A reversed tarot card is one that lands upside down. Most readers give it a different meaning from the upright card: usually the same energy, but blocked, delayed, turned inward or overdone. A reversed card is rarely the "bad" opposite of the upright one. The Sun reversed, for example, isn't misery; it's joy behind a passing cloud.
Four ways to read a reversal
- Blocked or delayed. The card's energy is there but can't flow yet. The Chariot reversed: drive without direction.
- Inward. The theme is happening inside you rather than around you. The Hermit reversed can mean you're isolating yourself rather than reflecting.
- Too much or too little. The upright quality is out of balance. Temperance reversed: excess, impatience.
- Releasing. For heavy cards, the reversal can mean the difficulty is easing. The Devil reversed: breaking free. The Moon reversed: confusion lifting.
Try each of the four and keep the one that best fits your question and the cards around it.
Examples
| Card | Upright | Reversed |
|---|---|---|
| The Star | hope, healing, inspiration | discouragement, lost faith, fatigue |
| The Sun | joy, success, warmth | a cloud passing, delayed joy, low energy |
| Two of Cups | partnership, mutual attraction | imbalance, broken trust |
| The Devil | attachment, temptation, habits | breaking free, awareness, release |
| Death | endings, transformation, release | clinging, fear of change, stagnation |
Should beginners use reversed cards?
You don't have to. Many readers never use them: they read every card upright and let the surrounding cards and positions add the nuance. If you're learning, it's perfectly fine to start with upright meanings only and add reversals once the 78 cards feel familiar. Using reversals roughly doubles what there is to learn.
How many cards come out reversed?
That depends on how you shuffle. With a real deck, turning part of the deck around while you shuffle makes reversals appear often; never turning it means they hardly appear at all. In Moonfold, about one card in three comes out reversed when reversals are on.
Reversed cards in Moonfold
- Turn them on or off in Settings > Use reversed cards. With it off, every card comes out upright, including your card of the day.
- A reversed card is drawn upside down and labelled Reversed, and the reading shows its reversed meaning.
- Every card's page shows both meanings, with the one that applies highlighted.
New to tarot? Start with how to read tarot cards, or browse all 22 Major Arcana meanings.
