Tarot reading

Yes or No Tarot

Hold one question in mind, pick a card from the fan and turn it over. The card answers yes, no or maybe, and tells you why.

The results are symbolic, for study, self-reflection and entertainment. They are not a prediction and not professional advice.

Not sent to us and not saved.

Pick any card from the fan. Turning the card over…

Deck

How it works

  1. Ask one question

    Phrase it so that a yes or a no would answer it. "Should I send the application this week?" works. "What about my career?" does not.

  2. Pick a card

    The deck is shuffled when the page opens. Tap any card in the fan, or slide a finger across it and let go on the one you want.

  3. Read the answer

    The card turns over and gives its answer, with the reading that stands behind it. A card that arrives reversed is read by its reversed meaning.

Every card and its answer

These are the answers usually given for the Rider-Waite deck and for tarot in general. They can vary from deck to deck, because each deck reads its cards in its own way. Card names link to the full meaning of each card.

Major Arcana
Card Upright Reversed
The Fool Yes No
The Magician Yes No
The High Priestess Maybe No
The Empress Yes No
The Emperor Yes No
The Hierophant Yes Maybe
The Lovers Yes No
The Chariot Yes No
Strength Yes No
The Hermit Maybe No
Wheel of Fortune Yes No
Justice Maybe No
The Hanged Man Maybe No
Death Maybe No
Temperance Yes No
The Devil No Maybe
The Tower No No
The Star Yes No
The Moon Maybe No
The Sun Yes No
Judgment Yes No
The World Yes No
Wands
Card Upright Reversed
Ace of Wands Yes No
Two of Wands Maybe No
Three of Wands Yes No
Four of Wands Yes No
Five of Wands Maybe Maybe
Six of Wands Yes No
Seven of Wands Maybe No
Eight of Wands Yes No
Nine of Wands Maybe No
Ten of Wands No Maybe
Page of Wands Yes No
Knight of Wands Yes No
Queen of Wands Yes No
King of Wands Yes No
Cups
Card Upright Reversed
Ace of Cups Yes No
Two of Cups Yes No
Three of Cups Yes No
Four of Cups Maybe Maybe
Five of Cups No Yes
Six of Cups Yes No
Seven of Cups Maybe Maybe
Eight of Cups No No
Nine of Cups Yes No
Ten of Cups Yes No
Page of Cups Yes No
Knight of Cups Yes No
Queen of Cups Yes No
King of Cups Yes No
Swords
Card Upright Reversed
Ace of Swords Yes No
Two of Swords Maybe Maybe
Three of Swords No Yes
Four of Swords Maybe No
Five of Swords No No
Six of Swords Yes No
Seven of Swords No No
Eight of Swords No Yes
Nine of Swords No Yes
Ten of Swords No Maybe
Page of Swords Maybe No
Knight of Swords Yes No
Queen of Swords Yes No
King of Swords Yes No
Pentacles
Card Upright Reversed
Ace of Pentacles Yes No
Two of Pentacles Maybe No
Three of Pentacles Yes No
Four of Pentacles Yes No
Five of Pentacles No Yes
Six of Pentacles Yes No
Seven of Pentacles Maybe No
Eight of Pentacles Yes No
Nine of Pentacles Yes No
Ten of Pentacles Yes No
Page of Pentacles Yes No
Knight of Pentacles Yes No
Queen of Pentacles Yes No
King of Pentacles Yes No

About the yes or no reading

One question, one card

A yes or no reading is the shortest tarot spread there is. You ask a question that a yes or a no would answer and you turn over a single card. Each of the 78 cards has a lean. The Sun says yes. The Tower says no. The High Priestess says the answer is not available yet, which this page records as maybe.

The lean is a reading convention. Readers sort the deck into yes and no cards in slightly different ways. Their lists agree on the clear cards and differ on the quiet ones, such as the Hermit or the Four of Swords. The table on this page is the one the reading uses for the Rider-Waite deck, so you can check any answer against it. Another deck can read a card its own way, and where it does the answer follows that deck.

How the answer is decided

A card that shows something arriving or succeeding answers yes. The aces are the plainest case, along with the Six of Wands and the Ten of Cups. A card that shows loss or collapse answers no, as the Three of Swords and the Five of Pentacles do. A card about waiting or weighing answers maybe.

A reversed card is read on its own terms. A reversed yes card usually turns to no, because what the card offered is blocked or late. A reversed no card does not simply flip. Some turn toward yes because the card now describes recovery: the Three of Swords reversed is grief starting to heal, and the Five of Pentacles reversed is the hard stretch ending. Others stay no. The Tower reversed is a change being refused, and refusing it does not help.

How the card is drawn

The shuffle happens in your browser, using its cryptographic random number generator. Every card in the deck is equally likely, and each one has an even chance of arriving reversed. The cards in the fan are in their shuffled places before you touch them, so the card you pick is the card that was lying there.

The only thing the page asks the server for is the card you turned over. The question you typed is not part of that request.

What to ask

Ask about something you can act on. A question about your own next step gives the card something to answer. A question about what another person privately feels, or about making someone do something, is outside what a reading is for.

If the answer is maybe, the question is usually too wide. Narrow it and draw again. Drawing again on the same question until the card agrees with you shows you what you were hoping for, which is worth knowing, but it has stopped being a reading.

A card does not settle a question of health, law or money. Use it to notice which way you already lean, and take the decision itself to someone qualified to help with it.

Frequently asked questions

Is the yes or no tarot reading free?

Yes. There is no sign-up and no limit on how many questions you ask.

Which tarot cards mean yes?

Upright, the clearest yes cards are the Sun, the Star, the World, the Wheel of Fortune and the four aces. Most court cards answer yes as well. The table on this page lists all 78 cards in both orientations.

Which tarot cards mean no?

Upright, the Tower and the Devil answer no. So do the hard cards of the Minor Arcana: the Three, Five, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten of Swords, the Five and Eight of Cups, the Ten of Wands, and the Five of Pentacles. Death answers maybe, because the card describes an ending that makes room for what comes next.

What does maybe mean?

That the card does not lean either way. The High Priestess, the Hermit, the Hanged Man and the Moon describe waiting or not knowing, so they are read as maybe. It often means the question is too wide or is being asked too early.

Does a reversed card always mean no?

No. Most reversed cards answer no, because what the card offered is blocked or late. A few hard cards turn toward yes when they arrive reversed, because they then describe recovery: the Three, Eight and Nine of Swords, the Five of Cups and the Five of Pentacles. The Devil reversed reads as maybe.

Can I choose a different deck?

Yes. The reading opens with the Rider-Waite deck, and you can switch to any other tarot deck in the library under the fan. The name of the card, its picture and the wording of the reading change with the deck. For most cards the answer stays the same. Where a deck reads a card its own way, the answer follows that deck.

Is my question saved anywhere?

No. The question box is there to help you hold the question in mind. What you type is not sent to us, and it is gone when you close the page.

How accurate is a yes or no tarot reading?

A card cannot know the future and this page does not claim that it can. What a one-card reading does well is show you your own reaction. If the card says no and you feel relief, you have learned something about what you want.

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