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Yes/No Questions


BradGad

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I would appreciate it if others would share their approach to pesky yes/no questions... not good yes/no questions, like "Should I take this job that appeals to me but pays less than my current job?" (I can think of several good ways to tackle that), but banal ones like "Will the Atlanta Braves have a winning season?"

 

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I know some people won't do yes / no readings at all. Personally I do them sometimes but I find with tarot you get a really simplistic reading. Like tarot is not designed to be forced into a binary answer, it wants to talk!

I would use one of @Raggydoll's great suggestions in that old thread or maybe flip a coin, use a pendulum or use Lenormand or cartomancy, rather than Tarot. Tarot wants to talk and give a lot. I like the detail it gives.

 

About "Will the Atlanta Braves have a winning season?" I don't even know what American sports team they are but let's go with it! Imagine their season, there could be a huge scandal and they are docked points, maybe they appeal on something and win or they pay a lot of money for a new player and they are soaring that season. But the question is yes or no, you are not going to find out anything like that. Even if you try to read the card apart from the answer, you are limited by the binary question. I would change it to, "How will the Atlanta Braves do this season?" or "What do I need to know about the 'Braves chances this season?" Keep it open and you will get the detail and things that won't come up. Although yes / no is fine for a simple prediction 🙂

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4 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

I know some people won't do yes / no readings at all. Personally I do them sometimes but I find with tarot you get a really simplistic reading. Like tarot is not designed to be forced into a binary answer, it wants to talk! 🙂

LOL ... so true.

That being said ... I DO use Tarot for yes/no frequently enough.

Basically you can tell Tarot you want it to serve you binary information.

 

There's an old spread I learned from a 1950s magazine that was supposed to be a "Gypsy" spread ... dubious whether or not the writer actually learnt it from a Romany person ... but it's actually a great spread although it gives Yes, maybe yes, prolly not, and no. So it's not strictly binary.

 

I also have various methods for yes/now with Tarot. It will serve binary information if you know how to ask.

I also tend to go to LeNormand for yes/no.

 

I don't like the coin toss. Cards are my thing. So even for yes/no I go to Tarot or LeNormand.

Edited by Misterei
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24 minutes ago, Misterei said:

a great spread although it gives Yes, maybe yes, prolly not, and no. So it's not strictly binary.

 

Cool. A Tarot Likert Scale. Mystical AND Statistical.

 

Person One - the spread is a Tarot reading. 

Person Two - the spread is a questionnaire.

Voice over - Stop! You're both right! The spread is TWO - TWO - TWO information collection instruments in one!

 

Seriously, although I don't read yes or no questions myself, it's not because I don't believe Tarot can answer them. Since some readers who I respect say that at least sometimes it can, then I believe it can, my "Botticelli Empress with the Magic8 Ball" notwithstanding. But it doesn't for me. My answers would be as unreliable as those given by a Magic8 Ball. As in any undertaking it is important to know our own abilities and the types of readings we are best at.

 

I promise you I take the question seriously. That Likert thing was just to good to pass up. 

 

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There's a method for yes/no you do with piquet which could be adapted to tarot if you reduced the deck down to ace, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack queen & king. It's aptly named "Divination via aces":

 

• Shuffle the deck with your binary question

• Layout 13 cards in a row, any aces within the row you remove and set aside

• Shuffle the remaining cards (including the ones on the table you put down minus the aces if there were any) and lay 13 again

• Do that for a third time (assuming you didnt get all aces in the first or second go)

 

If all four aces come out on the first throw it's a resounding yes. If all aces come out but within the three deals it's still a yes. If only 1 or 2 aces come out then it's a no.

You can also read the aces in the order they appear. If the swords/spade ace comes out first with all aces appearing it could be seen as a yes but with great trouble/delay or not manifesting how you intended. 

 

I personally dont use the row. I'll just turn over 13 cards and remove the aces. Then recompile the deck and shuffle and repeat 2 more times. The 13 cards in a row is the original method.

 

 

The second method I have is simply taking the wish card (9 of cups) out of the deck, state your binary question and then shuffle the wish card back into the deck. Proceed to turn over cards counting until you find the 9 of cups. If it's an even number then it's a yes. If it's an odd number it's a no. (You can do a lost man style spread if it's a no and find out why, by pulling the card before and after to make a line of 3 or 5).

 

You could reduce the tarot deck to majors only and use the star card, or add the 9 of cups I guess. It also works with the star card in lenormand too.

Edited by akiva
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On 1/28/2023 at 11:39 PM, BradGad said:

approach to pesky yes/no questions

 

Do you know those spreads with an "outcome" position?

You do read that outcome in regard to what the client wanted to accomplish, discerning whether it is affirmative towards his/her goal or in denial thereof.

Thus, you can arrive at Yes/No.

The readers of old had a thing with letting their clients focus on what their hope/wish is, and then "foretold their destiny".

Ultimately, that is a neat method to set the frame and direction of the read - as the layout will concern their wishes and hopes, it will also show the supporting and hindering elements, thereby arriving at what is to come: A time of happiness and accomplishment, or a time of sadness and failure.

 

Keep in mind the "As things are now, it will result in that"-nature of the answer.

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Thanks for all the input, everyone.

 

@Mister … Yes, my first choice with most “good” yes/no questions (like “I have an opportunity to take a job that pays less than I’m making now, but really appeals to me. Should I take it?”). For this, I would want to go with a spread with an outcome, like the ligne en croix, and talk with the reader about how they feel about the indicated outcome. I might do a parallel spread about what the outcome would be if they don’t take the new job. Then they could think about which outcome they prefer.

 

Here, I just want to try to develop an arrow to keep in my quiver if I do feel a need to take on a yes/no divination question.

