Tarot Is a Reflection Tool, Not a Prediction Tool: Yes & No Reading Method

Don’t give your power away to anything, including Tarot. Tarot is a powerful tool to help us navigate life, but it should be noted that it’s not a prediction tool, it’s a reflection tool. And whatever Tarot reflects back to you is meant for you to pause and listen to, whether that’s taking the advice it’s giving you or simply challenging the version of yourself it’s reflecting back to you.

Below is a personal story illustrating how the cards I pulled in a Tarot “Yes” & “No” spread didn’t resonate and what I did with that information. If you want to skip through the over explanation, scroll down for a summary of my advice in BOLD and my method for “Yes” & “No” readings at the bottom of this post.

I’m an ideas person, I have a lot of ideas and I love being busy. Sometimes though that can lead to having TOO many irons in the fire and I get indecisive on which one I should be picking up; right now, I am feeling this big time. I feel scattered, and I know I need to refocus my energy. So, of course, I decided to pull some Tarot about it. 

I made myself a list of all the projects I have for myself and then I went through them one by one asking if I should be focusing on this right now using a “Yes” or “No” method.

The “Yes” or “No” method I use is simple, if the majority of the cards are upright, it’s a YES. If the majority of the cards are reversed, it’s a NO. I also take note of which cards show up and which ones are upright versus reversed.

This past weekend I went to an art show and there was a woman who led a ritual and had us all pull Tarot cards. My card was The Magician. This instantly made me think of my unfinished Magician painting. During her ritual I asked myself what was holding me back from finishing this painting (as I’ve now been working on it for an entire year). I’m not a traditional artist by any means, and most of the artwork I’ve created and even sold, were all done digitally. I’ve carried shame about this for years feeling like I wasn’t a real artist because I wasn’t painting by hand. So a year ago I challenged myself to paint by hand. I’ve done okay…but I KNOW I could make the three paintings I’ve started by hand (all Tarot card inspired - The Fool, The Magician, and The Moon) super bad ass if I just cave and switch back to painting them digitally. Later during the show, I was talking to the woman who led the ritual. I had never met her before and she didn’t know anything about me other than the fact that I love Tarot. She said to me very pointedly, “you’re going to create a Tarot deck”. 

I was stunned, this is the third time this has happened to me where somebody tells me I’m going to create a deck and I haven’t ever even verbalized that desire, nor do I even know if I have it! Look, I love Tarot, and mad respect for everyone who has created a deck, but that’s a LOT of work. So I felt myself panicking a little, because she also just confirmed my inner monologue about the painting that I JUST had…so in that moment, I KNEW that spirit was guiding me to keep working on my painting, but switch it up - go back to digital, follow my intuition, and stop caring what anybody else thinks. I felt confident and excited to restart my paintings ever since that encounter…that is until this morning. 

This morning, “painting tarot cards” was on my list of projects. I’ve been so excited this week to start working on my Magician painting after getting that wild confirmation. But when I pulled my “Yes” or “No” for that line item…it said NO - TWICE!

So now I’m panicking again thinking “Okay, so I’m NOT meant to be painting Tarot cards.” And I’m sitting here deflated and confused, like did I not just get all this confirmation? So why are the cards saying no…and then it hit me.

It’s because my FEAR was saying NO. The core of me is still believing in the imposter syndrome narrative, so the cards are reflecting that back to me. The cards are saying NO, because there’s still a big part of me scared to say YES.

The cards are not predicting or telling me WHAT to do, they are simply reflecting how I FEEL. Have I not received some pretty divine confirmation that I’m meant to be doing my art? Yeah,I’d say so! Don’t I love painting and creating art? Yes, I do! Am I not fully passionate about Tarot at this point and actively diving fully in? Yeah, I am. 

It’s important to challenge the cards and yourself when it gives you an answer that feels out of alignment or deflates you. Most likely, the answer is off because there’s a piece of you that FEELS off about whatever it is you’re asking. When that happens it’s your job to dig deeper, not to just say “oh well, the cards said NO, so I’m going to just give up on that dream and move on”. I call that out, because that’s EXACTLY what I was just about to do this morning. I crossed out the tarot painting line item immediately, resolving to just set the project aside again for who knows how long…until I realized that didn’t sit right with me either, especially after the encouragement I had received this weekend.

I went back after writing this and having this realization, I pulled “Yes” or “No” again for the “painting tarot cards” project…and guess what - now it’s a YES. 

Judgement Upright | 2 of Swords Upright | 10 of Swords Reversed

I am being divinely called to express myself in this way, but my mind wavers between divine calling and being misled by all the negative thoughts I have collected about myself and my art over the years. With the 10 of Swords in Reverse, it’s encouraging me to let those false narratives drop away and off of my back - it’s time to release my mind & body from the mental anguish it’s been carrying for too long. 

“YES” or “NO” Reading Method

The “Yes” or “No” method I use is simple, if the majority of the cards are upright, it’s a YES. If the majority of the cards are reversed, it’s a NO. *Also take note of which cards show up and which ones are upright versus reversed - ALL of these things give you additional insight to the question asked.