The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals

The question of whether or not to use reversals in a reading comes up a lot, even amongst seasoned tarot readers. When an experienced, talented reader is asked “do you use reversals,” she may somewhat sheepishly answer, “no, I don’t.” There is sometimes a feeling a guilt about not using reversed cards, as if that is a decision of a lazy or less intelligent person. Naturally, I do not agree with this assessment. I am, after all, a reader of over 20 years experience, I am not lazy, and I do not think I am lacking in intelligence.

For some background on my journey with reversals, read THIS and THIS.

To update…I have again revised my usage. I’ve using the Anna K and the Tarot of the Sidhe almost exclusively for about 9 months now and I have NOT been using reversals with them.

Many people don’t like reversals for one of several reasons:

1. they don’t want to memorize 78 additional meanings (although, as we will see, this is not really necessary)

2. the “traditional” meanings don’t make sense in relation to the upright meaning or the image

3. they haven’t selected a unified approach to reversals and consequently everything feels chaotic and muddled

Mary K. Greer wrote an excellent book called The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals. In it she explores the fascinating world, one with serious shamanic undertones, of upside down cards. She provides 12 unified, logical approaches to reversed cards. The key to not memorizing senseless meanings is to pick one of these approaches and apply it across the board. Here are her suggestions:

1. Blocked or resisted energy

2. Projected energy

3. Delayed, difficult, or unavailable

4. Inner, unconscious, or private

5. New or Dark moon

6. Breaking through, overturning, refusing, changing direction

7. No or Not (of the upright meaning); lacking

8. Excessive, over- or undercompensating

9. Misused or misdirected

10. “re” words: retried, retracted, reviewed, reconsidered

11. Rectification: disease into remedy

12. Unconventional, shamanic, magical, humorous

In her book, she explains these all indepth. So, if you are curious…you know where to go! But try using all or some of these ideas with one card.

1. Pull a card from your deck

2. State your upright meaning for the card

3. Go through each of Mary’s 12 suggestions and apply it to the card you pulled.

4. If any feel natural to you, note them. Pull another card and use the approaches that you liked.

5. Continue in this manner until you arrive at one. Then apply that one to a few readings and see how it goes.

6. Comment here and share your experience.

Once again Llewellyn will be representin’ at one of the most popular Pagan gatherings in North America!

Whether you are flying out to San Jose to join us for the West Coast Pagan love fest or aren’t able to attend in person, we have some groovy ways for everyone to participate in all the action at PantheaCon.

Llewellyn’s 110th Anniversary Author Fair

To celebrate our 110th year of independent metaphysical publishing, Llewellyn will be hosting a very special author event at PantheaCon this year. Meet Llewellyn authors Mary K. Greer, Amber K, Azrael Arynn K, John Michael Greer, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, Tess Whitehurst, Lon Milo DuQuette, Donald Michael Kraig, Deborah Blake, Alaric Albertsson, Melanie Marquis, Ruth Barrett and Jhenah Telyndru as they introduce their latest and forthcoming Llewellyn books. Guests will have the opportunity to share ideas, questions, and suggestions with Llewellyn staff during the celebration. Join us for mini-readings, book signings, light refreshments, prize drawings and more!

We’re Bringing PantheaCon to You

If you aren’t able to attend PantheaCon in person this year you will still be able to share in the festivities because we’re bringing PantheaCon to you!

Facebook / Twitter Contests

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we’ll be will be giving away signed copies of books written by each of the Llewellyn authors attending PantheaCon this year.

To win, you’ll need to be the first person to correctly tweet back or post the answer a trivia question regarding Llewellyn’s 110 year history, our authors, or the specific book we are giving away.

Hint: You’ll be able to get all the answers to our trivia questions by browsing through information easily found on Llewellyn.com.

USTREAM

Exciting news! We’re going live from PantheaCon this year!

USTREAM is a website that utilizes video streaming and social media websites to connect celebrities, musicians, authors, publishers, and individuals via live broadcasts sent out to people all around the world.

Join us LIVE via USTREAM throughout the weekend for “Llewellyn Author Chat” to pose your questions and interact with Llewellyn authors attending PantheaCon.

