Choosing the Best Tarot Technique for the Worst Questions

I love teaching tarot classes. During a recent Zoom class, a question came up at the end of the class. It was the sort of question on which I could base an entire class, or at least a blog post. So, here goes.

The scenario is one with which we are all familiar. A tarot client has a specific yes or no question which will be immediately proven right or wrong. Rather than waiting for the pregnancy test, the job offer, the Xray, or whatever will provide the definitive answer, they want to hear right now from tarot what the answer will be.

The reader performs a comprehensive tarot spread like a Celtic Cross. Within the spread, and perhaps, most convincingly, in and near the ‘future’ or ‘outcome’ position, there are cards which we typically traditionally associate with the nature of the question. We see the Empress for a question about pregnancy. We see the Three of Pentacles for a question about a job. Based on the appearance of those cards in those positions, we give our answer. When the client gets the news from the official source, it turns out that what we thought we saw in the cards, and what we told the client, was wrong.

When this question was posed at the end of class, my thought was that Spirit does not always see things in the same linear way we do. For Spirit, the difference between being pregnant now, or in a month, or being hired now, or in two months, may be very negligible.

Perhaps Spirit is like a loving but stern parent who will direct us to the best source of answers for the question we have. Perhaps Spirit wants us to be patient.

In class we discussed ways to handle this kind of question, and ways to provide the answer in a broader scope. That was all we had time to do in class. There is so much more to unpack here.

The first consideration is about those kinds of questions. Why would a person want tarot to answer something when a mundane tool, or a little patience, would provide the best and most accurate answer?

Sometimes there is a good reason. Life can have a lot of moving parts. We need to sign the lease now if we are going to get the great apartment, but only need the apartment if we get the job. In a situation like that, tarot is the best tool to create a great strategy for managing those moving parts.

In the situation where there is no logical reason to use a mystical tool when a mundane tool is the better option, there is usually something more at play. The seeker wants to infuse a touch of the divine, of the spiritual and the mystical, into their situation. They may not have the vocabulary to ask a deep question about their circumstance, so they ask the most direct question on their mind. It is up to us, as readers, to break that question down and provide them with the mystical experience they seek, whether we can ferret out the exact answer they think they want, or not.

As we discussed in class, we find our flow in a tarot reading by implementing our energetic and spiritual resources, our knowledge of the cards, and proper technique.

As I thought about this question, I came to this clear realization.

When we are in a situation where we need to examine a definitive yes or no, a broad comprehensive spread like the Celtic Cross is not the best technique.

Over the years, I have developed a technique that I call “weighing the cards”. This technique is invaluable for answering specific yes/no questions.

My own experience has been that using yes/no spreads or activating certain cards to indicate a yes or no answer hasn’t been effective for me. The weighing the cards technique has worked wonders. Each reader is different. We all must find the technique that works for us. The important part is to know many techniques, so we can apply the best technique for the situation at hand.

Here is how weighing the cards works. Suppose the question is, “Will I get this job?”

I will pull one card for “You get this job”. I pull a second card for “You do not get this job”. I weigh the two cards against each other in the context of the question. Sometimes they both point to the affirmative or the negative. Sometimes there is a clear feel toward the no card, or the yes card.

 If they both seem neutral, or I cannot get a good feel, I will repeat the process, pulling cards, one in each pile, until a clear story emerges.

It is important to remember that, even in a situation where we might believe there is a clear yes or no answer, there might be other factors. You might be pregnant, but quickly miscarry. You might not be pregnant now but become pregnant quickly. You might get a job offer that is not what you expected and choose not to take it. You might get the job offer, but then get another offer which you take instead.

Sometimes I will use the weighing method and add a third card, or third pile of cards, which is, “something else happens”. This can help me see those complicated unexpected things.

Sometimes it is important to break a single question into many. “Am I pregnant?” might break into, “Will there be a baby soon?” “How will pregnancy go?” “What will be the challenges of motherhood?” “How will the father adjust?” “What will the baby be like?”

“Am I pregnant?” is best answered by a pregnancy test. The deeper questions that surround the concept of a new child can only be answered by divination. When we can pivot the question to the place where our tool shines, we can get better results.

When we need to attempt those yes or no questions, the using the right technique will give us the best chance for success. You may find, as I do, that the “weighing the cards” method is the right technique for you.

In divination with tarot or any tool, the more techniques we know, the more skillfully and accurately we can find our answers.