We generally interpret reversals as the opposite of the card. 1 This is not a bad way to interpret them. The cards respond to your energy—if that’s their shuttle, they can foster strong interpretations.
But the tricky thing about reversals is that, if we approach them as the “opposite” of the upright messaging—which part of it is opposite? If you
Perhaps a more nuanced approach might be to think of them in terms of their story.
Ultimately, the discussion here is intended to help you figure out your toolkit. Intentionality is the name of the game—and when you hold your tool with intent, you can get really good at this stuff.
Some people advise new readers to ignore reversals, and I would argue that you—as the querent—should flip flop between using them and not every once in a while. When you’re unsure of what the best tool to use is, (because you have so many at your disposal), it can help massively to reel in your toolset and do purely upright. When I’m a rut, this seems to always help.
Footnotes
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e.g. V, THE HIEROPHANT may represent
conformitywhen upright, butrebellionwhen reversed. ↩