We are still finalizing all the details for this weekend so be sure to follow us on Twitter as @LlewellynBooks and “Like” us on Facebook to keep up with all the latest Llewellyn and PantheaCon happenings!

I wish I’d met him and had a chance to talk with him. Reading is one thing, but actually hearing someone speak and talking with him or her is something else.

I never met Aleister Crowley or MacGregor Mathers. They died before I was born. I wish I had met them. I did meet Israel Regardie several times and we exchanged several letters. I also knew Scott Cunningham very well. I tell this to people and I often get awed expressions. “I wish I had met them” they say.

I did meet a wonderful person, Sri Lokanath (Michael Magee) who knew Grant. Through Lokanath I was introduced to a far deeper world of Tantra and one of the most important modern teachers of the subject, Mahendranath. I never met Mahendranath, but we did exchange several letters. I have a photo of him, which he sent me, on one of my altars. I wish I’d met him.  I have met Dr. Jonn Mumford several times. Mahendranath, Mumford, and Osho (AKA Rajneesh) are the three pillars upon which modern practical Tantra are built. I never met Osho or Mahendranth. I wish I had.

There’s an old saying: If wishes were horses then beggars would ride. I would say it’s time to stop being a beggar. Instead of spending time years from now wishing we had  met with important leaders of the occult community, I would urge people to seek them out when they’re speaking in your area.

For example, this coming weekend (February 18–21, 2011) in San Jose, California, there is going to be a huge convention called Pantheacon. There will be numerous speakers, teachers, and authors there, some you may know and some who are “up and coming.” I can say that in the future many of us will be saying, “I wish I had met them.” Here’s one chance to be active rather than a beggar. I’m not saying you have to come to this particular convention, but when you have a chance to see these people, I think you’ll always remember it.

In just one event at Pantheacon you’ll have a chance to meet:

Mary K. Greer, one of the world’s foremost experts on the Tarot.
Amber K and Azrael Arynn K, two leading writers on Wicca and Witchcraft and founders of Ardantane, a Wiccan/Pagan seminary in northern New Mexico.
John Michael Greer, an important Druid and author on occultism, Freemasonary, the Golden Dawn, and other magickal subjects.
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, one of the earliest and most important people involved in all of modern Paganism, including being a founder of the Church of All Worlds and the important magazine Green Egg. He is also a founder of the Grey School of Wizardry.
Tess Whitehurst has had her writings appear in several journals and is an intuitive counselor and energy worker.
Lon Milo DuQuette is a humorist and musician, but is perhaps best known as one of the leading and most important commentators on everything and anything having to do with Aleister Crowley and magick.
Deborah Blake is an award-winning author, a well-known author on magick and Witchcraft, a jewelry maker and co-founder of the cooperative known as the Artisans’ Guild
Alaric Albertsson, a founding member of Earendel Hearth, was on the Board of Directors of the Heartland Spiritual Alliance. He is currently a member of the Druidic organization ADF and has written on Anglo-Saxon magick and traditions.
Melanie Marquis is the founder of the United Witches global coven and organizer of Denver Pagans. She is a writer who has written for the American Tarot Association and numerous other publications.
Ruth Barrett is a Dianic High Priestess and an award-winning recording artist of Goddess songs. For two decades she served the Goddess community of Circle of Aradia in Los Angeles.
Jhenah Telyndru has been called “the mother of the Avalonian revival” by PanGaia‘s Elizabeth Barrette, developed the Avalonian Tradition and has been teaching it for more than two decades.

I guess I should mention that I’ll be there, too. (For details on all the workshops I’m giving and panels I’ll be on click on this LINK.) As I wrote, you’ll have a chance to meet all these people at just one event, Llewellyn’s 110th Anniversary Author Fair at Pantheacon. Others who will be at Pantheacon whom I consider important include Elishiva Nesher, Luisah Teish, Orion Foxwood, Richard Kaczynski, Z Budapest, Vere Chappell, Selena Fox, Starhawk, T. Thorn Coyle, Margot Adler, John Opsopaus, Joseph Max, Don Frew, Taylor Ellwood, Jason Pitzl-Waters, Sylvia Brallier, Athena Wallinder, Diana Paxson, Tony Mierzwicki, Glenn Turner and many others.

