Yes or No Tarot Meanings for All 78 Cards

Will they text back? Is this a good week to ask for a raise? Sometimes you don't want a ten-card story; you want a direction. A yes or no tarot reading gives you exactly that: one card, read as leaning yes, no or maybe. This guide lists the yes/no leaning of all 78 cards, upright and reversed, taken straight from ORAE's own card data. It also covers how to phrase the question, why "maybe" is a real answer, how reversals shift things and when a yes/no reading is the wrong tool. If you'd rather just draw, our free yes or no tarot reading takes about a minute.

How Yes or No Tarot Works: Three Leanings

Every card on ORAE carries one yes/no leaning when upright and another when reversed. Card pages show them as "Leans yes", "Leans no" and "Depends", together with the reason; The Sun's yes or no page is a good example. In the tables below they're shortened to:

• Yes: the energy is favourable and conditions are relatively ripe.
• No: there's resistance, or the timing is off; adjust before you act.
• Maybe: the answer isn't settled; it depends on information, timing or what you do next.

These describe the overall mood of a card, not a verdict. The tarot cheat sheet shows the same data at a glance.

The Big Picture: How the 78 Cards Split

Leaning	Upright	Reversed
Yes	53 cards	1 card
Maybe	12 cards	51 cards
No	13 cards	26 cards

Upright, most cards lean yes, because most upright meanings describe energy flowing freely. Reversed, maybe is by far the most common leaning. That's because ORAE reads a reversal as energy that is blocked, delayed or in transition rather than simply flipped into its opposite. There's more on that in upright and reversed cards.

How to Ask a Yes or No Question That Helps

Vague questions get vague answers. A few principles:

1. One thing per question. "Should I change jobs or move?" is two questions; draw for each separately.
2. Make yourself the subject. "Is it a good idea for me to invite them out?" turns into action more easily than "Will they ask me out?"
3. Add a time frame. "This month" or "this weekend" gives the answer edges.
4. Ask about what you can influence. When the outcome rests entirely on someone else, the card can only describe the mood.

Vague	Clearer
Will I be happy?	Is this month a good time for me to sign up for that course?
Will they like me?	Is it a good idea to invite them for coffee this week?
Should I quit, move or change cities?	Is it a good time for me to hand in my notice before the end of the year?

For more on phrasing, see how to ask tarot good questions.

Reading One Card: From Leaning to Action

The leaning is only the starting point. Read it in three steps:

1. Note the leaning. Yes, no or maybe.
2. Read the reason. Two maybes can mean very different things.
3. Turn it into one action. Ask yourself, "Knowing this, what can I do this week?"

Example: The question is "Is it a good idea to invite them for coffee this week?" and the card is the Knight of Wands reversed. It leans maybe: drive has lost direction, so the answer depends on slowing down and thinking before you act. That isn't "don't ask". It's a nudge to decide what you'd like to talk about and when suits them, then ask in an easy, low-pressure way instead of firing off five messages on impulse. Upright, the same card would lean yes and encourage you to act decisively.

Why "Maybe" Exists

A maybe can feel like a dodge, but it's often the most honest answer a card can give. Twelve cards lean maybe when upright, and they fall into roughly three groups:

• Not enough information yet. The High Priestess and The Moon say something hasn't surfaced; don't decide in the dark.
• It needs time. The Seven of Pentacles is the gardener watching a crop ripen. The result is still on its way, and it's worth checking how you're investing your effort.
• It depends on your choice. Death marks the end of an old form. If your question is whether you can embrace a new beginning, it tilts toward yes, provided you're willing to let go.

When you draw a maybe, try rephrasing: "What can I do now to make this clearer?" Then draw one more card as advice.

How Reversals Shift the Answer

Compare each card's upright and reversed leanings and a few patterns appear:

Upright → Reversed	Cards	Examples
Yes → Maybe	35	The Sun, The Star, Ace of Wands
Yes → No	18	The Lovers, Wheel of Fortune, Six of Swords
Maybe → No	7	The High Priestess, The Hanged Man, Seven of Pentacles
No → Maybe	11	The Devil, Five of Cups, Ten of Swords
Maybe → Maybe	5	The Moon, Two of Swords, Four of Swords
No → No	1	The Tower
No → Yes	1	Eight of Swords

Put simply, a positive card reversed usually means "discounted or delayed": The Sun reversed is still optimistic, but the good result may come later or smaller. A heavy card reversed often means "the worst has passed": the Ten of Swords reversed says the lowest point is behind you, and the Five of Cups reversed is someone turning away from loss. The Eight of Swords is the only card that flips from no to yes, as the bound figure starts to loosen the ties. The Tower leans no both ways, a reminder to deal with the core problem first. If you choose "Upright only" in the reading options, just use the upright column below.

Yes or No Meanings for All 78 Cards

These tables come directly from ORAE's card data. Click a name for the full meaning; each card's "Yes or No" page also explains the reasoning behind its leaning.

