow Work
Reversals are natural allies of shadow work.
They frequently point to:
- Internal contradictions
- Coping mechanisms
- Avoided emotions
- Defensive behaviors
- Parts of the self that feel unsafe to express
If upright cards show what’s visible, reversed cards often show what’s happening beneath the surface.
This makes them especially powerful for:
- healing work
- personal growth
- emotional awareness
- pattern recognition
Reversals don’t demand confrontation. They invite curiosity.
When Reversals Feel Overwhelming
Some readers avoid reversals because readings feel “too heavy” when they appear.
This usually happens when:
- Every reversed card is read as negative
- There’s no framework for interpretation
- The reader feels pressured to “fix” what appears
The solution isn’t removing reversals — it’s changing how you relate to them.
Reversals aren’t problems to solve.
They’re dynamics to understand.
You Don’t Have to Use Reversals All the Time
Reversals are a tool, not a requirement.
Some readers:
- Use reversals only for certain spreads
- Use them only for shadow work
- Interpret reversals intuitively rather than literally
- Read reversals as energy modifiers rather than opposites
There is no rule that says a “real” reader must or must not use reversals.
What matters is consistency and clarity within your own practice.
Alternatives That Still Honor Reversal Energy
Even readers who don’t physically reverse cards often still read reversal energy by noticing:
- Blocked expressions
- Delays
- Emotional resistance
- Contradictions between cards
Reversals are one language for describing these dynamics — not the only one.
The value lies in what they reveal, not how they appear.
Learning to Trust Reversals
If you’re new to reversals, start small.
Try:
- Allowing reversals only in personal readings
- Journaling about reversed cards instead of immediately interpreting them
- Asking, Where is this energy blocked or internalized?
- Observing patterns over time
Reversals often make more sense in hindsight — and that’s okay.
The Power of Reversals Is Subtle, Not Dramatic
Reversals rarely announce themselves with fireworks. Their power lies in nuance.
They show:
- where effort is misdirected
- where truth is half-acknowledged
- where growth is possible but resisted
- where healing is already underway
They slow readings down in the best possible way.
The Heart of Reading Reversals
Reversals don’t exist to make tarot harder. They exist to make it truer.
They remind us that:
- growth isn’t linear
- clarity isn’t instant
- healing isn’t loud
- resistance is part of transformation
When you stop seeing reversals as obstacles and start seeing them as information, they become one of the most compassionate tools in tarot.
They don’t say, “This is wrong.”
They say, “This is where attention is needed.”
And that, in tarot — and in life — is where real change begins.
