For those asking about yes/no readings, here’s what works for me when I need quick guidance from the Tarot. I use a simple three-card pull (any oracle deck works). Each card represents past influence, present energy, and probable outcome.
Upright cards lean toward yes, reversed toward no, but always read the actual message too. The “no” answers often redirect you toward inner work that needs attention first. Sometimes divine timing is saying “not yet” rather than “never,” and the cards will show you what needs clearing before your yes can manifest.
I know a lot of people don’t even like the idea of forcing the Tarot to give a simple yes or no answer, but I think they do have a time and place. Especially if you’re able to take the no and still let it give you guidance, you could even pull qualifier cards after that.
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There’s a lot of different ways to do this. For anyone who wants just the absolute easiest answer:
- Upright means yes.
- Reversed means no.
Not a big fan of doing that myself, you can go one step further and pull until you get a major arcana:
But I do think even if you’re doing either of these quick and easy approaches, then you should give the cards a chance to answer more fully. Don’t just hit and run; let the deck qualify what it wants to tell you.
Someone actually created a system that makes sense instead of just flipping cards randomly or keeping things to just one card. Your way of categorizing the upright positions as yes/no is pretty logical. The neutral cards that don’t fit neatly into yes/no categories are interesting. And the special meaning cards add another layer to consider. It’s a decent way to work with tarot for yes/no questions without getting too complicated.
During Mercury retrograde, I get more no answers. I usually hold off and check again once Mercury is direct. If the Moon is void-of, course, I skip yes/no and wait until the Moon applies.
I actually stopped doing yes/no readings about job stuff after realizing I was just looking for permission to make decisions I’d already made. Like asking “should I take this offer” when deep down I knew the answer, but wanted the cards to validate it.
The redirects toward inner work you mentioned are spot on though. My clearest readings come when I’m not trying to force binary answers but asking what needs attention. The cards show me my blind spots instead of just confirming what I want to hear.
These days when people ask me about using tarot for major decisions, I suggest asking “what am I not considering” rather than “should I do this.” The path usually becomes obvious once you see what you’ve been avoiding.
That three-card spread sounds solid for checking in though. Past influence, especially, so much of what blocks us comes from old patterns we don’t even realize we’re running.
Oh nice timing! I’ve been trying something with Major Arcana cards as what I call ‘Destiny’s Door’ cards.
The Sun is my YES card, Death is NO, and The Lovers means it depends on me.
I shuffle the deck while thinking about my question, then flip through until I find one of those three. That’s my answer. I also check the cards on either side for more info. It’s been pretty accurate so far, especially when The Lovers comes up; basically, it means I have to put in the work myself.
My reader refuses to do yes/no at all. Says the future isn’t fixed and every reading changes the timeline anyway because now you have that information.
She only does “energy readings” about what’s happening in the present moment and what patterns need shifting.
Pull three cards with your left hand and trust the first gut hit on yes or no before you even flip them. Then read what’s there: mostly upright leans, yes; mostly reversed leans, no.
I think yes/no has its place. Like when ur anxiety brain needs a quick reality check? Sometimes I just need the cards to be like “chill, it’s fine” or “yeah maybe think twice”.
Not everything needs to be a deep psychological exploration or shadow work.
Anyone else’s deck get sassy with yes/no questions? Asked the same thing three times last week (I know, I know) and pulled the Fool every time.
Message received - I’m being an idiot. 
Quick question, do I need to use reversals in yes/no readings if I don’t normally work with them? I usually skip reversals in my regular practice. Great guide btw.
I only use yes/no for timing questions now. “will this resolve within 3 months” and then pull clarifiers for what to focus on during that time. Helps me stop obsessing about WHEN and focus on what I can actually control. Though sometimes the cards just show me the hanged man and i’m like cool, thanks for nothing
I started treating each card in a three-card yes/no spread as its own vote, and it made the readings way clearer. No more confusing maybe-answers. The voting thing is pretty straightforward - 3 yeses mean go for it, 2 yeses mean be careful, anything else is probably a no.
It’s like each card gets to weigh in separately. The interesting part is looking at why each card voted how it did. The traditional meanings help explain the reasoning behind each vote.
I’ve been trying this thing where I read the middle card in yes/no spreads as like a pivot point. It shows what you need to work on to either turn a no into a yes or keep a yes from going south.
Pulled cards asking if I should quit my job - all majors, all upright. The Tower, Death, and The World.
Thought it was the clearest YES ever.
Gave notice the next day. Boss countered with a promotion anda completely different role I hadn’t even considered. So technically yes, that version of my job ended, but not how I expected.
Thanks for breaking this down so clearly. The way you explained the card meanings finally clicked for me.
Edit: I pulled a card after reading this and it makes more sense in context now.
Edit 2: Your reading style works for me. The symbolism is easier to follow. Blessed be.
I use a traffic light system for quick yes/no readings.
Past/present/outcome becomes green/amber/red instead of just yes or no. If Major cards show up a lot, I count them double. When they dominate the spread, I figure it’s about timing or something I need to learn from. I always check the bottom card too - that’s like the thing you have to deal with first to get your yes.
Quick tip: I do a test cut before my real question, like ‘Is my name X?’ It just gets the deck and me on the same page. Had a reading recently about a last-minute retreat invitation. Got Temperance in the present position and The World for the outcome, with Four of Pentacles hiding at the bottom.
Read it as ‘yes, but sort out your money first.’ So I waited two days, got my finances straight, then booked it. Worked out perfectly. You might also decide to give the Major Arcana’s more weight.
I always blow on my deck three times before yes/no pulls. Old carnival fortune teller taught me that trick years ago and I’ve been doing it ever since.
I kept getting different answers every time I asked about this big move I was considering. Really confusing. Then I tried being more specific, gave it a two-week timeframe and pulled a shadow card too. That helped clear things up. Now when I do readings about decisions, I always phrase them like ‘If I do X, then what happens?’
Should you do multiple yes/no readings for the same question?
Thanks for sharing this guide! It really resonated with me.
I’ve been thinking about something though, sorry if my math is off here. When I follow this approach, it looks like the Universe might be leaning toward NO responses? If I’m counting right, there are about 56 cards giving YES vibes, but around 92 cards (including upright NO cards and neutral ones) pointing to NO.
I’m wondering about this imbalance. Do the cards naturally tend to be more cautious? Or am I missing something about how this works? Would love to hear what you think about this distribution.
When I do yes/no spreads, clients usually want more than just the simple answer. Which is good because the Tarot (and a good reader) wants to give more than a simple answer.
If the 3 of Cups appears as a ‘yes,’ they want to understand its meaning - is it about celebrating with others or indicating creative collaboration? So now I assign probable/not probable meanings to each card based on its numerological energy.
It gives people that extra layer they’re looking for when they ask for a yes or no reading.
In Iberian-style tarot, there are some interesting patterns for yes/no readings. Cups and Coins usually mean yes, while Swords and Wands typically mean no. But here’s where it gets tricky, Major Arcana cards can override everything else. Like if you pull the 9 of Coins with the Page of Cups (both pointing to yes), but then The Hanged Man shows up, it basically tells you to wait instead.
The Marseille tradition has a different approach. They look at whether the card number is odd or even, odd numbers are yes, even numbers are no. If you end up with a tie, you count the red cards versus blue cards in your three-card spread to break it.
