Major Arcana Yes or No: Quick Reference Guide for All 22 Cards

October 9, 2026

Major Arcana Yes or No: Quick Reference Guide for All 22 Cards

Thirteen of the 22 Major Arcana cards read as a yes upright, six read as a no, and three land on maybe. Reverse the card and most of those answers flip or soften, with a couple of surprising exceptions like the Devil and the Moon. This guide gives you the answer for every card in both positions, a one-line reason you can remember, and a table you can print and keep next to your deck.

The Quick Reference Table

Print this, screenshot it, or tape it inside your deck box. The rationale column is the thing worth memorising, because once you understand why a card says yes or no you stop needing the table at all.

#	Card	Upright	Reversed	Why
0	The Fool	Yes	No	A leap forward is favoured; reversed, the leap is reckless
I	The Magician	Yes	No	You have the tools; reversed, the tools are being misused
II	The High Priestess	Maybe	No	Information is hidden; reversed, it stays hidden
III	The Empress	Yes	No	Growth and abundance; reversed, the ground is barren
IV	The Emperor	Yes	No	Structure delivers results; reversed, control is slipping
V	The Hierophant	Maybe	Maybe	Yes for the conventional path, no for the unconventional one
VI	The Lovers	Yes	No	Alignment and choice made with the heart; reversed, misalignment
VII	The Chariot	Yes	No	Willpower wins; reversed, the horses pull in opposite directions
VIII	Strength	Yes	No	Patience and inner resolve prevail; reversed, self-doubt wins
IX	The Hermit	No	Maybe	Not yet, go inward first; reversed, you’re ready to re-emerge
X	Wheel of Fortune	Yes	No	Luck is turning your way; reversed, the cycle is against you
XI	Justice	Maybe	No	You get exactly what you’ve earned; reversed, the scales are tipped against you
XII	The Hanged Man	No	Maybe	Suspended, no movement; reversed, the stall is lifting
XIII	Death	No	No	This chapter ends; reversed, you’re clinging to what’s over
XIV	Temperance	Yes	No	Slow, balanced yes; reversed, excess ruins it
XV	The Devil	No	Yes	Bondage and bad bargains; reversed, you break free
XVI	The Tower	No	Maybe	Collapse; reversed, the collapse is averted or delayed
XVII	The Star	Yes	No	Hope confirmed; reversed, faith is lost
XVIII	The Moon	No	Yes	Too much fog to proceed; reversed, the fog clears
XIX	The Sun	Yes	Maybe	The clearest yes in the deck; reversed, a smaller or delayed yes
XX	Judgement	Yes	No	A verdict in your favour; reversed, you’ve judged yourself too harshly to act
XXI	The World	Yes	No	Completion; reversed, the circle isn’t closed yet

Why the Major Arcana Carry More Weight in a Yes/No Reading

The 22 Majors are the trump cards of a 78-card deck. The other 56 cards, the Minor Arcana, split into four suits (Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles) and describe everyday circumstances. The Majors describe the big forces in play.

That distinction matters when you ask a yes or no question. A Three of Swords says “this specific situation hurts.” The Tower says “the whole structure is coming down.” If you draw three cards and only one is a Major, let that card set the answer and let the minors colour the detail.

The deck most readers learn on, the Rider-Waite-Smith, was published in 1909 by the London firm William Rider & Son. Arthur Edward Waite designed the system and Pamela Colman Smith painted the cards. The yes/no leanings below are built on that imagery, so if you work with the Thoth deck or a heavily reimagined modern deck, check that your card’s picture still tells the same story before you borrow the answer.

The Thirteen Yes Cards

Major Arcana Yes/No Quick Reference Table

A yes card shows energy moving in the direction you want. The figures are active, the light is good, and the story on the card ends well. Here’s each one with the reason behind the answer, so you can defend it if someone at the table asks.

