A Useful Yes/No Spread
Many readers do not care for yes/no questions because they feel they are not useful and are not empowering. However, I have found one that is very useful and can pave the way for more empowering information. I like having a clear snapshot of the situation based on things as they stand before moving on to seeking advice. This spread allows me to do that. It has become one of my go-to spreads, providing me a clear synopsis of the energies involved and the direction in which they are flowing. The spread is from Tarot Prediction & Divination by Susyn Blair-Hunt.
It is very simple. After stating the question, shuffle as you usually do and lay out five cards in a horizontal line. First, you determine if the answer is yes or no by counting.
Majors and even numbered cards count as “yes.”
Court cards and odd numbered cards count as “no.”
All 5 “yes” cards would, of course, indicate a strong yes. Likewise, 5 “no” cards suggest a strong “no.”
Anything in between is considered a probable “yes” or “no” depending on the ratio of cards.
After determining the yes/no part, then you interpret the cards as you normally would. There are no positional meanings, so there is a lot of flexibility in the spread.
If the answer is not what is wanted, then subsequent readings can be done for advice regarding how to alter the outcome.
I like kinaesthetics for yes-no to see how the unconscious responds to the matter. Hold your first finger down with ypur second finger on top of it (same hand). If the first finger pushes up you are saying yes. If the first finger cannot push up it’s a no. Just do it quickly
I have been using this spread for a couple of years now and love it. Just as said in the article, not only will it give you a solid yes or no in many cases, whether I get a solid answer or not, It always reveals details to the situation that are important for the client to hear about from me. Sometimes these details are confirmation of things they already know, thus increasing their trust level in my work, and sometimes these are things that they need to look at more closely about the situation.
Thank you so much for posting this article. It’s useful information. 🙂
I am fairly new to tarot but find that this sort of spread is wonderful in times that I have given much thought and meditation to a question yet cannot come to a conclusion and maybe other spreads are not giving me a solid foundation of thought. In these times I can do a short yes/no spread like this and it will help nudge me into another path of thought that I didn’t think of before.
Will I get my Toyota venza?
Will I be able to buy a house in Ocala Florida?
Hi, I don’t know if anyone is about and reading these posts still. But just in case, I wanted to share my results on trying this spread. The question was will I get pregnant this summer (other tarot spreads have indicated I will). The 5 cards I drew were – XII hanged man (there have been delays getting pregnant), X Wheel of Fortune, Knight of Pentacles (in the other pregnancy spreads I’ve treid I always get one of the two knaves), fourth card was the high priestess II and the fifth cards another major, XVIII the moon (which has also come up before). I understand with so many (4 out of 5!) majors showing up it shows a matter of great importance to me, and this is very true. Overall I do feel it’s positive reading and that’s what I’d like to believe. But it so very important to me I would really appreciate someone elses imput or view(s). Thank you all so much!
It seems a little problematic that just based on probability alone you are significantly more likely to get yes cards than no cards, since there are 22 Majors to only 16 Court cards.
I have some question:
1. 2 major cards has a negative meaning in upright or both sides: Death card has negative upright, while the devil has negative meaning for both sides. In other words, would they mean yes or no?
2. Some odd number cards has positive meaning upright, but they are counted as no, is it quite unfair? Like “nine of cups” upright is yes, while the reverse is no. “Nine of wands” upright means keep fighting even if you feel beaten => yes?
This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you!
what do you mean with ‘odd numbers’ ?
What do aces count as?
I know this is a little late but:
to Bee, odd numbers like 5 of Swords, 3 of Cups, etc
To Vanessa, I personally count Ace as one making it an odd number.
Thanks
This was very very very helpful and simple, thank you so much! I think you outcome you get from the cards all depends on how you choose to view them. If you’re expecting a certain answer and you didn’t get it, than they are trying to tell you something else. Maybe there is a lesson you need to learn?
I tried this spread and wanted to provide feedback on the results since no one has provided such info. Short story this spread doesn’t work, i got two major arcanas and three even number minors. The question was: Does she communicate with me today? The cards pulled: 10 of pents, tower, six of wands, four of cups, judgement…. results: she never communicated with me!
I got 3 major cards and 3 odd number card so I dont know what to think
I like this method a lot. Though FL has a point, despite their math being off. If major arcana and even cards are yes, and court cards and odd cards are no, this method is biased in favor of yes.
22 major arcana + 20 even cards = 42
16 court cards + 20 even cards = 36
One solution to balance it would be to remove six major arcana/even cards, but then if you’re reading the cards for further information, you’re missing some possibilities.