 

In one of the other threads y’all directed me to I found something that looks appealing. WIsh I could find it right now, to give credit, but it’s similar to what @akiva said a couple posts above this.

 

Deal our 39 cards. Count the aces.

 

4 = Strong yes

3 = Probebly

2 = Up in the air

1 = No

 

Look at the cards surrounding those aces for context and clues.

 

It doesn’t list 0. Presumably that would be “definitely not.”

 

I am going to experiment with this and the method Akiva showed. 

 

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There is another trick which "pays dividend", as a certain someone once said:

Step 1: Become really saddle-fast in reading the outcome position of spreads (i.e. let go of vacillation).

Step 2: Skip the entire spread and just deal 3 cards on the outcome of the inquiry.

 

It is really useful if you have to answer several Yes/No's in quick succession.

It is certainly not for everyone, though.

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@akiva

 

> If all four aces come out on the first throw it's a resounding yes. If all aces come out but within the three deals it's still a yes. If only 1 or 2 aces come out then it's a no.

 

So, if 3 aces come out in the three deals, that would be “Too soon to tell” or some such? (I realize there are no rules here… just asking how you would interpret 3 aces.)

 

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13 hours ago, akiva said:

… then shuffle the wish card back into the deck …

LOL I must say my methods are MUCH simpler. But yeah, the 1950s spread works in a similar way … but sans all the counting. 

 

Mad respect you memorized those elaborate spreads.  Reminds me of some of the methods popular back in the 1800s (???). 

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@Misterei you caught me, I am a huge fan of 1800s/1900s cartomancy books! 😅

 

To be fair, if I have a yes/no question I'll usually just throw down 3 cards and read them, but sometimes I like the antiquated feel of unnecessarily complex divining methods!

 

@BradGad 3 for me would be a "it can go either way" but I do like your idea of it being too soon, trial and error will tell you what's accurate for you (if you like the method of course) 😊

Edited by akiva
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9 minutes ago, akiva said:

@Misterei you caught me, I am a huge fan of 1800s/1900s cartomancy books! 😅

 

To be fair, if I have a yes/no question I'll usually just throw down 3 cards and read them, but sometimes I like the antiquated feel of unnecessarily complex divining methods!

@akiva I’m low-key jealous of your patience and dedication. I’m a fan of historical cartomancy … but those old school methods made me pull out my hair and scream. I’ve been ruined by modern instant gratification culture.

 

I like a 3-card LeNormand for yes/no personally. Purely weigh it on positive/negative/neutral cards. Of course this renders a yes/no/maybe so it’s still not totally binary.

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@Misterei I can't lie, a fair few of the methods had me pulling my hair out. Some don't even make sense!

Others (like divination via spades/swords) just leave you with a horseshoe spread of about 50 cards you have to count through, and apparently that's just a 2 week forecast! 😂

 

Lenormand is great for yes/no/kinda binary questions, it cuts to the heart of the issue. A lot of the historical methods transfer to that deck as well, but it doesnt make them any easier...

 

A pendulum is great too if you can detach yourself from the result. Also geomancy is amazing for yes/no. If the house chart perfects then it's a yes, if not then it's denied! Very black and white.

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@akiva I’m a pure cartomancy gal. I suck at pendulums, coffee grounds, etc.

 

Do you mind sharing some of your fave titles for historic books?

I really only read about these spreads in Papus, Waite, Crowley and maybe an Orsini excerpt (?). You sound as if you’ve read more than I have. I know I’ll prolly never do the spreads but I love history. 

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Okay, here goes:

 

"Telling fortunes by cards" edited by Carlton Case, there's also another version on the internet archive by Kevin Martin

"Fortune telling by cards" P R S foli

"A manual of cartomancy, fortune telling and occult divination" Grand Orient (I think that's waite)

"Card fortune telling" Charles Platt 

"Ye booke of ye cards" Zuresta 

"Card reading a practical guide" Minetta

"What the cards tell" Minetta

"A collection of mostly 19th century cartomancy methods" Kenneth Stoeffler (a watered down version of all the aforementioned books that can be found on amazon kindle for not a lot of money)

 

If you're into etteilla and saint google image translate/speak french: Dictionnaire synonimique du livre de thot (Internet archive again)

 

Hope this is comprehensive enough? Most of these can be found on forgottenbooks as pdfs, they're all out of copyright too so some are floating around the internet, failing that amazon kindle 😊

 

ETA: They do rinse and repeat methods a lot. If you can find it, cicely kent also does a cartomancy book which is good and has some different methods in it, I forget the name but it's a bit more unique. So is minetta's books. 

Edited by akiva
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@akiva Thanks SO much for posting! I got a screenshot so I can look into the titles. I'm into the Occult Revival. Such a fascinating time in history. Even if I never use the techniques ... it feels like connecting with that time to read about the methods.

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@Misterei No problem at all 😊 I dont use all the techniques either tbh! But theres always something to take from them. Or a new (old) perspective to add to your reading style! Or even just scratch your head in confusion! 

 

I just realised @BradGad that your 39 card method for yes/no is like the divination by aces (not sure why it took so long to click that 3x13 is 39 😂). And probably suits the size of a tarot deck more than my version. It seems almost like a tableau? Is it done in 3 rows of 13?

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Akiva… it’s not my method. I am clinging to the shirt-tails of giants!

 

I’m just presenting what others have directed me to here. (And trying it out with the stock market.)

 

Right now (can’t change method/rules midstream), I am turning over 39 cards, in sequence. When an ace appears, I note the cards that came before and after, and ponder those when thinking, “Can we say anything more than 4 & 3 = Yes; 2 = Maybe; 1 and 0 = No… that is, any idea why?”. 

 

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