The Fool: Yes

The Fool stands at a cliff edge with a bag over his shoulder and a dog at his heels. The answer is yes because the card is about saying yes. It favours any question involving a start, a trip, a risk, or a fresh attempt.

The catch is that the Fool doesn’t promise the outcome. He promises the adventure. If you asked “Will I succeed?” rather than “Should I try?”, treat this as a yes to trying with no guarantee attached.

The Magician: Yes

One hand points up, one points down, and every suit symbol sits on his table. You have everything you need. The Magician says yes to questions about skill, ability, launching a project, or whether you can pull something off.

In love readings the Magician is a yes with a note: someone here is doing the pursuing and is very good at it. Make sure the charm is backed by substance.

The Empress: Yes

Wheat, water, a crown of stars and a cushioned throne. The Empress is one of the warmest yes cards available. She’s especially strong for pregnancy, creative projects, home, money that grows over time, and relationships built on care.

The Emperor: Yes

The Emperor’s yes comes with a condition. You get it through order, planning, and sticking to the rules. For career, property, contracts, and anything involving an authority figure, this is a confident yes. For questions about spontaneous romance, the Emperor still says yes but tells you to slow down and do it properly.

The Lovers: Yes

The obvious yes for love questions, and a good yes for anything involving a choice you have to make with your whole self. The angel above the two figures blesses the union. If you asked whether two parties, people, or plans belong together, the Lovers says they do.

The Chariot: Yes

A crowned figure drives two sphinxes through sheer will. This is the yes you earn through effort. Travel, competitions, job applications, moving house, and anything requiring drive all get a yes. The card won’t hand you the result, but it tells you the result is reachable if you keep the reins tight.

Strength: Yes

A woman closes a lion’s mouth with her bare hands and no visible strain. The answer is yes, and it arrives through patience rather than force. Strength is a reliable yes for health recovery, for conflicts you need to handle calmly, and for questions where you doubt your own resolve.

Wheel of Fortune: Yes

The Wheel is the deck’s clearest “luck is on your side” card. Upright, it means the cycle is turning in your favour. The timing is often sooner than expected, and the result tends to arrive through a change in circumstances rather than your own effort. A yes, with the reminder that wheels keep turning.

Temperance: Yes

An angel pours water between two cups without spilling a drop. The yes here is measured and gradual. Temperance is the right card for questions about healing, blending two things, or whether a slow approach will work. If you need an answer by Friday, this yes may be a Friday three weeks from now.

The Star: Yes

After the Tower’s wreckage comes the Star, a figure kneeling by a pool under a bright sky. The Star says yes to hope. It’s a strong yes for recovery, renewed faith, creative inspiration, and anything you’ve been quietly wishing for. Of all the yes cards, this is the one that most often means “yes, and it’s going to feel like relief.”

The Sun: Yes

If you pull one card and it’s the Sun, stop reading and go do the thing. A child on a white horse under a huge radiant sun is the deck’s most unambiguous yes. It covers success, happiness, clarity, children, and good news. There is no hidden clause.

Judgement: Yes

An angel sounds a trumpet and the dead rise. Judgement says yes to second chances, to a decision being made in your favour, to being called to something bigger. It’s a particularly good yes for legal matters, reconciliations, and career moves that feel like a calling. Some readers mark Judgement as a maybe because a verdict could go either way. Upright, the figures in the image are rising with open arms. That’s a yes.

The World: Yes

The dancer inside the laurel wreath has finished the journey. The World is yes with a sense of completion. If you asked whether something will come together, succeed, or reach its natural end, the answer is yes, and you’ll likely feel a sense of closure when it does.

The Six No Cards

A no card shows energy stalled, blocked, collapsing, or moving somewhere you don’t want it to go. None of these are “bad” cards in a larger reading. In a yes/no context, though, they are no.