I realize that only some of you reading this will be able to attend Pantheacon, but there are other events that will be held all over the world and it is likely that there will be something in the coming year in your area. I urge you to consider attending them so that years from now you won’t be wishing you had met a teacher or author.

But are such divinations accurate and correct? The ancient oracles used to speak in puzzles rather than clearly giving answers to questions. This resulted in plenty of room for interpretation and misinterpretation. Although the interpretation may have been in error, the divination itself was correct.

In 1994, Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero edited the first volume of The Golden Dawn Journal (recently republished as Basics of Magic: The Best of the Golden Dawn Journal, Book I).  In it I published an original, extensive and modern Tarot divination I had created and been using following a lecture I had heard by the Ciceros. It uses the famous symbol of the Rose Cross as a central focus. I discuss talismanic aspects of the central circle or “rose” of this symbol in Modern Magick.

The Rose Cross

Other writers who contributed to the book included Mary K. Greer, M. Isidora Forrest, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, David Godwin, Gareth Knight, and many others.

At the end of the book, the editors questioned all of the contributors as to whether the accuracy of divinations should always be trusted. Different people had different responses. I think my response remains valid. I wrote:

Give a hammer to a child who has never used one and the child may get hurt. Even after the child is instructed on how to use the tool it is likely that many nails will be bent or wasted. Give a hammer to a skilled carpenter and he or she will drive nails home with three blows. Any tool is only as useful as the person who wields it.

A divination can always be trusted to be exactly what it is: a manifestation of the abilities of the person performing the divination. An inexperienced interpreter may be partially or totally incorrect. A reader with an agenda to push (such as trying to work a con game) is likely to focus on that agenda.

With an expert reader the divination can be highly accurate. However, it has been my experience (and the experience of other Tarot readers I have talked with) that when somebody comes for a divination, the cards not only have messages for the client, but also for the reader. Even the expert must be careful to avoid passing messages meant for him or her on to the client.

The true key to this question is the nature of divination. The word means, “to make divine.” The art and science of performing divinations (not “fortune telling”) has the effect of making the interpreter more spiritual. Therefore, I think people should learn to perform divinations for themselves rather than relying on the interpreations of others.

Are divinations you have performed for yourself or others accurate?
Do your divinations have as much meaning for you as the do for the people you are reading for?

Tarot shelves at bookstores are filled with beginner level books. Do we really need so many? Aren’t they all essentially the same?

I think we do need so many and that they are not essentially the same. First, they all differ in terms of voice and presentation. People learn differently and respond better to some styles of communication than to others. Every author has his or her own voice and way of explaining things. Second, not every tarot reader interprets or reads the cards in the same way. By seeing that there are so many different methods and schools of thought, new readers are encouraged to explore until they find what works for them.

This month we will look at eight different books that might be appropriate for beginners. Today’s book is 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card by Mary K. Greer.

This book is arguably the one that would be considered of interest to both beginners and more advanced readers. No matter how long you’ve been reading the cards, the techniques in this book will show you something new.

It also arguably the one least like to be a beginner’s first book. The premise of the book is to pick one card and work your way through all 21 techniques. Now some are very quick, but some will take more time. So for a newbie to go through all 21 ways for all 78 cards, well, it’ll be a while before they actually start doing readings.

Instead, I could consider this a great adjunct to a beginner book or a second book. But I would encourage anyone interested in tarot to read it.

For the beginner, it will build on everything they’ve learned in other books. For example, nearly every book talks about the elemental associations of the suits. In step 6, Mode, Suit, Element, we learn are the elements, how to connect with them, and more importantly (for tarot reading) we learn to think about how they interact with each other. One of the most challenging part of reading is tying everything together. Being to see how the energy of cards affect each other will help with that.

