Upside Down Tarot
How Reversals Add Depth to Your Reading
Enhance the dynamic quality of your readings with a better understanding of tarot reversals.
Much has been written on interpreting the meanings of tarot cards, but according to Joan Bunning, there is one particular type of meaning that should get more attention – those of tarot reversals. When turned upside down, tarot cards can have an entirely different meaning from their upright interpretations. Tarot reversals are often misunderstood. Oftentimes, a reversed tarot card is misinterpreted as bad news. Readers may think the reversed meaning must be the polar opposite of the upright meaning. And some people ignore them completely, just flipping upright any card that has shown up reversed in a spread.
Upside Down Tarot is a handy desktop reference for those who are already familiar with tarot basics but who want to expand their practice by incorporating reversed cards as well. Joan Bunning’s approach to reversed cards is based on an appreciation of energies and their cycles. In our world, change is the one constant – a tarot reading shows us forces that are not fixed but fluid and dynamic. To truly reflect reality, a reading must capture life’s movement and change. In this book, Bunning describes how understanding tarot reversals can enhance the dynamic quality of your readings. You’ll discover how to translate a stationary set of images into a moving picture of time’s flow.
In addition to discussing the energy cycles of reversed cards and how to work with them, Upside Down Tarot provides interpretation suggestions for all seventy-eight cards when reversed.
Joan Bunning grew up in Washington, DC, and attended Cornell University, graduating with a degree in social psychology. She has worked as a writer, editor, bookstore manager, and computer programmer. In 1995, she created the learntarot.com website to share her tutorials on working with the tarot for personal understanding, helping thousands of people worldwide discover the personal value of the tarot. Since that time, she has written five books on the tarot, including The Big Book of Tarot. Joan lives in Virginia with her husband.