Do Yes/No questions really work?

[EmpyreanKnight]

I've heard that the Tarot is a subtle but elaborate cartomantic system that is better-suited to address questions that require deep insight. It prefers to give detailed, nuanced, and oftentimes layered answers. As such, I've read that it does not perform well when used on questions that require the use of direct Yes/No spreads that feature straightforward card interpretations like majors are Yes, courts are No, etc.

 

For this reason, I haven't really used the Tarot for Yes/No questions. Which I think is a bit of a shame since many queries can be reduced to straight Yes/No affairs. Will I have an SO next year? Will I get the job I desire? Will my stalker ever stop? Will I gain at least 20 lbs of muscle mass next year?

 

So to settle this once and for all: how effective have you found straightforward Yes/No Tarot spreads to be? I mean those spreads that require no subjective interpretations, just a tally of the card/s you have drawn and the painless calculation of the result given a predetermined system (like Cups and Pentacles are No, Wands and Swords are Yes, etc)? If by your personal experience you found that the Tarot is not good for this, what others have you tried (Kipper, Sibilla, pendulums, I Ching), and which of them have consistently proven themselves as effective? Or do you just avoid Yes/No questions overall?

[EmpyreanKnight]

By the way, if you can recommend a Yes/No spread or system (whether using the Tarot, Lenormand, runes, etc) that you've personally found to be very accurate, please don't hesitate to share it in this thread and in great detail, if possible. Just think of the hordes of our fellow readers who'll stand to learn so much from the knowledge you'll impart. Thanks a lot! :)

[dancing_moon]

Personally, I often ask yes/no questions, and I've found the accuracy to be pretty good, but fluctuating, especially concerning the future. It could be that the dichotomous nature of these questions sometimes clashes with the complex reality and the future's fluidity. Some questions can only give a 'yes and no' or 'maybe' at best, and even the more nuanced yes/no spreads might still miss the point.

 

My go-to method is JSNYC's Yes-No-Why spread. I like it that it gives reasons and also things that could flip the answer. There's also a 'maybe' option.

[Guest]

We love doing yes/no spreads!!

 

7 or 5 cards spread right to left

 

Every card up yes

Every card down -ni

Middle card is worth 2 yes or 2 no

 

Read from right to left from the moment you thought to ask until the answer plays out.

 

Center card is the Crux of the answer.

 

 

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

 

[EmpyreanKnight]

Thanks whatsawhosit, this spread is marvellously straightforward! One question tho - how does it work for you, like what is the batting average for every 5 Yes/No questions you pose, for example?

[EmpyreanKnight]

Personally, I often ask yes/no questions, and I've found the accuracy to be pretty good, but fluctuating, especially concerning the future. It could be that the dichotomous nature of these questions sometimes clashes with the complex reality and the future's fluidity. Some questions can only give a 'yes and no' or 'maybe' at best, and even the more nuanced yes/no spreads might still miss the point.

 

My go-to method is JSNYC's Yes-No-Why spread. I like it that it gives reasons and also things that could flip the answer. There's also a 'maybe' option.

 

Thanks for this spread dancing_moon! I agree that reducing questions to merely a Yes or No robs the issue of the nuances that it may have. I'm sometimes inclined to think that it somehow trivializes the knowledge that the Tarot is so willing to share, altho I've read too that no inquiry is trite - it's the spirit with which one asks a question that would render it ineffective. So there's nothing wrong if one asks a Yes/No question because one wants to cut to the chase and get a straight and clean-cut answer. But if one does so because he is too lazy to perform the oftentimes intensely analytical and objective interpretations that the Tarot sometimes require, then that's where one begins to have problems.

[Guest]

Thanks whatsawhosit, this spread is marvellously straightforward! One question tho - how does it work for you, like what is the batting average for every 5 Yes/No questions you pose, for example?

 

i think it always works...we usually take its advice...which means it works, because that is what happened right? ;) i use the seven cards for more explanation. sometimes three if it is something really dumb like should we have Chinese food for dinner?

 

I can say from experience if we went for Chinese for instance and it said no, one of the three of us would be bitching about how we should have gone somewhere else...

[Padma]

I remove the Sun card for Yes and the Death card for No from the deck. I ask my question, eyes closed, mixing those two cards together until I no longer know which is which. Then I draw one for the answer. This has proven to be a pretty fail-safe method for me. Really accurate :)

 

You might prefer Mary Greer's method. https://marykgreer.com/2008/06/02/yes-no-advice-oracle/

[EmpyreanKnight]

I remove the Sun card for Yes and the Death card for No from the deck. I ask my question, eyes closed, mixing those two cards together until I no longer know which is which. Then I draw one for the answer. This has proven to be a pretty fail-safe method for me. Really accurate :)

 

You might prefer Mary Greer's method. https://marykgreer.com/2008/06/02/yes-no-advice-oracle/

 

I love the two cards you chose for this, they seem so apt. I am definitely going to try this, Padma, but I think I'd only do so for really important questions.

 

Thanks whatsawhosit, this spread is marvellously straightforward! One question tho - how does it work for you, like what is the batting average for every 5 Yes/No questions you pose, for example?

 

i think it always works...we usually take its advice...which means it works, because that is what happened right? ;) i use the seven cards for more explanation. sometimes three if it is something really dumb like should we have Chinese food for dinner?

