One of the first questions new tarot readers ask — and one that divides even experienced readers — is whether to read reversed cards and what they mean when they appear.
Here is a clear, honest guide to tarot reversals.
What Is a Reversed Tarot Card?
A reversed card is simply a card that has been drawn upside down — rotated 180 degrees from its normal upright orientation. Reversals enter the deck naturally when you shuffle in ways that allow cards to rotate, such as the table shuffle or riffle shuffle.
Should You Read Reversals?
The honest answer is: it depends on your practice, and both approaches are completely valid.
Many experienced readers include reversals because they add significant nuance — the difference between an energy that is flowing freely and one that is blocked, delayed, internalized, or expressing its shadow qualities. Reversals essentially double the vocabulary of the deck.
Many equally skilled readers choose not to read reversals, arguing that every card already contains its own shadow within its upright meaning, and that a skilled reader can access that full range without needing a physical reversal to signal it.
If you are new to tarot, a completely valid approach is to work with upright cards only until you feel genuinely fluent with the basic meanings — then introduce reversals when you are ready.
Five Ways to Interpret a Reversed Card
Rather than memorizing a separate reversed meaning for all 78 cards — which doubles the memorization work with limited additional insight — it is more useful to understand the five primary frameworks for reversal interpretation and apply them intuitively to any card.
1. Blocked Energy The card’s natural energy is present but obstructed. The reversed Ace of Cups, for example, might indicate emotional opening that is being blocked — love or connection that is available but cannot yet flow freely.
2. Internalized Energy The card’s energy is operating inwardly rather than outwardly. The reversed Queen of Cups might be directing her compassion and healing inward rather than outward — doing private emotional work rather than supporting others.
3. Shadow or Opposite Meaning The reversed card represents the challenging or shadow expression of its upright qualities. The reversed Sun might indicate a temporary dimming of joy or a period in which clarity is obscured.
4. Amplified or Excessive Energy The card’s energy is present in excess. The reversed Four of Pentacles might indicate not just healthy conservation of resources but hoarding — a grip on security so tight it is preventing natural flow.
5. Delayed or Emerging Energy The card’s energy is on its way but not yet fully available. The reversed Ten of Cups might indicate emotional fulfillment that is approaching but has not yet fully manifested.
How to Choose the Right Interpretation
When a reversed card appears, pause and ask yourself which of these five frameworks feels most resonant in context. Does the energy feel blocked or flowing with difficulty? Does it feel like an inner rather than outer experience? Does it feel like the shadow side of something? The answer that feels most true, considered honestly, is almost always the most accurate one.
The Most Important Thing About Reversals
A reversed card is not a bad card. It is the same energy viewed from a different angle — pointing toward something that is blocked, internalized, in shadow, in excess, or still arriving. The most compassionate and accurate reversal readings are those that resist the impulse to treat reversed cards as simply the negative version of their upright counterparts.
The reversed Tower is not twice as bad as the upright Tower. The reversed Star is not the absence of hope. These are cards pointing toward specific qualities of experience — and understanding which quality applies requires context, intuition, and honest inquiry.Kendall Evans is the author of Tarot Basics and Beyond, which includes a full chapter on reversals covering all five interpretation frameworks with worked examples for every major card type. Available on Amazon Kindle.