People are often curious about my method for how to get yes/no answers from a deck of Tarot cards. In this post, I share an approach I’ve gradually morphed over the years. This method has come to be a useful resource in readings and is recommended for folks looking to deepen their Tarot practice.

This is a particularly useful approach to use when you’re interpreting a card you’ve pulled in a spread. Although the technique itself is simple enough, I recommend using it with a mind and heart that’s open to honest answers.

Before you start

Before we get into the method, a couple of important caveats.

Clear answers require consistency

There are a number of different ways of doing this, and I encourage you to look up these various options and play with them to notice which approach feels right for you. The important thing is that, once you begin using a new way of pulling yes/no cards, it’s important to stick with that one mode for awhile so that you don’t get mixed messages!

Never substitute a Tarot reading for professional advice and sound judgement

Another caveat relates to Tarot more broadly, but is especially important when pulling yes/no Tarot cards. That is that you should never substitute a Tarot reading for professional advice. It’s important to apply wisdom and discernment to your readings as much as everything else in life. For example, medical issues need medical attention. Even if your Tarot reading is pointing to an emotional issue, emotional experiences can also lead to very real medical ones.

So, avoid making decisions only based on a Tarot reading. Use your full intellectual abilities to reason through and gather information, seek out professional advice, and remember that getting a wide number of informed and wise perspectives on an issue has tremendous value.

You get out what you put in

Tarot readings vary in quality depending on how you show up in a reading. If you aren’t ready to face your inner “stuff” or you’re not genuinely interested in the real answer, you’re likely to get confusing readings that don’t make a lot of sense. Similarly, if the only Tarot readings you do consist of purely yes/no questions, you’re also not likely to get particularly insightful answers, or you’ll get mixed messages.

That’s because the Tarot is a deeply reflective medium for understanding ourselves, life and beyond. Of course the Tarot can answer mundane, everyday life questions. It’s not the subject matter that’s the issue, but how we show up when we’re using the Tarot which is a deeply complex, encompassing tool. If we don’t show up prepared for honest answers, then we’re perhaps not using the right resource and should seek out another outlet. It’s like asking your very forthright friend for advice and then getting mad when they’re honest. If you don’t really want to know, don’t ask the person who will tell you.

The method

Now, the method I use!

The method I use allows for both a clear yes/no and the reason for that yes/no. Here’s how I do it.

First, a clear yes/no

• Majors, Pentacles and Cups are YES. Note that Majors are a “loud” yes in my method.
• Wands and Swords are NO

Does this mean I end up with 22 more yes cards than no cards? Indeed, it does, but I’ve never found that to make a difference. When the answer is no, “no” cards will repeatedly come up.

Reason or context for the yes/no

The specific yes/no card pulled gives more information about that yes or no.

How to ask the question

Always ask a very clear yes/no question! This isn’t the time for “or” questions, or unclear questions. And always write down or dictate your exact question and how you’ve asked it! I usually word my questions as confirming that I’m correct in my interpretation.

This means your question should be worded like, “Am I correct in my interpretation that [insert what you believe the message is that you’re seeking to confirm]?”

After you confirm that, I also suggest confirming that you have interpreted the meaning in full.

Example

Remembering that one of the primary useful times to use this approach is as part of a reading where you want to confirm that you’re interpreting a card correctly, let’s consider an example.

Let’s say you’re doing a three-card spread about the past, present and future of a situation you’re experiencing. You’ve pulled the card for the past and it’s super obvious. You jot down or dictate your journaling (always take the time to do Tarot journaling! You’ll get SO many more insights!).

Then, you pull a card for your present. Let’s say it’s pretty clear, but you want to make sure you’re getting the whole message. After all, if you’re doing a reading, it’s because you want more information and you know that your decisions in the situation matter. So you first get really clear on what exactly your question is. You write down or dictate, “Am I correct in interpreting that the 7 of Chalices is telling me that I am feeling overwhelmed because I haven’t landed on what my goal in the relationship/my work/etc really is, so it’s all feeling like a messy, moving target?”

Let’s say you pull the Lovers, a Major. The Lovers is a resounding “Yes, your interpretation is correct.” It’s also giving you more information. It’s telling you to choose a specific thing to focus on and prioritize it for the next little while.

At this point, it might be helpful to ask another yes/no question to ensure you’ve captured the full message from your card for the present. You might ask, “Am I correct that this is the full message for me for my present situation in this reading?”

If you get a no, then go back to your 7 of Chalices and notice what other messages you notice, and repeat to confirm your understanding.

Then, you would move on to your future card. Remember that the future card in any spread can only point to the most likely outcome based on the current trajectory, but that the future is not set. You can always change the future outcome based on your decisions. We each have personal agency, after all (check out the podcast “Empowering Future leaders” to hear our discussion on what it means to have personal agency)!

Troubleshooting

If you get contradictory cards at any point, I strongly encourage you to pause and go back to what specific question you journaled.

First, take a breath. If you’re rapidly firing off questions and pulling cards for yes/no answers, you’re likely to start getting contradictory cards, because rushing through this process can mean asking questions that are unclear, are loaded, or otherwise not framed in a way to garner honest answers.

Second, take the time to journal your specific question (not sure how to journal? Check out this post). Confusing answers come up very quickly when you don’t take the time to journal the question. The Tarot will answer your question, but if you rush through a question and don’t journal it, you may not notice that the way the question has been asked isn’t clear or has otherwise been worded in a way that’s “loaded” or framed in a way to try to get the answer you want.

Third, if you’re getting confusing cards despite taking your time, journaling your questions and making sure they’re very clear and genuinely open to the answer, it’s very possible that the situation is in too much flux at the moment. This can certainly happen, because—again—the future isn’t set; it’s created based on the decision making of people and external factors. If you think this is where you’ve landed, it’s okay to do a bit of journaling about it and come back to your questions after a little time has passed. You can also take it as an opportunity to instead ask, “Where should I focus my attention on at this time in a way that serves me now and in the future?” That way, you’ll still have something to focus on while you wait for the matter to shift to a less chaotic state.

In sum, incorporating yes/no Tarot answers into your practice will help you to increase the depth of your understanding in readings when you approach your readings seeking answers.

If you love Tarot, these other Tarot posts are worth checking out. You may also enjoy these beautiful indie decks (absolutely no AI was used in the production of either!) – Cat Aura Tarot and Chakra Healing Tarot.

You might also enjoy listening to one of these podcast episodes.

Blessings and empowerment to you!