Yes or no?

[Ealasaid Enfys]

How do you guys feel about yes/no-spreads?

I know it's best to ask open questions (what do I need to know, what does... mean, how can I ...) but I've been thinking about signing up for an event. I'm really curious to participate, but on the other hand I don't know if I'm ready to yet.

 

How would you formulate the question? Somebody have a spread that could work?

[LogicalHue]

I used to do yes no spreads a lot and I would just pull two cards - one for each answer. I would just think about the options and the question and firmly establish which position is for which answer. They were generally very clear. I've never really understood the general aversion.

[katrinka]

3 hours ago, Ealasaid Enfys said:

How do you guys feel about yes/no-spreads?

I've been thinking about signing up for an event. I'm really curious to participate, but on the other hand I don't know if I'm ready to yet.

 

How would you formulate the question? Somebody have a spread that could work?

I don't have a problem with yes/no.
Keep your spread small and simple. I like a line of 3, no named positions.
No negative cards is a yes, One negative card is usually  a probable or a qualified yes ("Yes, but...", "Yes, if...", etc.), though occasionally a single negative card can skew things to "no", if it's a Major or a particularly nasty card, or if the other cards are neutral rather than positive. Two negative cards is a probable or qualified "no". Three negative cards is a definite no. And vice versa for positive cards.

As you can see, it offers more than a binary method like a coin flip. (Binary methods are much less accurate, IME.) The answer will always be on a spectrum, as described above. There are a lot of cartomantic methods for getting yes or no. Here is a yes/no method designed for playing cards. Cat Yronwode posted it on her Lucky Mojo forum, and I'm quoting her here:

"The method i know for yes/no with cards is called The Four Aces or Cutting Aces.In order to work it, you must use PLAYING CARDS, not tarot cards. You need exactly 52 cards, no jokers, no tarot trumps, and no extra tarot court cards. Just the 52 cards.

52 divided by 13 = 4.Thus, when you have exactly 52 cards and shuffle and lay down 13, you are looking at 1/4 of the deck. You want to see if an Ace comes up in the first 13 cards (first 1/4 of the deck) or if more than one Ace comes up.

In the first pile of 13 cards:

0 Aces = No.
1 Ace = Weak yes.
2 Aces = Strong Yes.
3 Aces = Powerful Yes.
4 Aces = Yes and it will be better than you could imagine.

If there are no Aces in the first pile and you decide to go to a second pile:

0 Aces = Really no.
1 Ace = Overcome obstacles and delays and you have a maybe.
2 Aces = Overcome obstacles and delays and things will turn out all right.
3 Aces = Overcome obstacles and delays and you have a weak yes.
4 Aces = Overcome obstacles and delays and in the end you have a solid yes.

If there are no Aces in the second pile either, and you decide to go to a third pile:

0 Aces = No, and it will end in disaster.
1 Ace = Obstacles, delays, and oppositions, and if you get it, it will be worthless.
2 Aces = Obstacles, delays, and oppositions, and if you get it, you will not want it after all.
3 Aces = Obstacles, delays, and oppositions, and if you get it, it will be worth less than you hoped for.
4 Aces = Obstacles, delays, and oppositions, and if you get it, you will at least break even on it."

I've had good results with this method. And as you can see, the answers are once again on a spectrum.

As for phrasing the question, just ask about what concerns you most: "Am I ready for this?" Would I benefit from this event?" "Would I enjoy this event?" etc.

37 minutes ago, LogicalHue said:

They were generally very clear. I've never really understood the general aversion.

It's something that's only come into vogue in recent decades. Old cartomancy books are full of questions such as "Will I marry soon?" and "Does the one I love also love me?" I consider the aversion to be an aspect of the "Tarot doesn't predict the future" trope. You can never be wrong if all you're doing is handing out advice, but if that's all you're going to do, why use cards at all?

[gregory]

IF I did one, I'd use Ricklef's spread - 3 cards: Yes if / no if / maybe if. It gives that little bit more than tossing a coin.

[DanielJUK]

I wouldn't want to stop other people using tarot in any way they wanted but for me personally, I try to avoid using them. I used to ask yes/ no questions a lot in my early days and I just find that tarot wants to give me so much detail and content in the answers, there are themes and back story and predictions and characters, it gives me a whole story. Somehow my readings always get a little long because of this 😂 But when you restrict it to 2 answers, it restricts what it can give, the card has to work for yes or no and you are limiting what it wants to give. I have found this to be the least accurate of my readings. Also I found that the questions I wanted to ask with a yes/ no answer caused me to get more and more addicted to tarot, it's like the fast food answer from the tarot, rather than the 4 course meal.

 

Of course sometimes yes/ no can be really useful for a quick answer but I have to take it for what it is. I try to change my question into giving different outcomes and then the tarot can talk! Instead of should I participate in this event? yes / no. Give yourself options without limiting them. So I would change the spread to open options or outcomes. I would do it like this....

 

 

                     What do I need to know about this event?

                               I                                             I

                               I                                             i

if I did sign up to participate                        If I didn't sign up to it

 

 

You can change the choices (and add more) to how you want. You can also make it simple (one card for each choice) or more in-depth with 3 cards read in combination for it.

 

I have found a slight change from just yes or no as an answer to looking at what happens if you would pick each option, just gives so much more in making an informed choice. It's up to us to make a choice with freewill and the tarot should inform us of the options and what happens if you picked each. You could find out from this if you are ready for this to sign up or give it a miss. 

 

[devin]

Another yes/no method similar to Katrinka's is to strip out the majors and assign values to each minor suit. For example: cups = yes, coins = probably, wands = probably not, swords = no. You then do a draw of 3 - 5 cards and figure out the answer by studying the mix of suits. There are actually mentions of this technique, or something close to it, going back hundreds of years.  It's an oldie. As an aside, some people give the central card a particular focus, others the last card. You can also delve into the how and why of the answer by stringing together individual card meanings.

Edited August 5, 2020 by devin

[Ealasaid Enfys]

@katrinka, the method with the playing cards seems really interesting. Unfortunately I don't have a set. Will have to plunder my parents' stash for that one.

 

The rest of you, thanks for the help. I've noticed that most of the spreads have a similar lay out: one card as significator and then 1, 2, 3, ... cards on both sides for each option. I decided to keep it simple and pull 3 cards for each option with no named positions as Katrinka does. And that's actually how I always read for myself, so it felt natural. The outcome seems very clear with the topic in mind. It's a yes! The no-side is a little unclear to me but I'll be taking that to another board.

[Decan]

Very often the questions I ask are yes-no questions and I recognize that the playing cards fit very well these kind of questions: red/positive, black/negative.

I didn’t know Miss Cat’s method but it sounds great!

Edited August 7, 2020 by Decan

[Kashi]

I'm late to this post but the way I do yes or no as follows,

I read with reversals so I ask the question and pull one card that will be the answer. Any card that is in reverse I consider it a "no". Any card that is upright is "yes"

Then I pull 2 more cards that explain why the answer is no or yes. 

 

However, I "force reversals". Meaning that I cut my deck into 3 piles and I turn 2 piles on purpose, restack back into 1 pile, shuffle, and draw my cards. 

 

So if you don't use reversals or you are against forcing reversals then this method won't help you much