Reversed Court Cards: Perverse or Preoccupied?
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I recently came across an opinion in the tarot literature that a reversed court card in a spread will typically highlight the negative character traits of an individual when that card stands for another person who is involved in the situation and not a psychological or universal/spiritual concept. Given my nuanced approach to reversals and my understanding of human nature, I find this assumption to be much too narrow in scope.
As I see it, the phenomenon of reversal is more likely to indicate that the other person does not see eye-to-eye with the querent in some way, or perhaps has a private agenda that doesn’t align seamlessly with the seeker’s expectations. This is not necessarily bad, it’s just a fact of life that must be taken into account during a reading as well as in one’s daily affairs. It might also mean that the person is preoccupied with his or her own issues, is physically absent, is unbalanced and out-of-sorts, or has checked out mentally or emotionally. At any rate, as with any reversal, misalignment of perspective is the obvious implication even when no malicious intent is apparent.
Among the general population I have encountered little human engagement that isn’t tainted with self-interest (even the philanthropist expects a tax break), so it might be said that I see every individual as a “reversed card” until they prove themselves otherwise. While this can generate a virulent antisocial cynicism if it goes unchecked, it is a perfectly adequate arms-length working arrangement that establishes boundaries to minimize having one’s toes stepped on; for the most part it means that I cautiously approach everyone new in my social circle as an intriguing but admonitory riddle to decipher, at least to the extent they open up and aren’t practicing the same suspicious skepticism on me. (Never let it be said that I’m not a card-carrying Scorpio.)
I should also mention that I never interpret a court card as indicating what someone else “thinks or feels” in a matter, although it can certainly show who they are in broad terms and what their overall stance is under the circumstances. (The whole “thinks or feels” question is mainly a smokescreen a querent will hide behind when what they are really asking amounts to “Does this person like me enough to be worth pursuing?”) But when the card is reversed it can mean that what the person of interest is contemplating at the moment may be on an entirely different mental/emotional wavelength than the one the querent is broadcasting. There may be little common ground for establishing a rapport, such that making an attempt to engage is a waste of time and effort. (I’m often tempted to say to an anxiously hopeful sitter in these situations “What do they think about you? Well, the cards say they don’t know you exist and aren’t thinking about you at all.” But of course, as a merciful counselor and a non-believer in mind-reading with the tarot, I never do that in so many words.)
I’m inclined to see a reversed court card not as revealing someone’s “dark side,” but rather as offering a more complex angle on their behavior. Since my premise is that everyone embodies “reversed” qualities as a matter of course (and is often not shy about displaying them), the fact of reversal can actually be a blessing that dispenses with any naive misconceptions about what they may be up to (even if they aren’t trying to be sneaky about it). My personal take on reversal in general is that it provides a shortcut to understanding the less visible aspects of the matter that are nonetheless already present in the card, so we don’t have to work too hard to dig it out. It can bring conditions to the surface that, for better or worse, need to be examined with a critical eye.
So what should we do when confronting a reversed court card that portrays another person in a reading? Suggest that the querent smile politely and remain noncommittal until some sign is received that betrays where the other individual is coming from in the matter. But the very first thing I do is ask my sitter whether the card definitely represents someone else with whom they must deal or is just expressing some personal attitude or behavior they should either adopt or avoid in the situation. The reversal may simply indicate something within their own psyche that they’re in denial about and don’t want to face.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on March 28, 2024.