The Hermit: No (for now)

An old man on a mountain with a lantern. The Hermit says you’re not ready, or the situation isn’t ready, and the right move is to withdraw and think. It’s a no with a timeline built in: the answer could become yes after a period of reflection. For questions about going public, launching, committing, or confronting, it’s a clear “not yet.”

The Hanged Man: No

A man hangs upside down from a tree, serene but stuck. Nothing moves on this card and nothing moves for your question either. The Hanged Man is a no for anything requiring action or progress right now. It also hints that the delay has a purpose and you’ll see it differently afterwards.

Death: No

Death is the end of a chapter. In a yes/no reading it answers “will this continue?” with a firm no. If your question was about ending something, quitting, or whether a change will happen, Death flips into a yes on the ending itself. For almost any other framing, it’s no, and the thing you’re asking about is already on its way out.

The Devil: No

Two chained figures beneath a horned beast. The Devil is a no for anything involving a commitment, a deal, a relationship, or a habit, because the card describes being bound to something that costs you. If the yes you wanted would tighten the chain, the Devil is doing you a favour.

The Tower: No

Lightning hits a tower and people fall from the windows. The Tower is no because whatever you’re asking about is built on a foundation that’s about to give way. It’s the most definite no in the Majors. The one consolation is that what comes after the Tower is honest ground.

The Moon: No

A path winds between two towers under a moon, with a dog, a wolf, and a crayfish crawling out of the water. The Moon says you can’t see clearly, and a yes given in fog isn’t worth having. Treat it as no, or at minimum “not until you know more.” It’s also the card most readers associate with deception, so if your question involved trusting someone, the Moon is a no on that too.

The Three Maybe Cards

These three won’t commit, and that’s the answer. A maybe from the Major Arcana usually means the result depends on something you control or on information you don’t have yet.

The High Priestess: Maybe

She sits between two pillars with a scroll half-hidden in her robe. The High Priestess says the answer exists but it’s not being shown to you. Wait, listen to your instinct, and ask again when more has surfaced. For love questions this often means feelings are real but unspoken. For business, something hasn’t been disclosed.

The Hierophant: Maybe

The Hierophant is a yes if your question follows the established path. Marriage rather than cohabitation, the accredited course rather than the shortcut, the job at the institution rather than the startup. It’s a no if you’re asking about breaking with tradition. Decide which of those your question is and you’ll have your answer.

Justice: Maybe

Justice holds a sword and scales. The answer is whatever you’ve earned. If you’ve done the work, paid the debt, been honest, it’s a yes. If you’re asking whether you’ll get away with something, it’s a no. Pull a clarifying card if you genuinely don’t know which side of the scales you’re standing on.

How Reversed Major Arcana Change the Answer

Reversals in a yes/no reading aren’t just “the opposite.” The rule of thumb that holds up across the Majors is this:

A yes card reversed becomes a no, because the positive energy is blocked, delayed, or being misused.
A no card reversed becomes a maybe or a yes, because the blocking energy is weakening or already passing.
A maybe card reversed usually becomes a no, because the ambiguity curdles into something worse.

Here’s where each card actually lands when it comes up reversed.

Card	Reversed answer	What’s happening
The Fool	No	Recklessness, poor timing, a leap taken without looking
The Magician	No	Trickery, scattered effort, or talent being wasted
The High Priestess	No	Secrets are being kept from you, or you’re ignoring your gut
The Empress	No	Creative block, neglect, financial or emotional drought
The Emperor	No	Rigidity or a loss of control; the structure doesn’t hold
The Hierophant	Maybe	The unconventional route is favoured; the conventional one isn’t
The Lovers	No	Values clash, a bad choice, or a relationship out of step
The Chariot	No	Lost direction, lack of discipline, forces pulling apart
Strength	No	Self-doubt, a loss of nerve, or force used where patience was needed
The Hermit	Maybe	Isolation ending; you’re ready to re-engage if you choose to
Wheel of Fortune	No	A downswing in the cycle, bad timing, resistance to change
Justice	No	Unfairness, a decision going against you, accountability dodged
The Hanged Man	Maybe	The stall is breaking; movement is possible but not guaranteed
Death	No	Refusing to let go; the ending is still coming, just slower
Temperance	No	Excess, imbalance, impatience undoing the progress
The Devil	Yes	Chains loosening; freedom from a habit, debt, or bad arrangement
The Tower	Maybe	Disaster delayed or narrowly avoided; the risk is still there
The Star	No	Hope has drained out; disappointment or a loss of faith
The Moon	Yes	Clarity returning; the confusion lifts and you can proceed
The Sun	Maybe	Still a yes in spirit, but dimmed, delayed, or smaller than hoped
Judgement	No	Self-criticism paralysing you; a verdict going the wrong way
The World	No	Incomplete; something is unfinished before you can close the loop

