Er, confused. Left hand reel spins anti-clockwise, right hand reel spins anticlockwise. The left hand spindle motor however, has a low torque in the opposite direction to keep the tape taut. No tape, or a tape break, and it spins clockwise, quite fast too! That's why wild records is asking about having a tape threaded. You should easily be able to stop it rotating with a finger in play. Hit rewind and your finger will be thrown off, sometimes painfully!