A "reversed" card can be, literally, a card that is drawn upside
down, or can it be a card whose place in a spread suggests it is a negative
influence. In either case, the reverse card is most often interpreted as the
opposite of its original meaning. For the few cards that have an inherently
negative meaning, the reversed cards suggest freedom from or triumph over the
negative influence. For the court cards, a reverse card is the unhealthy
extreme of the traits the card already has; for example, the confident Prince
of Wands is brash and foolhardy when reversed.
While some card readers do not make use of reversed cards, I would not
suggest it. Doing so simplifies the cards a great deal, and makes it difficult
to pinpoint challenges that a reading would otherwise discuss.
Clarifications
Sometimes, no matter how precise your spread or clear your understanding of
a card's meaning, something you draw does not make sense. I suggest completing
your reading and then drawing an additional card to clarify the difficult one.
Relate the meaning of the difficult card to that of the new one. If the first
card speaks of an influence, the second card may tell you where it came from;
if the first card refers to a person, this card will give you a clue to their
identity. It is possible to draw another card to clarify the clarifying card.
However, if you draw more than two, you run a serious risk of making the
situation more confusing than it was to begin with!