Is the refusal to answer yes/no questions in a reading a "cop-out"?

[Dain]

I had a discussion with a very close friend yesterday about tarot and the debate got a bit heated. He said he thought tarotists who refuse to answer yes/no questions for a sitter or ask the sitter to rephrase the question were unsure of their own abilities, did not trust tarot enough, and that behavior was a "cop-out" from responsibility as a reader.

My position was that it's not a cop out. It's an evolution of tarot reading, based on a non-deterministic model of the future and a rephrasing of the question resulted in the sitter feeling more empowered and with more options towards determining his/her own future!
Also, I felt that a yes/no question - and reading - especially for more serious matters would leave the sitter either with the sense that the universe "will take care of everything" without taking responsibility for his/her future, or sad and disempowered against "fate".

What do you think?

 

[raeanne]

Hi Dain,
I don't really see it as a cop-out, just as overkill. A single tarot card can give so much information that it just doesn't work well with a simple yes/no type answer. A picture is worth a thousand word, as the saying goes, so why try to force it to just one? A pendulum or something else would, I think, be more appropriate.

 

[Dain]

Hi Dain,
I don't really see it as a cop-out, just as overkill. A single tarot card can give so much information that it just doesn't work well with a simple yes/no type answer. A picture is worth a thousand word, as the saying goes, so why try to force it to just one? A pendulum or something else would, I think, be more appropriate.

Hi raeanne. I wish I had thought of the pendulum example yesterday. That's my feeling exactly!

 

[PathWalker]

I had a discussion with a very close friend yesterday " .... and that behavior was a "cop-out" from responsibility as a reader."

I'm much more minded to agree with you than you freidn - indeed it is irresponsible to do the kind of one card yes and no readings for certain questions, becuase as you say you leave the questioneer with the impression that everything will go a certain way, and that they have no choices and no responsibilites - you hvae dis-empowered them bu=y doing that.

But arguing about it probaly won't change that person's mind, so I might my opinion to myself next time and just keep doing what you do well

 

[Dain]

I'm much more minded to agree with you than you freidn - indeed it is irresponsible to do the kind of one card yes and no readings for certain questions, becuase as you say you leave the questioneer with the impression that everything will go a certain way, and that they have no choices and no responsibilites - you hvae dis-empowered them bu=y doing that.

But arguing about it probaly won't change that person's mind, so I might my opinion to myself next time and just keep doing what you do well

Oh, I know I can't change his mind (Sometimes it feels like trying to melt a diamond with pouring water on it) and I'm not sure I even wanted to. It's just that it was some kind of shock to see him believe in determined outcomes with such fervor. We weren't talking about one card readings either. Just yes/no questions.
I'm still learning how to use the tarot for practical readings (I'm better at academic, theoretical knowledge or tarot and using it as a tool for introspection) but I have much more experience with astrology. Even in astrology modern thinking of the predictive aspect of it tends much more towards a non-deterministic model that presents possibilities and probabilities, not "fateful events" so the yes/no duality is certainly not favored.

That said, my friend said he knew tarotists who had predicted concrete and detailed events with great accuracy and I don't doubt that can happen too!
But I still feel a sitter should leave a reading with a sense of empowerment and a clear idea of options, regardless of what events may or may not have been "predicted".

 

[poppiesrossi]

Life is hardly black and white.. and trying to get a glimpse of the situation on hand with one card.. is quite difficult. Yes or no doesn't leave much room for other possibilities and I think it's actually more irresponsible to say yes or no to a question. Many people depend on Tarot for major life changing decisions.. including relationships, career moves, life direction... ect.. a yes or no answer doesn't give a glimpse of what is the underworking of the situation around the sitter.. which is what tarot is about.. or to me anyways.

And sometimes people make these big decisions using the Tarot and giving them a yes or no answer.. doesn't really allow the sitter to make an informed decision. It doesn't allow the sitter to make their own conclusion based on the perceptions surrounding the card. Tarot is a tool to gain clarity.. it shouldn't be used to take the power of decision from the sitter's hand. That's quite dangerous and could lead to disasterous results imo.

 

[Grizabella]

I can see where your friend is coming from. It does take someone who is pretty sure of themselves as a reader to answer yes/no questions with the cards. But it can be done. It's just not as sure and clear as using another method might be.

 

[MissJo]

I don't think it's a cop out.

In fact, I think that reader has every right to decide how and what to read with their cards, and anyone who's going to tell them their wrong or shame them about it needs to shut their mouth because that's not their decision.

Interpreting the cards correctly should be all that really matters.

 

[ThunderWolf]

I had a discussion with a very close friend yesterday about tarot and the debate got a bit heated. He said he thought tarotists who refuse to answer yes/no questions for a sitter or ask the sitter to rephrase the question were unsure of their own abilities, did not trust tarot enough, and that behavior was a "cop-out" from responsibility as a reader.

Your friend is a bit full of himself isn't he? LOL

I don't do yes/no questions not because I'm unsure of my abilities but because I am absolutely sure of them! In the case of yes/no questions I have found through experience that I am absolutely unable to get an accurate reading!

For me to do a yes/no reading I might as well just abandon my cards in order to flip a coin. The results of a coin toss would be no more or less accurate than I am with a yes/no question with the tarot.

Every reader has their strengths and weaknesses. If someone is good with yes/no questions and wants to answer them that's fine, but I have the utmost respect for those of us who are aware enough of ourselves and our own abilities that we don't feel the need to try to do something we know we can't.

 

[Amanda]

I partially agree with you, and I partially agree with your friend. A good reader will answer a yes/no question with whatever information they are provided by the cards. Sometimes the answer will have a blatantly clear lean towards either yes or no, sometimes additional information is provided because that's what is needed, and etc. I think it's a little presumptuous to assume that a yes/no question cannot be answered... seems a little bit controlling of the "force" so-to-speak... which could be interpreted as a cop-out in some instances, sure. Some people are just geared to control so they can make sense of something, while others feel just as in control letting the cards speak outside of a pre-defined context (or an "ill-defined" context, as a yes/no question is as suggested by popular opinion).