And I just have to share an excerpt. My copy of this book is very written in and highlighted as I use it quite a lot, and in reviewing it for this entry, this caught my eye:

The goal of a reading is to learn how to prosper. Prosper comes from the roots meaning “to render one fortunate” or “toward one’s hope.” In addition to the obvious financial implications, to prosper is even more about experiencing satisfaction, happiness, and physical well-being. It’s the ability to meet challenges, actualize dreams, and to thrive and grow. To do this you have to break through patterns of habitual functioning and integrate insights in to everyday life. The highest function of the tarot, to paraphrase Joseph Campbell’s, is to awaken the heart. The goal is to interpret its symbols so as to enlighten and spiritually nourish the self—that is, to spiritually prosper. To complete a reading we have to find what will nourish us at all levels. That is what this final step [21] aims to do.

Isn’t that lovely? I just love Mary’s work.

The way Mary explains the exercise is: “Take your chosen card and dialog with the figures or objects on the card. Ask the figures what they’re doing, what they want, and what they have to teach you. You could also ask for their advice regarding an issue. Ask objects how they are used, how they can help you, and what they represent in your life.”

In a variation of this exercise, Mary suggests: “Shuffle your deck and draw a second card to represent what opposes your chosen card (or draw two cards to represent opposing forces in yourself)…. Then dialog with each card to learn what each wants and how they oppose each other. If you have two cards of the same or friendly elements, how does the idea of opposition work? Can you find a way to negotiate with the figures so they will both support you in achieving your ends?

I think there are lots of ways to play with this idea. Having cards with opposite personalities or natures talk to each other can be entertaining as well instructive. Give it a try and see what you discover.

Most tarot students agree that the court cards are the most challenging. Perhaps this is because they represent people and, let’s face it, people are complicated! One of the best books I’ve read to explore all the complexities of the court cards is Understanding the Tarot Court by Mary K. Greer and Tom Little. They help us jump right in by getting up close and personal with the court cards by having us pick our significators. What is a significator? How do you pick one? Let’s see what Mary and Tom have to say:

One of the most familiar uses of the court cards in divination is the significator. The significator is a card that represents the querent—the person who is asking the question and about whom the reading is being done. Significators are chosen in many ways [such as by age, gender, physical appearance, and sun sign]. Now is the opportunity for you to pick out a significator intuitively.

1. Take your deck, and separate the sixteen court cards from the rest, laying them out face up in a mixed grouping. Forget everything you know about these cars and simply look at the pictures
2. Eliminate the cards that are least like you—getting rid of at least half. Keep these separate from the others.
3. Notice some of the characteristics that you used in the elimination process. Too old? Too young? Wrong color hair? Wrong sex? Overly harsh? Not friendly enough? Too dreamy? Too conservative? Interested in the wrong things?
4. From the cards that remain, does one card stand out clearly as being most like you? If not, examine the remaining cards in pairs, choosing one over the other by considering what you most connect with or where you see yourself most strongly. Then compare the chosen card to a new card until only one is left. This is your significator.
5. From your initial stack of eliminated cards, find the card that is least like you. This could be called your “nemesis.” It generally represents those characteristics you feel your were not allotted.
6. In your journal, write the ways in which you are most like your significator. Describe how your nemesis is not like you. One way to think of your nemesis is that if you were competing in this person’s field, he or she would be an unbeatable rival; you could not possibly win. You may want to write down other cards that seemed to express a certain aspect of yourself that is noteworthy. Date your entries.

Mary and Tom’s exercise is an interesting way to learn not only about the court cards but also about ourselves. I think this would be a fun exercise to do with a deck that I wasn’t familiar with and that used non-traditional ranks and suits, so that I wasn’t swayed by the titles but instead only reacting to the art.

Do you think the card we deem “least like us” is a nemesis or is it our shadow? Or are the nemesis and shadow the same thing?

I always thought of the aces as the promise or possibility of abundance but not as abundance itself and as spring rather than fall, as I wrote in this article, Seasons of Tarot: Spring. So how do aces fit with the idea of abundance and/or giving thanks? I can think of at least two ways. First, aces are usually viewed as gifts from the universe (or god or goddess or the earth) and Thanksgiving is a day dedicated to giving thanks for the abundance of the earth and to enjoying the final bits of harvest before winter sets in.

It is also a time to think about the seeds planted earlier in the year and to see how they’ve grown and what fruit they’ve born. For me, I like to look back at the vows and plans I made around Yule/New Year’s Day and see how I did in nurturing the seeds I planted. So I would add the 7 of Pentacles to the list. How did I value and honor the seeds, gifts, and opportunities that I was given over the past year?

