The Most Elegant Way to Read Reversals

reversals made simple, clear & clever

I’ve been a tarot professional for over 11 years. That’s countless hours spent writing posts, creating courses, doing private client sessions, teaching at conferences and so on. And throughout it all, there’s one question I’m asked the most often, by far: how do you read reversed tarot cards?

I wrote a fairly comprehensive yet concise guide to reversals back in 2016. And in 2021 I hosted a free 40~ minute video workshop on the topic. I briefly reviewed those as I started this post and I can say that here in 2025 I still stand by them!

Yet even with all I’ve already shared about reversals, I’m still asked about them frequently. And although I do retain the general philosophies I’ve already shared, it still feels like there is something more to say. A point to emphasize…

deck: The Wild Unknown

In the current phase of my tarot practice - and really, my current experience as a human being - I crave simplicity. I crave elegance. Let’s start by defining what I mean by elegant in this context. Because I don’t mean fancy or elitist or any such thing.

Collins Dictionary sums it up nicely: “if you describe a piece of writing, an idea, or a plan as elegant, you mean that it is simple, clear, and clever.”

This appeals to me because trying to read reversals can easily become clunky, confusing and hazy. Even for those of us who have been at this tarot thing for a while, let alone for beginners. Trying to interpret reversals in your readings can be a quick way to take tarot from a pleasant intuitive art into an over-analytical headache inducing puzzle.

Now, it’s okay for reversals to feel challenging. But the challenge should be like a gentle stretch. Not a weight lifting competition. Y’know?

So, what is the most elegant way to read reversals? How can we read reversals in a way that is simple, clear and clever?

Well, the true answer is whatever way works for you (and that includes not incorporating reversals at all). As with all aspects of tarot, there is no one right answer. But I do have an idea of what feels like the most elegant way for me to read reversals, and perhaps it could be useful for you as well.

Here it is: a reversal is an exclamation point.

I’ll admit this isn’t a new idea. I included this concept in my previously linked posts on reversals. Hell, I even included this in the guidebook I wrote for the Spacious Tarot. But I wanted to highlight it again because as I’ve been pondering reversals recently, I’ve realized this one idea encompasses all the other ways I tend to interpret them.

To me, this is the most elegant lens for reversals. You don’t have to fuss about thinking the card now has a totally different meaning, or that it has to be interpreted ‘negatively.’ You don’t have to panic at the sight of an upside down card. You just have to think. Oh! An exclamation point!

And what is an exclamation point? In essence, something to pay extra attention to!

It is as simple as that. Perhaps a reversal is only an indicator that you should heighten your curiosity about the card! As I wrote in the Spacious Tarot guidebook, “question your first assumptions and dive deeper into the meaning of the card.”

This way of approaching reversals is especially useful as we gain some level of comfort with the cards. Many readers have their go-to interpretations and we sometimes find ourselves relying heavily on those tried and true meanings.

So a reversal in this case says, wait. Sure, this is the way you most commonly think of this card. But what else is here? Spend some extra time! Look around! Go beyond your default ways!

And in some cases, the reversal as exclamation point may not even ask you to change your default view of the card at all, but rather to emphasize it. Especially in bigger spreads, if only one or two cards come up reversed this may be a cue that the messages of those cards are of particular relevance and should be highlighted.

At their worst, reversals can feel like a hiccup in a spread. Everything’s going along smoothly and then BLAM! That blasted reversal comes in and makes the reading feel clunky. But by viewing a reversal as an exclamation point, instead of feeling like a hiccup a reversal can feel like a natural pause to take a breath! Spend some extra time with this card.

Reversals are only useful if they inspire you to explore your cards in fascinating ways. Reversals should be an opportunity to deepen your meaning-making, not cloud it! Exclamation point!

So, that’s it. To me at least this is the most elegant way to work with reversed tarot cards. For you? Try it and find out!

Carrie