Until I found this spread, I discouraged yes-no questions because they give too much power to the cards, without providing much insight.   When clients insisted on a yes-no question, only an ace indicated “yes”.  The Yes-No Oracle  provides a more complex answer, providing insight into the situation, while also offering direction.   Thank you, Mary Greer (my favorite Tarot blogger- see link below), for finding this spread in the February 1955 issue of Fate Magazine in an article by British astrologer Irys Vorel. Vorel learned it back in the 1930’s from a celebrated gypsy in Switzerland. Here”s how it goes:

  1. Write down your yes-no question.
  2. Remove the  Wheel of Fortune from the deck and place it before you face up.
  3. Shuffle the rest of the deck, with your mind on the question. Spread the cards before you in a fan, face down. With your left hand, draw seven cards from the deck. Put them face down on the table. Set the remaining deck aside.
  4.  Turn the Wheel of Fortune face down and add it to the other seven cards. Still thinking of your questions, shuffle these eight cards until you no longer know where the Wheel of Fortune is.
  5. Deal the top four cards in a row, left to right, side by side.
  6. Next deal the remaining cards on top of the first group in a row, left to right side by side.
  7. Now turn over your four pairs of cards, keeping the pairs together and them in four quadrants (see below). The pair that contains the Wheel of Fortune gives you your answer.
  • Top Left: The 1st position (cards 1 & 5) signifies ”“ YES.
  • Top Right: The 2nd position (cards 2 & 6) signifies ”“ SOON.
  •  Bottom Left: The 3rd position (cards 3 & 7) signifies ”“ DELAY.
  • Bottom Right: The 4th position (cards 4 & 8 ) signifies ”“ NO.

The fun comes when you read the arrangement of the cards for insight. Here’s what I got for the question asked on 4/26/20, Is the Covid-19 Pandemic going to subside soon?

The spread indicates, no, not right away. but soon.

I hope you find the Yes-No Oracle useful.  Mary Greer’s Tarot blog on it is here.  She provides more ways to interpret this spread, which is also used, with her introduction.