Two cards deserve a closer look because they’re the real flips.

The Devil reversed is the one genuine upgrade in the set. Upright it’s a chain. Reversed it’s the chain coming off. If you asked whether you’ll get free of a debt, a dependency, a controlling person, or a contract you regret, Devil reversed says yes. If you asked whether you should sign up for something new, it still leans no, because the card’s theme is bondage either way.

The Moon reversed moves from no to yes because the whole problem with the Moon is visibility. Reverse it and the fog thins. You see what was hidden, the anxiety subsides, and the path becomes walkable. It’s not a Sun-strength yes. It’s “yes, you can finally see well enough to move.”

If you don’t read reversals, you have two options. Treat every card as upright and lean on the maybe cards for nuance. Or, for the no cards, use the reversed column above as the softer “this could change” reading when the card appears alongside positive minors. Both approaches work. What doesn’t work is reading reversals half the time and ignoring them when they’re inconvenient.

When the Answer Shifts by Question Type

A yes for a career question isn’t always a yes for a love question. The Majors describe forces, and forces behave differently depending on what they’re acting on. These are the cards whose answer most often changes with context.

Card	Love	Career / Success	Money
The Emperor	Yes, but slow and formal	Strong yes	Yes through discipline
The Hierophant	Yes for marriage or commitment; no for casual	Yes within an institution; no for freelancing or a startup	Yes for conventional saving; no for speculation
The Hermit	No, or “not now”	Maybe, if the role is solitary or research-based	No, hold your position
Justice	Maybe; depends on honesty between you	Yes if you’ve earned it; no if you’re cutting corners	Yes for legal settlements and fair deals
The Hanged Man	No, the relationship is stuck	No, promotion delayed	No, funds tied up
Death	No for “will this continue”; yes for “should I leave”	Yes for a career change; no for staying put	No for the current source; a new one is coming
The Devil	No, the bond is unhealthy	No, the job traps you	No, debt or a bad deal
The Moon	No, feelings or facts are hidden	No, wait for clarity on the offer	No, numbers aren’t what they seem
Judgement	Yes for reconciliation	Yes for a calling or promotion	Yes for a payout or settlement

Notice the pattern with Death. It’s a no card for continuation and a yes card for endings. The question you ask determines which face you see. That’s true to a lesser extent for the Devil and the Hermit as well, and it’s the single best argument for writing your question down before you shuffle.

Asking a Yes/No Question That Actually Gets Answered

Most unsatisfying yes/no readings come from the question, not the cards. The Majors answer what you asked, and if what you asked was vague, the answer is vague too.

Three Tests for a Good Question

A clean yes/no question passes three checks.

It has one subject. “Will I get the job?” is one subject. “Will I get the job and will I like it?” is two, and a single card can’t answer both.
It’s about an outcome, not a feeling. “Will the contract be signed?” beats “Is this a good idea?” Cards are far clearer on events than on value judgments.
It has a boundary in time. “Will I hear back about the loan by the end of the month?” gives the Wheel of Fortune and Temperance something to work with. Without a window, “yes” might mean 2031.

