Linked Reversals As “Descent into Chaos”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: In a recent post I floated the idea that an unbroken string of reversed cards in a reading can “descend into chaos.” I have numerous opinions about the significance of reversal that I’ve captured in over a dozen previous essays, but this is a new one.
I’ve always felt that a reversed card “strays from the script” of its upright expression by offering oblique insights about the card’s meaning that require a fresh perspective. This assumption can be extremely valuable in getting at the import of the card when its usual interpretation doesn’t seem to fit the context of the question; we might say it’s “flying under the radar.” Successfully deciphering the phenomenon of reversal can add considerable depth and subtlety to the diviner’s interpretive palette.
Which brings me to the subject of the appearance of a linked group of reversed cards in a random pull even though the deck was thoroughly randomized for both sequence and orientation. In the past I’ve observed that “Numerous reversals in a spread may show an undercurrent working at cross-purposes to the main thrust of the reading, ‘for good or ill.’ They can also reflect a very complicated or difficult situation in which it is more important how the energies are received and processed than how they are delivered.” In short, it demands trotting out as many ways as we can think of to convey uncertainty and how it might be confronted without completely undermining the goal of the reading.
But the notion of a “descent into chaos” is even more visceral and compelling because it can symbolize a disorienting departure from the norm or an unplanned detour into unfamiliar territory that has some “staying power.” The narrative takes a “left turn” into ambiguity and may not return to the path before it wreaks havoc on the querent’s peace-of-mind. To the reader it can seem like the child’s game of “pick-up-sticks” where the objective is to skillfully extract actionable advice while recognizing that the whole thing might just collapse into a chaotic jumble. (Note that “chaos” as I’m using it here doesn’t have the same dire connotations as Poe’s “maelstrom,” it is more about systemic disarray; we won’t get “sucked down” but we might get “turned around.”)
In To A Mouse, Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley” (often go astray). It strikes me that — while it doesn’t remotely resemble a “well-laid scheme” — a contiguous run of reversed cards can show an “alternate route” to the anticipated outcome, one that skirts the edge of chaos and sometimes slips over the brink. While in a purely existential sense, trying to deny or resist the pull of multiple reversals might meet the definition of “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” it is more likely to involve “looking the wrong way” when a runaway bus is coming down the road.
It also suggests the fatalism of Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics in Blinded by the Light:
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin’ kinda older
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin’, sneezin’ and wheezin’
The calliope crashed to the ground!
In a nutshell, while reversal is always relevant in at least a subdued way, many reversals can be highly influential and even critical in the development and resolution of a matter. Another useful caveat is “Watch your back!” (particularly if several reversed court cards are present). Surprises may lurk in the profusion of vague insinuations (one of my other definitions for reversal) presented by an upended series of cards.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on July 18, 2024.
