Yes or no tarot reading

How the yes or no reading works

Type one question, shuffle, and pick a card from the full 78-card deck laid out face down. The card you tap is the card that answers you. As the deck shuffles, about three cards in ten land upside down, so a reversed card is a real possibility every time you ask.

Your answer is fixed by the card before a single word of the reading is written. A Major Arcana card, one of the 22 trump cards like The Sun or Death, gives a firm Yes or No. A card from one of the four suits gives Leaning yes or Leaning no.

For most cards, upright points to yes and reversed points to no. A small group works the other way round. These are the cards whose upright meaning is a loss, a block or a warning, such as The Tower and the Ten of Swords. Upright they say no or leaning no. Reversed, the hard part is easing, so they lean yes.

Then the written reading explains why this card answers your question the way it does, and what could change the answer. It also looks at today's sky, like where the Moon and Venus sit and when the next new or full moon falls, and at your Sun sign if you shared your birthday on the Astrevia home page.

Is there a maybe?

No. Every card lands on one of four answers: Yes, Leaning yes, Leaning no or No. A reading that hedges every time is no help when you have a choice to make, so each card picks a side.

A leaning answer is the nearest thing to a maybe. The direction is clear, but the outcome still has room to move with what you do next. If you get Leaning no on a job application, take it as a cue to look at the timing or the pitch, and the reading will tell you what could tip it.

How to phrase a good yes or no question

The clearer the question, the clearer the card. A few habits help.

• Ask about one thing at a time. "Should I take the Denver offer?" works well. "Should I take the offer or ask for a raise here?" hands the card two options it cannot weigh.
• Keep it about you and what you can do. "Should I text him first this week?" gets you somewhere. "Does he still think about me?" leaves you waiting on someone else's mind.
• Give it a time frame. "Will the house sell before spring?" is easier to read than "Will the house sell?"
• Use plain words, the way you would ask a friend you trust. Skip "ever" and "never", which turn an honest question into a test of hope.
• Ask once. If the answer stings, sit with it for a day before you reach for the deck again.

Cards that lean yes and cards that lean no

These lists come straight from the rules the reading uses, so they match the answer you will see. Tap any card for its full upright and reversed meaning.

Every suit card not listed above leans yes upright and leans no reversed. The Ace of Cups and the Six of Wands are two hopeful examples.

Reversed, the picture flips. The Major Arcana in the first list turn into a firm No, and every card in the second and third lists leans yes.

When a yes or no reading is the wrong tool

• When there are more than two real answers. "Which city should I move to?" needs a spread with room for options, and a single card cannot give you that.
• When you want to understand a situation rather than decide something. The Embrace or Release reading is made for that kind of question.
• When the decision rests on facts you can check. A diagnosis, a contract or a large sum of money deserves real information and someone qualified, and a card can only show you how you feel about the choice.
• When the question is about another person's private decision. You will learn more by asking what you want to do about it.
• When you are asking again because you did not like the first card. The first answer is the honest one.

Common questions