Light vs. Shadow Aspect

Each Tarot card can be read in its light or shadow aspect. Light just means the card takes on a positive meaning versus the shadow, which is more negative or “dark.” This is basically the same as the more common way to read a card’s positive and negative attributes: “upright” or “reversed,” but irrespective of the card being flipped upside down.

For example, when we persevere and can see the good things that came out of a bad situation, we are in the “light” aspect. When we let those bad situations, however, close us off or overcome us with fear, then, we are in the “shadow.”

More about the deck:

I didn’t make the deck with intentions of using reversals traditionally which you’ll hopefully understand more clearly when the deck comes out. The cards don’t physically have to be reversed for a reading to tell of issues instead of positive news. If a positive card comes out to the right of a negative card, for example, that would change the trajectory of the reading just like if a negative card came out to the right of a positive card.

Yes, you can read reversals with this deck if that is how you like to read, but for some cards, you will find you don’t really need to flip or keep them flipped (upside down), except the orientation of the card’s title might make it easy to determine which is upright. If this is confusing, hold tight and sign up for notifications when I post updates and previews about the deck for more clarity. You can find the subscription form on the right side of the homepage or below, for mobile users. You can also find it here.

This is an important distinction in The LOMY Deck as some cards will have automatic reversals regardless of how they land or fall out on the surface you are working with. Take a look at the example of The Lovers below:

The Lovers card depicted here, can show up either way when you flip the card over. Both ways can and will have a different meaning depending on the question, context or how the reader likes to read. If the card lands with the man in focus/in the upright position (right/bottom image), regardless of the title orientation or the vertical orientation of the mini-lovers card, that might mean something different but not necessarily “negative” for you than if it were the woman in focus (left/top.)

For instance, in the image on the right with the man upright, in a love reading, could be read to represent the masculine in conjunction with the surrounding cards as opposed to the feminine. The same applies for the image on the left, but this time with the focus on the feminine and the feminine’s energy instead. I hope this makes a little more sense now, if it is still confusing, check back for future posts and videos of example readings so you can get a better sense of what I mean.

With this deck, you have the complete freedom to read and interpret in the way you want to, so if the “light vs. shadow aspect” technique doesn’t resonate with you and you prefer “upright vs. reversed,” that is totally fine too. Some readers don’t even read reversals at all and just read everything upright while using their intuition to tune into possible blockages or issues that need to be addressed. That is perfect too. Just keep in mind, some cards already have automatic reversals built into the visual design of the cards themselves, a bit like the example of The Lovers VI card above, allowing each card to be multifaceted in a new way.