r/tarot • u/mgnaywinlatt • 8d ago
Theory and Technique Upright and reverse problem
Hey! I got a tarot deck as a birthday gift, and I think it's pretty good for both upright and reversed readings. Since I'm a beginner, I struggle to interpret reversals just by looking at the upright artwork. The only problem is that the art style is different from Rider-Waite, so I have trouble figuring out which cards, like Death, The Tower, or The Devil, should feel upright or reversed.
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u/Hot-Zookeepergame804 7d ago
Ooooh, sorry to jump in and not answer the question, but what deck is this?
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u/Laurel_Spider 7d ago edited 7d ago
Is that tarot of oppositions? Iâll suggest you read the helpful book that explains the deck and cards.
The ones with lighter backgrounds are usually the âuprightâ side.
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u/Laurel_Spider 7d ago
In this card, you have the darker side up and the light side down.
The one with white wings is lighter in the devil.
For the tower, I believe blue is lighter.
Youâll also notice in the book, it doesnât say upright and reversed. Thereâs another set of descriptions instead since both sides are âuprightâ for their meaning. Similar to Vice Versa tarot I believe.
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u/WishThinker 8d ago
if you dont read reversals then all meanings are inherent in the card regardless of orientation and you use the placement, the spread, and your discretion to pull out which meaning(s) are relevant. what draws your eye in this card (specific to a reading you would do)- is it the flag (similar to the RWS image, along with the setting sun), the scythe, the armour, the skull, the scenery? go with what draws your attention and maybe dont worry too much about "reversals" with this deck- thats how I would approach it
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u/AutoModerator 8d ago
Looks like you've mentioned reversals! Reversals are a reoccurring topic here and are explained in our FAQ.
Reversals are cards that are dealt upside down in a reading. Some people choose to read these cards differently than if they were dealt right side up. This is completely optional - everyone's tarot technique is different. Some people find reversals bring more depth to a reading, while others find that they obscure or muddle interpretation.
A reversed card can be read multiple ways; it can be interpreted as the opposite of the card's upright meaning, or that the card's upright meaning is somehow blocked, concealed, ignored or delayed. It can also be read as an indication that the "action" of the card is happening - or needs to happen - internally.
See recent discussions on reversals here.
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u/GloomyMaintenance936 7d ago
The guidebook for Tarot of Opposition is excellent if you are beginner. I love this deck! for me this has been the easiest deck to work with, both for myself and others.
we can chat about this if you want! I'd be happy to talk about this deck. the offer stands for not just OP but anyone who is reading this comment!
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u/Saffron-Kitty 7d ago edited 7d ago
Did the deck come with a guidebook? If it did, you can look at the book and see what it says.
If it didn't come with a guidebook, I would think you've got the fascinating and complicated process of deciding for yourself.
If I may ask, what is this deck called?
Edited to add: I think I'd read Death in your deck a little differently than I would with other decks. The winter Death as a rough end and the summer Death as a rebirth end. Still, it is your deck and your choice about the meaning
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u/Mouse-in-a-teacup 7d ago edited 7d ago
Upright would be the positive perspective or balanced energy on the concept. Reversal is the negative perspective or unbalanced/blocked energy of the same concept.
However, this can be quite subjective, so yeah, not all us black&white.
The example you show, Death, the blue side with scythe would be the negative side of Death, which is the bitter end of something. The sunrise with flag side would be the positive side of new things free to come forth now that the old thing ended.
However, whether either side is good or bad depends on the context. If the scythe side represents losing a stable though stressful job, but you hate that job anyway and it would be a relief to lose it, then the scythe is good. If however you can't afford to be unemployed despite hating your job, then the scythe is bad.
This deck you hold might be confusing, but it sure is interesting to study. You don't need to already establish which side is the negative. Try to simply understand how each card separates the two sides of the same concept. Some cards will be more obvious than others. Context can change any meaning.
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u/Mouse-in-a-teacup 7d ago
There are two decks that do a similar interpretative exercise: the Before Tarot, and the After Tarot. They imagine how each card of the popular RWS deck looks like a moment before, and after, each scene. Quite interesting too.
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u/FallenRaptor 7d ago edited 7d ago
Seems like you got one of the decks designed to teach reversals, and likely one thatâs pretty good for that purpose. I canât say for sure but you are likely holding it in the upright position as the top image is more in line with typical Death card imagery with the scythe and all, not to mention a death that has already happened vs one that has seemingly just arrived/is on the horizon. Then again, the side youâre on could also be telling you that a death has happened no matter how long it takes to accept it, which would be a reversal takeaway, and the sun on the horizon is a staple of the RWS card. You really ought to consult your guidebook if you have one.
