Yes or No Tarot Types and How to Interpret Them

Published April 10, 2018
Tarot cards

One of the quickest and easiest uses for tarot is to answer yes or no questions. There are multiple methods to do this, and interpreting them can help you gain important insights.

Three-Card Spread Yes or No Tarot Spread

One of the most common ways to use tarot to obtain yes or no answers is to use a simple three-card draw. This uses simple reversals for yes or no answers and also allows you to gain some insight into why the answer was yes or no.

sample three card draw for tarot

Triple Yes or No Tarot Query

In The Ultimate Guide to Tarot, author Liz Dean suggests asking the same yes or no question three times and drawing a card for each time you ask, placing them face down. To do this:

  1. Formulate your question as a yes or no question. Shuffle and cut the deck.
  2. Ask your yes or no question and pull a card with your left hand, placing it face down. Ask the same question again, pull another card with your left hand, and put it face down to the right of the previous card. Do this once more.
  3. Now, turn over the cards to read your result.

Reading the Results

To read the results, look at the sum of all three cards - each will have an answer of yes, no, or neutral. If all three indicate yes, then the strongest possibility is the answer is yes. If two are yes and one other card isn't (either neutral or no), it is likely the answer will be yes. If two are no and one is yes or neutral, the answer will likely be no. If all three are no, then the answer is no. If the cards are mostly neutral, you may need to query again later or formulate your question differently. It may also indicate now isn't the time for you to receive the answer you seek.

Values of the Cards

To use this method, you'll need to know the values of the cards.

  • Reversals always indicate no.
  • There are four neutral cards: the four of swords, the four of cups, the Hermit, and the Hanged Man.
  • There are several no cards including three, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and knight of swords; five, seven, and eight of cups, five of pentacles, Death, the Devil, the Tower, and the Moon.
  • All other cards indicate yes, including most of the suit of pentacles, all of the suit of wands, and a majority of the major arcana cards, unless reversed.

Single Card Draw

You can also use a single card draw with your yes or no question. Before you do this, hold the deck in your hand and create the intention for which cards will indicate yes or no. For example:

  • You could designate all reversals as no and non-reversed cards as yes.
  • You could designate two suits, such as cups and pentacles, as no and two suits, such as wands and swords, as yes. Then, divide the major arcana in half with zero through 10 (0 through X) indicating yes and 11 through 21 (XI-XXI) indicating no or by selecting even major arcana as yes and odd as no.
  • Designate even numbers as yes and odd numbers as no and then designate the Knave and Jacks as yes and the Kings and Queens as no.

Once you have programmed this intention into the cards by holding it and stating that as your intention, write down what you decided so you do not forget or try to massage the results to be the answer you want instead of the one you receive. Now, do the following:

  1. Shuffle and cut the cards.
  2. Ask the question. Shuffle and cut the cards again, focusing on the question.
  3. Then, spread the cards out on the table face-down.
  4. With your left hand while still focusing on your question, draw the card and turn it over. Consult what you noted to determine whether the card means yes or no.

Option With Playing Cards

If you don't have a tarot deck, you can use playing cards to do the same thing. Just decide which cards (reds or blacks, for instance) will indicate yes or no. Question, shuffle, cut, and choose as above, and you'll have your answer.

Simple Yes No Divination With Tarot Cards

There are many methods of yes no divination and using tarot cards is an easy way to get your answer. Just be honest in your approach and interpretation, set intention in the cards for which mean yes or no, and ask your question.

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Yes or No Tarot Types and How to Interpret Them