 

I can say from experience if we went for Chinese for instance and it said no, one of the three of us would be bitching about how we should have gone somewhere else...

 

Lol I guess it really is accurate, whatsawhosit. ;D

[katrinka]

There are many, many methods of getting a yes or no. All in all, I've had better luck with the nonbinary ones - various strong yes, weak yes, "yes, but...", weak no or "not at present", and strong no possible answers. You can find a lot of this stuff in playing card cartomancy and adapt it to Tarot.

 

But the best way by far is to just do a small spread - say, three cards - read it, and infer the answer from that.

[Guest Empathic_Cap]

Yes I do believe these yes/no works so here's a spread that I offer use

----[1]-----

--[2]-[3]--

 

INDEX

[1] Answer = You may/may not want to use to cards here (pay particular attention to the card(s) colour, expressions, feelings etc while also using the overall meaning of the card.

[2] How = This card will explain and show you how you have gotten the answer.

[3] Why = Which this is the outcome card I suppose where it explains why you have gotten the answer.

 

When reading these cards I'd also suggest to use the How and the Why card as yes/no cards as well I find this helpful as well instead of pulling out any more cards.

[EmpyreanKnight]

There are many, many methods of getting a yes or no. All in all, I've had better luck with the nonbinary ones - various strong yes, weak yes, "yes, but...", weak no or "not at present", and strong no possible answers. You can find a lot of this stuff in playing card cartomancy and adapt it to Tarot.

 

But the best way by far is to just do a small spread - say, three cards - read it, and infer the answer from that.

 

Yes I do believe these yes/no works so here's a spread that I offer use

----[1]-----

--[2]-[3]--

 

INDEX

[1] Answer = You may/may not want to use to cards here (pay particular attention to the card(s) colour, expressions, feelings etc while also using the overall meaning of the card.

[2] How = This card will explain and show you how you have gotten the answer.

[3] Why = Which this is the outcome card I suppose where it explains why you have gotten the answer.

 

When reading these cards I'd also suggest to use the How and the Why card as yes/no cards as well I find this helpful as well instead of pulling out any more cards.

 

Oh, so both of your approaches are still analytical and subjective? Like one card can either be a Yes or a No depending on the case?

[katrinka]

I just read the synthesis of the three rather than using named positions. If I want to know if it's a good idea to do something and the cards are gloom and doom, it's a 'no', obviously.  ;)

[Little Fang]

I'm quite iffy about using the Tarot for yes/no questions, but only because I'm very action-based in readings in general.  I don't quite feel, to me, that life is so black and white, because any little thing can affect a yes or a no.  That is why I use the cards to see the things surrounding that instead.

 

I'll use a pendulum for a simple yes or no though on the occasion.  My cards don't quite like to be used in that manner.

[Raggydoll]

I will tell you about my experiences regarding 'yes and no' questions. This might not ring true for anyone else, but I have found that my decks behave a lot like people. So some of them are quite good at giving a definite yes or no answer, while others have the tendency to just talk and talk and never get to the point. Other decks will use analogies that has to be deciphered, while some decks tend to be more philosophical (and really not very helpful when you just wanted a straight answer). Then again, some decks will have an attitude and object to your question (or the way you phrased it), while others will give you a straight -but sarcastic answer. So yes, this is quite a complicated business. I think the key is to really know your deck(s) and to have a strong notion on when to use which deck. This is certainly one of those times when I believe it will be extra beneficial to have taken time to study each deck, one at a time, for a longer period. I'm not sure how helpful this was though (if I were a tarot deck you probably wouldn't ask me for 'yes or no' answers  ;D )

[EmpyreanKnight]

I just read the synthesis of the three rather than using named positions. If I want to know if it's a good idea to do something and the cards are gloom and doom, it's a 'no', obviously.  ;)

 

Thanks for clarifying that, katrinka.

[EmpyreanKnight]

I'm quite iffy about using the Tarot for yes/no questions, but only because I'm very action-based in readings in general.  I don't quite feel, to me, that life is so black and white, because any little thing can affect a yes or a no.  That is why I use the cards to see the things surrounding that instead.

 

I'll use a pendulum for a simple yes or no though on the occasion.  My cards don't quite like to be used in that manner.

 

I will tell you about my experiences regarding 'yes and no' questions. This might not ring true for anyone else, but I have found that my decks behave a lot like people. So some of them are quite good at giving a definite yes or no answer, while others have the tendency to just talk and talk and never get to the point. Other decks will use analogies that has to be deciphered, while some decks tend to be more philosophical (and really not very helpful when you just wanted a straight answer). Then again, some decks will have an attitude and object to your question (or the way you phrased it), while others will give you a straight -but sarcastic answer. So yes, this is quite a complicated business. I think the key is to really know your deck(s) and to have a strong notion on when to use which deck. This is certainly one of those times when I believe it will be extra beneficial to have taken time to study each deck, one at a time, for a longer period. I'm not sure how helpful this was though (if I were a tarot deck you probably wouldn't ask me for 'yes or no' answers  ;D )

 

I guess that yeah - I must test which decks are more open to Yes/No questions. Altho - maybe other card-based divination systems are more open to this compared to the Tarot? I remember reading that it's par for the course in playing card cartomancy. Or like Little Fang suggested - maybe branch out and explore non-card systems like pendulums.