Major Arcana

Of the 22 Major Arcana, 15 lean yes upright and 5 lean maybe; only The Devil and The Tower lean no.

Card	Upright	Reversed
The Fool	Yes	No
The Magician	Yes	No
The High Priestess	Maybe	No
The Empress	Yes	Maybe
The Emperor	Yes	No
The Hierophant	Yes	Maybe
The Lovers	Yes	No
The Chariot	Yes	No
Strength	Yes	Maybe
The Hermit	Maybe	No
Wheel of Fortune	Yes	No
Justice	Yes	No
The Hanged Man	Maybe	No
Death	Maybe	No
Temperance	Yes	Maybe
The Devil	No	Maybe
The Tower	No	No
The Star	Yes	Maybe
The Moon	Maybe	Maybe
The Sun	Yes	Maybe
Judgement	Yes	Maybe
The World	Yes	Maybe

Wands

Wands are action and drive: 12 lean yes upright, with only the Five of Wands at maybe and the Ten of Wands at no.

Card	Upright	Reversed
Ace of Wands	Yes	Maybe
Two of Wands	Yes	Maybe
Three of Wands	Yes	Maybe
Four of Wands	Yes	Maybe
Five of Wands	Maybe	Maybe
Six of Wands	Yes	Maybe
Seven of Wands	Yes	Maybe
Eight of Wands	Yes	No
Nine of Wands	Yes	No
Ten of Wands	No	Maybe
Page of Wands	Yes	Maybe
Knight of Wands	Yes	Maybe
Queen of Wands	Yes	Maybe
King of Wands	Yes	Maybe

Cups

Cups are about feelings: 10 lean yes upright, while the Four, Five and Eight lean no and the Seven sits at maybe.

Card	Upright	Reversed
Ace of Cups	Yes	Maybe
Two of Cups	Yes	No
Three of Cups	Yes	Maybe
Four of Cups	No	Maybe
Five of Cups	No	Maybe
Six of Cups	Yes	Maybe
Seven of Cups	Maybe	Maybe
Eight of Cups	No	Maybe
Nine of Cups	Yes	Maybe
Ten of Cups	Yes	Maybe
Page of Cups	Yes	Maybe
Knight of Cups	Yes	No
Queen of Cups	Yes	Maybe
King of Cups	Yes	Maybe

Swords

Swords have the most no answers of any suit, with six leaning no upright. The Ace and all four court cards lean yes upright but no when reversed.

Card	Upright	Reversed
Ace of Swords	Yes	No
Two of Swords	Maybe	Maybe
Three of Swords	No	Maybe
Four of Swords	Maybe	Maybe
Five of Swords	No	Maybe
Six of Swords	Yes	No
Seven of Swords	No	Maybe
Eight of Swords	No	Yes
Nine of Swords	No	Maybe
Ten of Swords	No	Maybe
Page of Swords	Yes	No
Knight of Swords	Yes	No
Queen of Swords	Yes	No
King of Swords	Yes	No

Pentacles

Pentacles deal with practical life: 10 lean yes upright, the Two, Four and Seven sit at maybe, and the Five leans no.

Card	Upright	Reversed
Ace of Pentacles	Yes	Maybe
Two of Pentacles	Maybe	No
Three of Pentacles	Yes	Maybe
Four of Pentacles	Maybe	No
Five of Pentacles	No	Maybe
Six of Pentacles	Yes	Maybe
Seven of Pentacles	Maybe	No
Eight of Pentacles	Yes	Maybe
Nine of Pentacles	Yes	Maybe
Ten of Pentacles	Yes	Maybe
Page of Pentacles	Yes	Maybe
Knight of Pentacles	Yes	No
Queen of Pentacles	Yes	Maybe
King of Pentacles	Yes	Maybe

When Not to Use a Yes or No Reading

• Health, legal and investment questions. Lean on qualified professionals; one card can't replace a doctor, a lawyer or a financial plan.
• Checking up on someone else. "Are they cheating?" tends to feed anxiety, and a card is never a reason to monitor a partner. Ask "How can I handle the unease I feel?" instead.
• Decisions with many moving parts. Use a two-choice reading or a multi-card spread.
• Redrawing the same question. Drawing again until you like the answer only measures your nerves. Wait until something has actually changed.
• You've already decided. If you're really looking for permission, ask yourself first: will I act on the answer whatever it is?

Try It on ORAE

The yes or no reading uses a single card by default, so one draw shows you the leaning and the reason behind it. It's free, needs no account and uses no AI: the meanings and rules are fixed. Before you draw, the whole deck is shuffled with secure randomness and a hash of the seed is shown. When your question is recognised as a yes/no question, or the spread has only one or two cards, the result page adds a yes/no leaning. ORAE totals the cards (yes +1, no −1, maybe 0): above zero leans yes, below zero leans no, and zero means maybe.

For more context, start a free online tarot reading with a full spread, or draw one card as a daily practice. A yes/no reading shows the leaning of the moment, not a guarantee; what you do next is still up to you.