Sooner or later a card lands upside down, and the question arrives: does a reversed tarot card mean the opposite? Not quite. Reversals add nuance, not negation. This is a complete, no-nonsense guide to tarot card meanings reversed, with a reference you can come back to for every card.
What does a reversed card mean?
A reversed card is simply one that turns up upside down from your point of view. It does not flip the meaning on its head. Instead, most readers take a reversal as the card's energy turned in one of a few directions: blocked or resisted, turned inward, weakened, or in excess. Same character, different mood.
Four ways to read a reversal
- Blocked or delayed: the upright energy is present but stuck, resisted or not yet flowing.
- Internal: the meaning is turning inward, private, or about your own inner world rather than outer events.
- Lessened: a softer, quieter version of the upright card.
- Excess or shadow: too much of the card's energy, or its more difficult side.
You do not have to use all four. Pick the reading that fits the question and your intuition. A.E. Waite, who set down the meanings in his Pictorial Key to the Tarot, gave a reversed meaning for every card, but he also reminded readers that "the true Tarot is symbolism; it speaks no other language and offers no other signs."
Major Arcana reversed meanings
The 22 trumps, reversed, a line each. For the upright meanings, see the Major Arcana guide.
- The Fool: recklessness, hesitation or a fear of the leap.
- The Magician: untapped potential, manipulation or scattered focus.
- The High Priestess: ignored intuition or hidden information.
- The Empress: creative block, self neglect or smothering.
- The Emperor: control, rigidity or a lack of structure.
- The Hierophant: rebellion, breaking convention or empty ritual.
- The Lovers: disharmony, misalignment or a difficult choice.
- The Chariot: lack of direction, or force without control.
- Strength: self doubt, low confidence or raw emotion.
- The Hermit: isolation, withdrawal or avoiding reflection.
- The Wheel of Fortune: resistance to change, or a run of luck turning.
- Justice: unfairness, avoidance of accountability or dishonesty.
- The Hanged Man: stalling, resistance or needless martyrdom.
- Death: resisting an ending or clinging to the past.
- Temperance: imbalance, excess or impatience.
- The Devil: releasing what binds you, or denial of it.
- The Tower: fear of change, or disaster narrowly avoided.
- The Star: lost hope, discouragement or disconnection.
- The Moon: confusion clearing, or fears surfacing.
- The Sun: temporary gloom, or joy that is dimmed.
- Judgement: self doubt, ignoring the call or harsh self judgement.
- The World: incompletion, a delay or a loose end before the finish.
Minor Arcana reversed, by number
You do not need to memorise 56 more cards. Because the Minor Arcana run on numbers, you can read any reversed minor by blending the reversed number with the suit. Reversed, each number softens, blocks or turns inward.
- Aces: a delayed or missed beginning, potential not yet seized.
- Twos: imbalance, indecision or a stalled partnership.
- Threes: a setback in growth, or collaboration gone awry.
- Fours: restlessness, instability or stagnation being challenged.
- Fives: conflict easing, or a refusal to move on from it.
- Sixes: harmony delayed, or imbalance in giving and receiving.
- Sevens: doubt, giving up too soon or a strategy unravelling.
- Eights: stalled momentum, or movement in the wrong direction.
- Nines: near completion frustrated, or intensity turned inward.
- Tens: a cycle struggling to close, or release resisted.
Then colour it with the suit: Wands (drive), Cups (emotion), Swords (mind), Pentacles (work and money). A reversed Five of Cups, for instance, is emotional conflict beginning to heal.
Court cards reversed
Reversed court cards usually point to the shadow side of their personality, the energy turned inward, or a person, or part of you, struggling to express that quality maturely. A reversed King of Swords might be harsh or coldly logical; a reversed Page of Cups, emotionally blocked or oversensitive.
Should you even read reversals?
This one is up to you, and there is no wrong answer. Plenty of readers use reversals for nuance; plenty of others read every card upright and simply look for the difficult or shadow meanings within them. Both are valid. If reversals feel like more confusion than clarity, leave them out until they call to you.
I read reversals now, but I did not for my first few years, and my readings were no worse for it. Add them when they feel like depth rather than homework. The cards are patient.
Keep exploring the cards
Pair this with the Major Arcana upright meanings, the number meanings, and how cards shift in combination.
Keep Exploring
Frequently asked questions
A reversed card is one that appears upside down. It does not mean the opposite of the upright card; it usually shows that energy as blocked, turned inward, weakened, or in excess. It is the same card in a different mood.
Not really. Reversals add nuance rather than flip the meaning. A reversed card most often points to the upright energy being resisted, internal, lessened or excessive.
Choose the sense that fits: blocked or delayed, turned inward, softened, or in excess. For the Minor Arcana, blend the reversed number meaning with the suit. Trust the question and your intuition.
No. Many readers use reversals for nuance, and many read every card upright and look for shadow meanings within them. Both approaches are valid; use whichever brings you clarity.
They usually point to the shadow side of that personality, the energy turned inward, or someone struggling to express the quality maturely, such as a reversed King of Swords being harsh or coldly logical.
