Do You Read Reversed Tarot Cards or Only Upright?

Oli

Curious how everyone handles reversals. Do you read reversed cards or stick to upright only?

I know some folks prefer upright-only and use intuition to pick up both light and shadow in the pictures. Others work with reversals, saying they add depth, clarity, and a more traditional framework to readings.

What do you do, and what actually works for you in practice?

ANovak

I don’t really do readings for other people; I mostly use tarot for reflection and sorting my own thoughts.

For me upright and reversed aren’t two completely different sets of meanings. Upright cards read more like clear statements, while reversals feel like questions or fuzzy areas. Reversals make the meaning more flexible and open-ended rather than flipping it into something else entirely.

That said, I’ll still pull in traditional reversed meanings sometimes even if a card sits upright, depending on the spread and the question. There’s no single rule - it changes with the context.

Bottom line: trust your gut. If a card feels like a yes or points a direction to you, go with that.

Aoife

I’m a numerologist first and foremost, so I usually read with the Rider-Waite deck. With Rider-Waite, reversals matter to me - a lot of meanings land better when a card is flipped.

I also like that a deck with more variation has more... language, I guess. Reversals practically double the symbolic options, so readings feel more layered and nuanced.

What I appreciate is how flexible reversals are. A generally positive card turned upside down can point to something weaker, blocked, or hollow - like the energy is still there but not fully landing. Conversely, hard cards can be softened, or sometimes show consequences getting more intense or drawn out.

For me, the whole system just feels intuitive and naturally expands how many ways you can read a spread without forcing anything.

Sarah

For me it depends on the deck I’m working with.

With my first deck (the Cthulhu Mythos one) I used to read both upright and reversed, but honestly most of those readings ended up feeling confusing and hard to pin down.

With my newer deck I naturally stopped using reversals. I read upright only now - it just feels clearer, like each card already carries a complete message. If something important needs to come through, it usually shows up in the right card or combination without flipping anything.

These days I don’t worry about reversals. I just follow the story the upright spread is telling.

Oli

Thank You!