Rewriting Weak Questions

Weak question	Better question	What changed
Does he love me?	Will he reach out to me this month?	Feelings became an observable event with a window
Should I move?	Will moving to Leeds before next summer improve my work situation?	Added place, time, and a measurable outcome
Is my business going to work?	Will the business cover its own costs within twelve months?	“Work” became a specific benchmark
Am I on the right path?	Will staying in this course lead to the qualification I want?	Vague path became a concrete goal
Will I be happy?	Will the decision to leave this job improve my daily life by spring?	Abstract state became a comparison with a deadline

Including a Time Frame

Add the time frame in the question itself rather than reading it from the card. The Majors are poor timing indicators on their own. The Minor Arcana handle timing better, with Wands often read as days or weeks, Swords as weeks, Cups as months, and Pentacles as the slowest, sometimes a year or more. If you want a Major to answer the yes/no and a minor to answer the when, pull two cards and assign each a job before you turn them over.

A reasonable window for most questions is one to three months. Ask about something a year out and you’re really asking about dozens of decisions you haven’t made yet. The High Priestess and the Hermit show up a lot for those questions, and they’re right to.

Questions to Avoid

Some questions shouldn’t go to the cards in a yes/no format, and some shouldn’t go to the cards at all.

Health diagnoses. “Do I have X?” is a question for a doctor. The cards can tell you whether to make the appointment. They can’t read a scan.
Questions about other people’s private choices. “Will she cheat?” turns a reading into surveillance. Reframe around you: “Will I get clarity about this relationship by the end of the month?”
The same question re-asked. If you pull the Tower and then shuffle to ask again, you’ve stopped reading and started negotiating. Accept the card or wait a week.
Questions with a hidden “should.” “Will I win the case?” is fine. “Should I sue?” is a values question dressed up as a prediction. Use a three-card spread for those instead.
Legal and financial decisions with real consequences. A yes from the Magician isn’t a reason to remortgage. Use the cards to examine your thinking, not to replace it.

When a Maybe Comes Up

A maybe from the High Priestess, the Hierophant, or Justice is an invitation to ask a better question, not a dead end. Three ways to handle it, in order of preference.

Refine and re-ask once. If the Hierophant appears, the card is asking which path you meant. Re-ask with the path stated: “Will applying through the official programme get me in?” Now you’re likely to get a clear card.

Pull a clarifier. Draw one more card and read it as the tie-breaker. If it’s a Major, it overrides. If it’s a minor, Wands and Cups generally tip toward yes, Swords toward no, and Pentacles toward “yes but slowly.” Aces, Tens, and court cards tend to give stronger signals than the middle pips.

Leave it. Some questions aren’t ready. The High Priestess in particular tends to show up when you’re asking about something that hasn’t finished forming. Write down the date and the card, and come back in a fortnight.

Building a Yes/No List That Suits You

The list above is one reader’s considered take on the Rider-Waite-Smith imagery. It will differ from other lists in a handful of places, and that’s fine. The four cards readers argue about most are the Hierophant, Justice, the Moon, and Judgement, and the disagreement always comes down to how much weight you give the image versus the card’s broader meaning.

To make your own list, go through the 22 cards with these prompts and write a single word next to each.

Is the figure moving, still, or falling?
Is the light bright, dim, or absent?
Does the story on the card end well, badly, or is it unresolved?
What would this card mean if it answered “Will I get what I want?”

Movement plus light plus a good ending gives you a yes. Stillness or darkness or a bad ending gives you a no. An unresolved story gives you a maybe. Do this once and you’ll find your answers match this guide on at least eighteen of the 22 cards. Where they differ, trust your own reading. Consistency matters more than agreement with a stranger’s list, because a yes/no system only works if you apply it the same way every time.

Then test the list. Ask low-stakes questions you’ll know the answer to within a day or two. Will the parcel arrive today? Will the meeting run over? Log the card and the result for a month. You’ll quickly see which of your maybes should become yes or no and which of your reversed meanings need adjusting.