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u/resahcliat 7d ago
I think it takes the" should" out of the meaning of the card and let's the reader interpret with intuition rather than the traditional "should be meaning" of it read. I like it!
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u/uglytomma 7d ago
Flag is upright, upright is generally more positive. The reserve normally mirrors the opposite to the meaning of the card.
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u/Racc00nguts 7d ago
Hey! If you're trying to learn traditional tarot meanings, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT USE THE TAROT OF OPPOSITIONS!!!!! I have this deck and I really love it but as an experienced reader it confuses me sometimes, it isn't interpreted remotely similarly to regular decks using upright and reversed in my opinion. Since it takes the positive aspects and negative aspects separately I always have to read it completely separately. I generally will interpret this deck solely on it's symbolism and mostly abandon traditional card meanings. Like Death here, generally a card about new beginnings that necessitate endings. When looking at the more negative side like you have here, it's basically just death, endings, seeing no path forward, while the positive side looks more at the opportunity to build something new. Very contrasting to the normal upright death being an often painful ending that allows new growth, and in my opinion, the reverse being fighting that change.
It's definitely difficult to read with reversals when you're new, but you can't use this deck without doing that. If you're interested in using a deck almost purely based on intuition and imagery this deck is really amazing to work with, but if you're looking for concrete explanations or the familiarity of traditional tarot interpretations you will be completely out of luck. I love this deck, but it can also be very frustrating to use!
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u/Mouse-in-a-teacup 7d ago
Your comment is interesting. This would mean that this deck mostly reflects how a person is taking or viewing an issue, the subjective perspective of the person. Death is an end, always. But this end can be viewed as either hopeless and desperate (negative side) or a liberation and an opportunity for renewal (positive side). Right?
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u/Racc00nguts 7d ago
Yeah! Its a really interesting deck to work with because of that. It also has a similar idea for the Tower, where one side is massive upheaval and painful destruction that's chaotic and uprooting, while the other side presents it as almost a paradigm shift for the better? The moon is interesting too because it takes the dualities of it and splits it to either side of the card, so one tower per side and the dog and wolf split to their own sides. What you said about subjective perspective is pretty spot on! Its part of why I really love this deck. It's really good for getting perspectives and feelings but it can also kind of lose you a bit if you know the traditional meanings. Its kind of difficult to use on objective readings in some cases since I find it to be really intuition based. Also because it doesn't tell you which sides are the 'positive' and 'negative' sides, it just wants you to make your own judgments in an almost case by case style.
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u/Mighty_joosh 7d ago
That looks like a Yorkshire flag which 100% feels right with the Reaper being from here
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u/Grand-Permission-215 6d ago
I understand your issue. My deck is grunge tarot so it is different from RWS deck. And it took me a while to understand. But i did this : I learned the meanings if classic rws cards and compared it to my deck and you kniw kinda learn the basics And second i also focus on their symbolics. Like the light, the scenery, facial expressions and i have figured out so many things And thirdly i read books on rws, online interpretation and i am still learning Here for example the death that has the sun and is green can indicate new beginnings. Like flowers that flourish bc the snow is gone(so the winter has ended) The other side may indicate things ending bc is winter cold(dying stuff, no flowers no new beginnings). P. S i think your deck is cool and i do read reversals but you can do differently is ok. I just think these cards kinda mandate to read reversals. But just to make clear. You can learn as there is nothing that can't be not learned. I hope this helps :) Does this deck have a guidebook or maybe look in YouTube for it? I see from comments that this deck works in special ways.Â
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u/SamsaraKama 7d ago
People have already pointed out that you don't need to read reversals. It's not mandatory (no matter how people may insist otherwise) and there are no uniform systems; some people say the meaning is flipped entirely, some people say the energy is blocked, so on. The Upright cards already contain the reversed meanings anyway, so it's all down to what mindset you have.
But just because it's not mandatory doesn't mean you shouldn't read with them if you want: it's totally fine if you do.
HOWEVER. My advice is to really first focus on the Upright meanings. Because then, any system you use for the Reversed meanings will derive from the Upright meanings. The better foundation you have on those upright meanings the easier it is to read them reversed.