Yes/No Tarot doesn't work (?)

[Brown Eyed Mystic]

Hi everyone,

I've experimented with the Yes/No tarot and although it has worked there has been a time it hasn't. Obviously, if it doesn't work once, one might as well consider it won't work at all.

But I'm curious if there's more to it.

What are your experiences with yes/no questions? Have you been successful 100% of the time?

Thanks!

BEM

 

[Sulis]

Personally, I think if you want a yes or a no answer then tarot is the wrong tool for the job.

Tarot is descriptive, it tells stories and I think if you ask it a yes or a no question there will always be ambiguity because context is everything where tarot and everything else is concerned..

Nisaba's excellent post in this thread sums up my thoughts on this: Cards for 'yes'
Here's the post:

There are many different kinds of yeses: positive and negative.

Will I die horribly?

Will my job interview be a disaster?

Will my little brother die of this illness he has?

Will I have a car accident driving tired in this weather?

Assume the answer to all of them was yes. Would you expect the same cards to appear, as would appear if you asked questions like:

Will the child enjoy their birthday party?

Will this seedling grow into a tall, stunning, healthy tree?

Will my skin condition heal?

Will my friend win the lottery?

Now, say both groups of questions all have "yes" as an answer. Do you REALLY think the same cards are going to come out?

I think there are much better tools for use with yes / no questions - a coin flip or a pendulum for example.. In my opinion using tarot for questions like that is like using a screw driver to hammer in a nail - you can do it if you really must but why bother when it is so easy to slightly rephrase a question so that it's geared more towards a descriptive answer?

 

[Chrystella]

I agree with Sulis above. I think yes/no questions are too limiting. The tarot is a tool that wants to say more and I want to hear more than just yes or no. I rather have more insight into a situation, explore possibilities, etc.

 

[dancing_moon]

I agree with Sulis and Chrystella that yes/no questions are rather limiting and even 'fatalistic' in the sense that they won't give you any choice, just a cut-and-dried answer.

I think what's probably even less helpful is the all-or-nothing/100%-accuracy attitude usually associated with yes/no questions. Tarot isn't a sniper rifle. It's a tool that, in my opinion, is perfect for changing your life in addition to getting definite answers and clearing misunderstandings, and as such, it'll sometimes be 'wrong' exactly because your own decisions and actions change the outcomes in the desired direction.

I ask yes/no questions from time to time - not in order to see what will definitely happen but in order to have a sneak peek at what has the highest probability of happening - and then change it if I don't like it. Naturally, the question of accuracy is totally irrelevant in this approach.

 

[Barleywine]

I tend to agree, but here's one that might be useful. I haven't tried it personally yet since I don't usually do straight "yes/no" stuff with tarot.

https://marygreer.wordpress.com/2008/06/02/yes-no-advice-oracle/

 

[Grizabella]

I think there are ways that yes/no questions can work with Tarot and I've tried both. One is to designate one particular card as yes and one as no and then go through the deck and the first of the two cards that appears is your answer.

Another way is to do a reading to see if the cards favor a yes answer or a no answer. For instance, if someone asks that kind of question, I do a reading "around" it and if the cards are favorable it's likely that the thing will happen but if they're unfavorable it's a no.

I've said many times that Tarot isn't good with yes/no answers but the bottom line truth is that I just don't think it's good for a pat answer and doing a spread to decipher the answer is more time-consuming. The reader has to work to get the answer sometimes. I favor mostly doing a spread and seeing what looks likely because I think that's more helpful than just a yes or no answer. I sometimes have done the designation of certain cards for either answer, too, but I like the spread method better.

 

[Barleywine]

I've said many times that Tarot isn't good with yes/no answers but the bottom line truth is that I just don't think it's good for a pat answer and doing a spread to decipher the answer is more time-consuming. The reader has to work to get the answer sometimes. I favor mostly doing a spread and seeing what looks likely because I think that's more helpful than just a yes or no answer. I sometimes have done the designation of certain cards for either answer, too, but I like the spread method better.