Three Spreads That Work With the Major Arcana

The Single Card

Shuffle, cut, draw one. Read it from the table. This is the fastest format and the one most readers underestimate. It works best when your question passed the three tests above and when you’ve already decided what a maybe means for you.

The Majors-Only Pull

Separate the 22 Majors from the deck and shuffle only those. Draw one. This forces a big-picture answer and removes the gentler shading the minors provide. It’s a good format for important crossroads and a bad one for small daily questions, where the Tower turning up for “will the bus be late” feels absurd.

The Three-Card Weighted Draw

Draw three from the full deck. Count yes cards against no cards using the Majors list here and a minors list you trust. Then apply the weight rule: if a Major appears, its answer counts double. Two minor yeses and the Tower is a no. The Sun with two Swords is a yes. If the three cards tie, the middle card decides.

This is the spread that teaches you the most, because you see how the Majors behave next to the everyday cards and you build intuition for when a trump card is really the whole story.

Summary: The Rules Worth Remembering

If you keep nothing else from this guide, keep these five.

Thirteen Majors say yes upright, six say no, three say maybe.
The Sun is the strongest yes; the Tower is the strongest no.
Reversed, yes cards go to no, no cards soften to maybe, and maybe cards sink to no. The Devil and the Moon are the two genuine flips to yes.
Death, the Devil, and the Hermit change their answer depending on whether you’re asking about continuing or ending something.
A clear question with one subject, one outcome, and one time window gets a clearer card than a perfect spread ever will.

FAQ

Which Major Arcana card is the strongest yes?

The Sun. It has no negative shading upright and it rarely means anything other than success, clarity, and good news. The World and the Star are close behind, but both carry a sense of “eventually” that the Sun doesn’t.

Which Major Arcana card is the strongest no?

The Tower. It describes a structure collapsing, and no amount of effort on your part changes that. The Devil and Death are also firm no cards, but Death becomes a yes if your question was about an ending, and the Devil becomes a yes reversed.

Is the Empress a yes or no card?

Yes, and one of the most generous yeses in the deck. She favours anything that grows: pregnancies, creative work, gardens, businesses, and relationships built on nurture. Reversed, she’s a no, usually pointing to neglect or a creative block.

Is the Star a yes or no?

Yes. The Star follows the Tower in the sequence and represents hope restored. It’s a particularly good yes for questions about recovery and renewed faith. Reversed, the Star is a no that signals disappointment or lost confidence.

Is the Moon a yes or no in tarot?

Upright, no. The card is about confusion, illusion, and things hidden, and a yes given in those conditions isn’t trustworthy. Reversed, the Moon shifts to yes, because the confusion is clearing and you can see well enough to act.

Is the Lovers card a yes for love questions?

Yes, and a strong one. It shows two people blessed by an angel, which is about as direct as the deck gets. Reversed, it’s a no, pointing to a values clash or a choice that pulls two people apart.

What does it mean when I keep getting maybe cards?

Either the question hasn’t finished forming or you’re asking about something that depends on a choice you haven’t made. The High Priestess usually means “wait for more information,” the Hierophant means “decide whether you’re taking the conventional path,” and Justice means “the answer depends on what you’ve earned.” Refine the question or leave it for a week.

Should I read reversed cards in a yes/no reading?

Only if you read them consistently everywhere else. Reversals add precision, especially with the Devil and the Moon, but they also double the number of meanings you need to carry. If you’re new, read upright only and use the maybe cards and a clarifier for nuance. Add reversals once your upright answers feel reliable.

Do the Major Arcana override the Minor Arcana in a yes/no spread?

Yes, in most reading traditions. The Majors are the trumps and describe the bigger forces at work. In a multi-card draw, let any Major set the answer and let the minors describe how it plays out, or use a weighting system where a Major counts twice.

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