Thoughts on Yes/No Questions

[Grizabella]

I think the cards can answer "yes,/no", although I've posted here before that the cards aren't suited for that. (I know, I know )The cards are suited to anything we want to do with them, but they're very chatty. They'll say "Yes---but" or "No----but" rather than cut-and-dried "yes" or "no". So if you're hoping to get a cut-and-dried answer, you'd get it more easily with a pendulum or flipping a coin or some method you've devised with your cards that will be a definite yes or a definite no. Like drawing a card and if it's a Major it's yes and a Minor it's no.

 

[Barleywine]

Following the line of thought that certain cards mean a definite "Yes" and others a definite "No" or - one of my favorite oxymorons - a "definite Maybe," I created a table that attempts to sort the entire deck into the three categories. I mainly used the Liber T and Thoth meanings as opposed to the RWS because I find the latter too often ambiguous. The court cards were the hardest, but I made all of the energetically positive and benignly pleasant cards "Yes" and only classified the Queen of Swords (sister to the malevolent "Queen of Spades") and the Knight/Prince of Cups (for its devious Scorpio connection) as "No." Everything in between is "Maybe."

This is all mostly experimental (although some are already consensus choices), so any thoughts you have (along with your reasons) for moving cards around would be appreciated. This may have been done by someone here before, but I like to sort things out for myself, according to my own experience and insight.

ETA: Based on subsequent discussion here, I changed the table to make it slightly more flexible.

 

[baconwaffles]

I like Mary Greer's spread, which has been superbly accurate for me - if I need details - but I have to say, in all honesty, if you want it really brief, the best way I have ever used is to take out the Sun for Yes, the Death for No. Discard the rest of the deck. I shuffle those till I no longer know which is which, cut the two cards, and pick one. And this has been infallible so far. Don't shortchange the tarot on its abilities, is what I think!

Wow, I have been using the BOTA yes/no spread but I love this much more. Thank you!

 

[Farzon]

From me comes, like from the Tarot so often, a definite "maybe".

Usually I think it's not suited. I also have used it for such doubtful purpose and have made ambiguous experiences.
In some cases the cards are pretty clear, because the possible meanings exclude one of the possible answers. But then, it's more like a "yes/no, BECAUSE", rather than a simple yes/no.

 

[Barleywine]

From me comes, like from the Tarot so often, a definite "maybe".

Usually I think it's not suited. I also have used it for such doubtful purpose and have made ambiguous experiences.
In some cases the cards are pretty clear, because the possible meanings exclude one of the possible answers. But then, it's more like a "yes/no, BECAUSE", rather than a simple yes/no.

"Yes or No Because . . ." is something I can work with. Although sitters often want it, I think there are few absolutes, mostly shades of gray. But I like the idea of having at least a nudge in one direction or the other from the card itself before I start hair-splitting. Personally, I think every card has (at least) two sides to it, but if stuck with the question, I like to be able to start with "Well, generally this is a positive (or negative) card in most cases; however . . ." It gives hope while also tempering it with additonal insights of a more mixed (and ideally balanced) nature. While I'm into "empowerment" via tarot, I'm not big on baseless "affirmation." The Wheel of Fortune is a great example of a potential "mixed message," although the reasons for it being traditonally positive are sound and I tend to honor them.

 

[Barleywine]

Just for the record, in a broader, more abstract and philosophical sense, almost none of the cards give an unalloyed "Yes" or "No" since they're all context-dependent. But from a "boots-on-the-ground" perspective, I think we all have a personal sense of how the meanings we rely on would translate into predictive space if we're pushed in that direction (unless all we're interested in is psychological profiling with the cards). Call it a "rule-of-thumb" resource when called for.

 

[Barleywine]

More Random Thoughts

I've been thinking more about the "binning" idea for loosely categorizing the major, minor and court cards into "Yes-leaning," "Maybe" and "No-leaning" groups for general use in "Yes/No" readings. (The latest table is attached.)

I decided that keyword meanings alone aren't enough to give a good feel for many of the minor cards; I needed something more imaginative. I realized that, the way I read them, each card has a signature vibration or keynote that arises more from the image (especially in the Thoth deck) and the elemental/astrological correspondences than from the descriptive text. It struck me that this might be usefully converted into something we're all familiar with: the concept of "flavor."

So, Wands are spicy and smoky like Cajun food; their flavor is very "forward" and vehemently seizes the palate. For the most part, these cards are "yes-leaning" simply for their ebullience, until the "heat" abates later in the suit (7, 8 and 9 of Wands) and they recede into "maybe." The two traditonally more negative cards (5 and 10 of Wands) are binned as "no-leaning."

Cups are predominantly sweet and succulent, like ripe fruit. This decays some in the last half of the suit as the sugars slowly convert to alcohol, until we get a nice rum compote going with the 9 and 10 of Cups. So Cups are mostly "yes-leaning" with the exception of the inconclusive 4 of Cups as a "maybe," and the few classically "negative" cards in the "transition zone" (5, 7 and 8 of Cups), which are binned as "no-leaning."

Swords are by-and-large sharp, bitter or tart, like raw garlic, wasabi or lemon juice. The majority of them are binned as "no-leaning," with the more neutral, unsophisticated notes at the beginning of the suit (Ace, 2 and 4 of Swords) and the "aged" mellowing of the Swords court at the end slipping over into "maybe."

Pentacles are earthy and savory, reminding me of the Indian cuisine I've occasionally had. They have a more well-rounded presence than the single, sustained "high note" of the Wands. Their staunch reliability places them mainly in the "yes-leaning" and "maybe" categories. The 5 and 7 of Pentacles fall under "no-leaning" due to their unsettled natures.

