Tarot Yes or No Spread

Can the tarot answer “yes or no” questions?

Short answer: yes. Longer answer? Let me explain. Some readers choose not to indulge in tarot yes or no readings for a few reasons. 1) tarot tends to work best when used as a tool for introspection, meditation, and other self-oriented goals. It is an amazing portal for looking inward into the universe of the subconscious mind. So some would argue using the tarot to predict external situations may yield murky results. 2) You really should avoid asking the tarot questions you might not want to know the answers to...(or only want one specific answer to). 3) You have to be really careful with your phrasing when asking questions of your tarot. There can be a lot of situations where we ask one question but are really asking another and the tarot will pick up on both and that might confuse your results. So it’s important to approach tarot yes or no questions with a very focused mind, if you’re determined to do so. 

Personally, I believe our subconscious mind is connected to the greater universe where time is non-linear and all things have already happened, are actively happening, and will happen. So I ask the tarot yes or no questions all the time!

Here’s how I do the yes or no tarot spread:

I found this spread forever ago and I don’t actually remember where I first came across it. To start, you divide the already shuffled deck into four even piles while focusing on your question. Then, you take the first pile and flip over the cards one at a time. Stop when you come to an ace or turn over 13 cards. Do this for all four piles. The number of aces determines your results. The more aces, the more positive your answer (that is, the more “yes!” it is...so 4 aces mean definitely yes, 3 means probably, 2 is a hard maybe, 1 means probably no, and 0 means no way). The cool thing about this spread is if you don’t get all 4 aces, the remaining cards you have help to tell you why or why not. Which aces you got are also relevant. 

Yes or no tarot spread example 

In this example, I got 2 aces which puts me at a hard maybe. The aces I got were the Ace of Swords and The Ace of Cups. This means I have the mind for success (I’ve done all my planing and thought things through carefully) and I’ve the heart for it (I’ve got a lot of love and people are there to help and support me).

But the missing Ace of Pentacles implies that finances (or other material matters) are in a less-than-stable place, and the missing Ace of Wands might mean some passion is lost, or perhaps an upcoming conflict is lessening my chances for the results I want.

In their place I have Temperance and The Devil cards Both Major Arcana cards means the missing aces might be factors outside of my control. However, it’s worth noting that the The Devil and Temperance are closely linked.

Our yes or no tarot reading results: 

I may be dealing with a conflict between inner desire (such as greed, lust, sloth, ect) and my higher self wanting to rise to my fullest potential (something which almost always requires discipline, moderation, and self-awareness/regulation). So by working on the dissonance between these two cards, I may be able to change my results and turn that “...maybe...” into a “yes!”

Do you ask the tarot yes or no questions? How do you do it? Let me know!