Alright guys, been tinkering with this “yes or no” tarot thing for a while now, trying to cut through the fog and get clearer answers. Got tired of those wishy-washy readings, you know? Wanted straight up “si” or “no,” especially with smaller everyday questions. Here’s how I actually went about figuring it out, step by stumbling step.
The Starting Point & Getting Frustrated
Started simple. Grabbed my trusty Rider-Waite deck, sat down at my usual spot, cleared my head kinda half-assed. Asked something dumb like “Will my friend text me back today?” Shuffled, pulled three cards.
Bam. Got The Hermit, reversed Ten of Cups, Three of Swords.

Seriously? My damn head hurt trying to twist that into a simple “yes” or “no.” Is my friend lonely and delaying (Hermit)? Is our friendship kinda fake (Rev Ten Cups)? Are they gonna hurt me (Three Swords)? What the hell does that mean for a text message?! Felt like reading tea leaves after drinking the tea. Shook my damn head. This happened way too often.
Decided I needed hard rules. No more free-for-all interpretation guessing game.
What I Actually Did To Fix This Mess
- Pared Down The Question: Stopped asking vague stuff. Instead of “Will it be a good day?”, it became “Should I take this specific job meeting today? Yes or No?” Super specific actions got clearer vibes.
- Went Ultra Simple On Spread: Ditched three cards or more. Went all in on the one card draw. One card, no mess. Upright? Mostly yes. Reversed? Mostly no. Sounds crazy simple? Yeah, it is. But it forced clarity.
- Made My OWN Keywords List: This was key. I didn’t trust my brain to waffle. Made a physical list! For my deck:
- Strong YES (Upright mainly): Sun, Star, Wheel, World, Ace/Cups/Pentacles/Wands/Swords (upright)
- Strong NO (Reversed/Some Upright): Tower, Devil, Moon, Death (rev), Hanged Man (rev), Ten Swords (upright OR rev!)
- Maybe/Depends/Unclear: Justice, High Priestess, Hermit. (Banned these for simple yes/no!)
- Put My Feelings On Mute: Yeah, this sucks sometimes. Saw the Lovers upright? My gut screams YES! BUT… if my keyword list said its primary vibe wasn’t strictly “yes/no”? Had to stick to the damn list. Recorded the card and the list judgment first. THEN let myself feel later.
- Wrote It Down IMMEDIATELY: Started scribbling right after pulling:
- Question: “[Super specific question]”
- Card Drawn: [Card name, orientation]
- List Judgement: YES / NO / UNSURE
- Initial Gut Feeling: [My wishy-washy feeling]
Seeing the cold, hard “YES” or “NO” based purely on the rule on paper made a difference.
How It Actually Turned Out
It worked way better than my old mess. Was it perfect? Hell no. Pulled the Tower upright once for “Should I buy those concert tickets?” List said “Strong NO.” Bought ’em anyway ’cause I wanted to see the band. Concert got cancelled. Whoops. Lesson learned.
Another time: “Should I push for a raise this week?” One card pull: Ace of Pentacles, upright. List said “Strong YES.” Actually went for it with a clear head, laid out my points, got a small bump. Nice.
The real win? Less head-spinning after pulls. Even when the answer was NO, it felt clean. No more ten minutes of agonizing over “well technically the reversed Three of Wands could imply…” Nope. Card rev = No. Move on.
Still weird sometimes? Absolutely. Especially if the card feels wildly off. But sticking to the damn list forced an answer and let me test the accuracy over time, rather than my own biased waffling. It’s not magic, it’s a system. And this dumb system worked better for me than whatever I was doing before.