The court cards are an ongoing dilemma, but I'm getting close. I decided that the Kings and Queens of Wands, Cups and Pentacles are "yes-leaning" because thay wield the conferred authority of the Emperor and Empress. The Swords, because of their double-edged, judgmental nature, went into "maybe."

The Knights - because they imply movement, volatility and transient "coming and going" in the matter, are "maybe" cards, except for the subtly cruel Knight of Cups, which becomes "no-leaning."

Except for the agreeable Page of Cups ("yes-leaning") and the devious Page of Swords ("no-leaning"), the immature vacillation of the Pages places them squarely in "maybe" territory.

This is shaping up to be an interesting project. As it stands right now, there are 32 "yes-leaning" entries, 26 "maybes" and 20 "no-leaning." Combinations - as described at the bottom of the table - will be crucial in tempering what otherwise might produce an overly cheerful outlook. As I said earlier, this approach will probably be less reliable for single-card draws.

 

[tarot_quest]

Just a thought, could not the Sun be a no? Like a ''No this is obvious!''

Not that I got the Sun as a no, but since the Sun already represented a negative experience, I feel that the Sun is always very intense and speaks of events that are very clear cut.

With the Sun, the truth is shinning!

 

[Barleywine]

Just a thought, could not the Sun be a no? Like a ''No this is obvious!''

Not that I got the Sun as a no, but since the Sun already represented a negative experience, I feel that the Sun is always very intense and speaks of events that are very clear cut.

With the Sun, the truth is shinning!

Thanks for the input, this is the sort of dialogue I was looking for. The same could be said of the Wheel of Fortune, which could be "maybe" since change can cut either way. But I had to draw the line somewhere, so I stayed with the astrological correspondence of "fortunate" Jupiter. The Sun, as the source of life, has a similar positive association. The trump cards are a challenge because they can be above considerations of simple "Yes" or "No." But in a particular context - for example a situation that needs to end, thus perhaps warranting an emphatic "No" - the Sun would seem to push things to closure rather than prolonging them.

In what I'm trying to do here, context amounts to hair-splitting. Over the years, all of the cards have arguably acquired an "inherent nature" through consensus usage, a seemingly irreducible "kernel" of emphasis that I'm trying to tap for a very specific purpose. I'm not convinced it can be made perfect, but I'm after inflection more than absolute certainty. It's why I changed to the "-leaning" model.

 

[MissNine]

I've been thinking more about the "binning" idea for loosely categorizing the major, minor and court cards into "Yes-leaning," "Maybe" and "No-leaning" groups for general use in "Yes/No" readings. (The latest table is attached.)

I decided that keyword meanings alone aren't enough to give a good feel for many of the minor cards; I needed something more imaginative. I realized that, the way I read them, each card has a signature vibration or keynote that arises more from the image (especially in the Thoth deck) and the elemental/astrological correspondences than from the descriptive text. It struck me that this might be usefully converted into something we're all familiar with: the concept of "flavor."

So, Wands are spicy and smoky like Cajun food; their flavor is very "forward" and vehemently seizes the palate. For the most part, these cards are "yes-leaning" simply for their ebullience, until the "heat" abates later in the suit (7, 8 and 9 of Wands) and they recede into "maybe." The two traditonally more negative cards (5 and 10 of Wands) are binned as "no-leaning."

Cups are predominantly sweet and succulent, like ripe fruit. This decays some in the last half of the suit as the sugars slowly convert to alcohol, until we get a nice rum compote going with the 9 and 10 of Cups. So Cups are mostly "yes-leaning" with the exception of the inconclusive 4 of Cups as a "maybe," and the few classically "negative" cards in the "transition zone" (5, 7 and 8 of Cups), which are binned as "no-leaning."

Swords are by-and-large sharp, bitter or tart, like raw garlic, wasabi or lemon juice. The majority of them are binned as "no-leaning," with the more neutral, unsophisticated notes at the beginning of the suit (Ace, 2 and 4 of Swords) and the "aged" mellowing of the Swords court at the end slipping over into "maybe."

Pentacles are earthy and savory, reminding me of the Indian cuisine I've occasionally had. They have a more well-rounded presence than the single, sustained "high note" of the Wands. Their staunch reliability places them mainly in the "yes-leaning" and "maybe" categories. The 5 and 7 of Pentacles fall under "no-leaning" due to their unsettled natures.

The court cards are an ongoing dilemma, but I'm getting close. I decided that the Kings and Queens of Wands, Cups and Pentacles are "yes-leaning" because thay wield the conferred authority of the Emperor and Empress. The Swords, because of their double-edged, judgmental nature, went into "maybe."

The Knights - because they imply movement, volatility and transient "coming and going" in the matter, are "maybe" cards, except for the subtly cruel Knight of Cups, which becomes "no-leaning."

Except for the agreeable Page of Cups ("yes-leaning") and the devious Page of Swords ("no-leaning"), the immature vacillation of the Pages places them squarely in "maybe" territory.

This is shaping up to be an interesting project. As it stands right now, there are 32 "yes-leaning" entries, 26 "maybes" and 20 "no-leaning." Combinations - as described at the bottom of the table - will be crucial in tempering what otherwise might produce an overly cheerful outlook. As I said earlier, this approach will probably be less reliable for single-card draws.

Barleywine! I love this! You're a tarot method testing badass! Way to go for putting in the time and honing the method.
The sheet looks pretty interesting and I'll be keeping my eyes peeled just in case you're kind enough to post the final version of your method. I was surprised the Knight of Cups made it on the "NO" list. It made me think of "Every rose has its thorn" by Poison. Haha.

Keep up the good work!