In the article link above, there are some spreads designed for exploring the energy of the aces. Just a few tweaks altered this one to make it more appropriate for the reflective quality of autumn.

Select a Major Arcana card that represents the theme, gift, or opportunity that came into you life over the past year and that you wish to explore now. Select and place that card and and the four aces as directed. Shuffle the rest of the deck and lay out cards 6 – 9. The phrase “this card” refers to the Major Arcana card you selected.

1. Select and place here the Major Arcana card that represents the theme, gift, or opportunity that came into your life this past year

2. Place the he Ace of Wands here

3. Place the Ace of Cups here

4. Place the Ace of Swords here

5. Place the Ace of Pentacles here

6. How did this card  find expression in your life spiritually?

7. How did this card  find expression in your life emotionally?

8. How did this card find expression in your life intellectually?

9. How did this card find expression in your life physically?

Bonus Spread

There is another spread that involves aces that I really like. It is the Four Aces Spread designed by Mark K. Greer. Although it is not necessarily about gratitude or abundance, I am sure you’ll enjoy it. I know I did!

Shall we get right into it? How do you feel about reversals? Do you read them? If so, how? Do you have seventy-eight other interpretations that you use? Do you have a system that you apply to or a modification for the upright meanings? Do you not use them? Why? What do you do when one comes up upside down? Because no matter how careful you are, they somehow manage to get mixed up all the time.

It seems that people have fairly strong opinions about reversals. Years ago, when the American Tarot Association used to certify readers, I went through the certification process. That process included creating and using your own reversed meanings. I did so, of course, because I used to be an annoying over-achiever. But I never liked using reversals.

Not using reversals makes me feel like a tarot poser, much in the same way my lack of enthusiasm for the Qabalah makes me feel. Every few years, I try using reversals again. And every few years I try loving the Qabalah (my most recent effort included reading Lon Milo DuQuette’s The Chicken Qabalah, which almost did it, but only because he said it didn’t matter how I spelled it). The Qabalah never sticks and neither do reversals.

I always say something like, you don’t need reversals because there are cards in the deck that can say what needs saying. And I mostly believed that. Until recently.

Paul Quinn, author of Tarot for Life, was on the last episode of Tarot Talk (a radio show on Blog Talk Radio with hosts Raven Mardirosian and Georgianna Boehnke). He told a story that kind of made my head explode.

He told a story about how he studied with Rachel Pollack and Mary K. Greer during their annual weekly summer class at the Omega Institute. On Monday, his first day of class, they told the students that on Thursday the entire class would be doing readings for all the rest of the students at Omega who were taking other classes. He apparently has much Virgo in his chart and determined to be the very best reader. He took meticulous notes all week. When the time came for the readings, he noticed that he left his notebook in the classroom, which was locked and no one was around who could open it.

He pulled a card, asking what kind of energy should he bring to his readings since he <shudder> didn’t have his notebook!?!?! The card he pulled was the 8 of Pentacles reversed. The cards were telling him to not bring all his Virgo-note-taking-energy. Which was good, since he didn’t have his notebook. He was meant to read unfettered from his safety net of notes and “shoulds” and “do it this ways.”

That card reversed in this circumstance made so much sense to me. I tried to think what card upright would be able to communicate the same thing as poetically and accurately. The Fool? Nope, not the same thing, really. The Wheel? The Hanged Man? 9 of Pentacles? Knight of Swords? No. No. No. And no.

Now, after all these years, one man’s amusing anecdote is forcing me to rethink my formerly very comfortable dismissal of reversals.

Perhaps I should pull out my copy of Mary K. Greer’s Complete Book of Tarot Reversals.

While I’m muddling through, leave a comment about your opinion regarding reversals (do you use them, why or why not, and if so, how?) and be entered into a drawing for a free copy of the Tarot of the Sweet Twilight. If you are unfamiliar with this deck, see my review here. Entries will be closed at midnight CST on October 28. The winner will be posted on Thursday, October 29, along with a special Halloween treat…an interview with a very special tarot artist.