Reversed Tarot Cards: What They Mean and How to Read Them

You shuffle, lay out your cards, and one of them is upside down. Is that bad? Should you turn it the right way up?

A reversed card is simply a card that lands upside down from where you sit. Readers treat it as a second layer of meaning. It is one of the most misunderstood parts of tarot, and one of the easiest to learn.

The one idea to remember

A reversed card is the same card with the volume changed. The theme stays. What changes is how freely that energy is moving.

It is not the opposite of the upright meaning. The Ace of Cups upright is new love and open feelings. Reversed, it does not become hatred. It becomes feelings that are blocked or held back.

Four ways to read a reversal

When a card lands reversed, try these four readings in turn and keep the one that fits the question.

1. Blocked or delayed

The energy is there, but something is in its way. The Ace of Wands reversed is a good idea that has not got going: a false start, low motivation. The Six of Swords reversed is a move to calmer waters held up by unfinished business.

2. Turned inward

The card is happening privately, inside you, where the upright card would show it out in the world. The Emperor upright is authority and structure around you. Reversed, the question is your own self-discipline. Strength reversed is a wobble in inner confidence.

3. Too much or too little

The quality has tipped out of balance. The Knight of Wands upright is bold action; reversed, it is recklessness and burnout. The Queen of Cups upright is compassion; reversed, it is giving so much that you neglect yourself.

4. Releasing

For difficult cards, upside down often means the hard thing is ending. This is the reading people forget.

• Ten of Swords reversed: getting back up after rock bottom.
• Eight of Swords reversed: the feeling of being trapped is lifting.
• Five of Pentacles reversed: help arrives; the lean season ends.
• Ten of Wands reversed: putting down a burden, learning to delegate.
• The Devil reversed: breaking a habit, loosening an attachment.

So a spread with reversed Swords can be better news than the same cards upright.

Worked example

Say you ask, "How will my new job go?" and draw the Three of Pentacles reversed.

Upright, this card is teamwork and skilled work recognised by others. Go through the four readings:

• Blocked: teamwork is slow to form; you may feel left to work alone at first.
• Inward: you are still building your own confidence in the craft.
• Too much or too little: too many opinions, or too little feedback.
• Releasing: does not apply, because the upright card is a pleasant one.

"Blocked" suits a new job best: expect the team to take a while to gel, and make the first move to collaborate. One card, one useful piece of advice.

Reversals in a yes or no reading

For yes-or-no questions, a reversal usually shifts the answer by one step. A yes becomes a maybe or a no; a firm no softens to a maybe. A few cards flip altogether: the Eight of Swords is a no upright and a yes reversed.

The full list is in our guide to which cards mean yes, no and maybe.

Do the same cards keep reversing?

If a particular card keeps appearing reversed over several readings, treat it as a theme asking for attention. A stubborn reversed Four of Swords, for example, usually has a plain message: you are not resting properly.

Should beginners read reversals?

There is no rule. Two sensible approaches:

• Upright only at first. Learn the 78 cards as they are. When the meanings feel familiar, start noticing reversals.
• Reversals from day one. Use the single idea above, same theme with the volume changed, and you will rarely go wrong.

If you read with a physical deck and want reversals, turn half the pack round now and then while you shuffle. If you don't want them, turn any upside-down card upright as you lay it down.

How our readings handle reversals

In our free six-card reading and yes or no tarot, every card has a three in ten chance of landing reversed, decided at random in your browser. Each of the 78 card pages gives the upright and reversed meaning separately, for love, career, money, study and family.

As always, tarot is for reflection and enjoyment. A reversed card is a prompt to look more closely at one part of your situation, never a prediction of bad luck.