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.