Yes or no tarot, by the numbers: We analyzed the yes/no answer of all 78 tarot cards in our reading database. Overall, 59% of cards lean Yes (46 cards), while Maybe and No are tied at 21% each (16 cards each). The most positive suits are Wands, Cups, and Pentacles; the most negative is Swords.
Yes or no tarot, by the numbers: We analyzed the yes/no answer of all 78 tarot cards in our reading database. Overall, 59% of cards lean Yes (46 cards), while Maybe and No are tied at 21% each (16 cards each). The most positive suits are Wands, Cups, and Pentacles; the most negative is Swords.
If you have ever pulled a card for a yes-or-no question and wondered whether the deck is naturally optimistic, the data has an answer. We reviewed every card in our published yes or no tarot guide and tallied how often each card points to Yes, No, or Maybe.
Overall Yes / No / Maybe Distribution
Answer
Cards
Percentage
Yes
46
59%
Maybe
16
21%
No
16
21%
Total
78
100%
The tarot deck is, on balance, optimistic: nearly six in ten cards lean toward Yes. The remaining 41% is split evenly between Maybe (cards of uncertainty or choice) and No.
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Yes Rate by Suit: Swords Is the Skeptic
Group
Cards
Yes
Maybe
No
Yes Rate
Wands
14
10
2
2
71%
Cups
14
10
1
3
71%
Pentacles
14
10
3
1
71%
Major Arcana
22
13
5
4
59%
Swords
14
3
5
6
21%
The three "lighter" suits, Wands (passion), Cups (emotion), and Pentacles (work and money), each say Yes 71% of the time. The Major Arcana sits in the middle at 59%. Swords, the suit of conflict, stress, and hard truths, is the clear outlier: just 21% Yes, with more cards pointing to No than any other group.
Key Findings
The deck leans optimistic. 59% of all 78 cards lean Yes.
Swords is the skeptic. Only 3 of 14 Swords cards (21%) mean Yes; six lean No.
Wands, Cups, and Pentacles are the most positive suits, each at a 71% Yes rate.
The strongest "No" cards cluster in Swords (Three, Five, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten of Swords), joined by Death, The Tower, and The Devil.
"Maybe" usually signals uncertainty or a choice, as with The Moon, The High Priestess, Two of Swords, and Seven of Cups.
Methodology
We reviewed the yes-or-no verdict for all 78 cards in our published tarot card-meaning library (22 Major Arcana plus 56 Minor Arcana across Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles). Each card was classified as Yes, Maybe, or No based on its traditional upright Rider-Waite-Smith meaning. Reversed positions were not counted, as a reversal can shift a card's answer. Figures were last updated in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of tarot cards mean yes?
About 59%, 46 of the 78 tarot cards, lean toward Yes in an upright yes-or-no reading. Maybe and No each account for 21% (16 cards each).
Which tarot suit is most negative for yes or no questions?
Swords. Only 3 of its 14 cards (21%) mean Yes, and six lean No, the lowest Yes rate of any group, reflecting the suit's themes of conflict and hard truths.
What is the most positive tarot card for a yes or no reading?
The strongest Yes cards include The Sun, The World, Ten of Cups, and the four Aces. At the suit level, Wands, Cups, and Pentacles tie for the highest Yes rate at 71%.
Where does this data come from?
From our own library of 78 published tarot card meanings. We tallied the upright yes-or-no answer of every card. You are welcome to cite this study with a link to this page.
Tarot practitioner and spiritual deck designer with expertise in oracle card systems and divination. Author of The Beginner's Journey to Tarot. Founder of Deckaura, home to 20+ free tarot and astrology tools and personalized readings prepared for each seeker.