Yes, a "preponderance of likehoods" points to at least a qualified "Yes" (maybe a "Yes, if . . ." or a "Yes, but . . ."). That's how I work a "yes" or "no" out of a longer spread too. But then, I'm not fond of minimalist pulls anyway.

 

[junkyardmystic]

Hi everyone,

I've experimented with the Yes/No tarot and although it has worked there has been a time it hasn't. Obviously, if it doesn't work once, one might as well consider it won't work at all.

But I'm curious if there's more to it.

What are your experiences with yes/no questions? Have you been successful 100% of the time?

Thanks!

BEM

Run me through it, how does yes/no supposed to work with tarot cards.

 

[EyeAmEye]

I do think yes/no questions can be answered by tarot. I don't think the reverse/upright type spreads are effective, nor do I think you can set specific cards to mean yes and others no.

I think the trick lies in interpreting the card and/or cards to the specific question asked. For example:

Question 1: Will I get back together with John? Answer: Death

In this particular situation, I would read Death to mean "No. Your relationship with John is, well, dead..."

Question 2: Will I die? Answer: Death

For this question, I would read Death as "Yep. Get ready to face the Reaper, sir".

As others have said, tarot is descriptive. The cards can answer a yes/no, but the answer lies in the meaning of the card as it relates to the question asked.

 

[Teheuti]

I've done quite a bit of experimentation with yes/no predictive spreads both in classes and here on the forum (there was a thread several years ago). Some of what's below is from an unposted blog post that I've been working on for quite a while.

For instance, with "Will X. get this job?" I find about 50% accuracy overall with this kind of clear binary prediction. I've discovered, however, that when the answer was wrong readers immediately start justifying themselves to show how the reading (or their intuition) really was correct. I even noticed myself doing that after I had gotten a yes answer when a person asked about getting a job. He didn't get the job, BUT the job had been eliminated entirely, and so there was no job! Could he have been high on the list before the position was eliminated? Maybe. But we'll never know. The fact is, he did not get the job.

Additionally, there are all kinds of Yes/No questions. Not all of them predictive.
• Will I ever find my soul-mate and when?
• Am I going to get the job I applied for?
• Does he love me?
• Should I stay with this person or move out?
• Is this the right person/job/location for me?
• Can I financially afford to get a divorce and maintain my life-style?
• Was I wrong to do that?
• Did someone steal my computer or did I mislay it somewhere?
• Will it rain tomorrow during our picnic?

A variety of responses are asked for: prediction, description, information, choice, advice and opinion (or even moral judgment). Several of the above questions are really more than one question and therefore ambiguity steps in. You have to ask, Is a Yes-No format really the best way to address an issue. Yes/No questions are closed questions calling for a simple either/or answer and nothing more (even if you allow for a "maybe").

I've seen many readers ask the question, throw the cards and then answer a different question entirely. "Will ___ ever find her soul-mate?" Answered with, "I see you've been deeply hurt . . ." Were the cards that showed "pain" really answering "No"? Does the reader just not want to deliver the bad news? Unfortunately many readers don't even notice what they've done; essentially they're seeking to "fix" the anxiety both in themselves and the client.

I like James Ricklef's version where he will only answer with: "Yes, if . . ." "No, if . . ." or "Maybe, if . . ." It provides a much richer context, opens possibilities and invites discussion. Ultimately the person is left with a feeling of potential.

Personally, I use Yes/No questions when it feels right and have seen some great break-throughs when a person has to confront an absolute (whether they accept that absolute or not).

I've also found a SERIES of Yes/No questions can be used to clarify the parameters of an issue, especially when the answers aren't seen as absolutes, but rather as refining the issue or honing in on what is really important. Pendulum work (dousing) often uses this approach.

There is an art to asking Yes/No questions with Tarot and it's worth learning.