Yes or No? Should I? What about the Future?

In the Celtic Lenormand section of her _Inner Whispers_ blog, Chloë McCracken recently offered suggestions on using the Lenormand to answer Yes-No questions.

For one of the systems Chloë describes, we use the playing card associations that are often printed on Lenormand cards. We might arbitrarily decide that reds are taken as a yes, and blacks as a no – or vice versa.

Or we might use a method proposed by Lisa Frideborg over at _Tarotize_ : For each reading, flip a coin to decide if red or black (or odd or even numbers) will provide you with yes or no. Heads means that odd numbers are 'yes' and even numbers are 'no.' Tails means that odd numbers are 'no' and even numbers are 'yes.' (Of course, you can reverse that as well, depending on your whim.)

Okay, moving right along… I am using Chloë McCracken’s Celtic Lenormand deck, with artwork by Will Worthington (U.S. Games Systems, Inc.) I’m not going to flip a coin this time, but will simply declare that reds will be taken as a “yes” answer and blacks as a “no.”

What will the question be? There is a lot of discussion among tarotists about Yes-No questions – whether they should be asked at all and if so, what guidelines we should follow? Some readers feel you should not ask “Should” questions, as in “Should I” do this? Others avoid questions that call for a prediction of the future, as in “Will I get the job?”

Personally, at this point in my Tarot reading career, I view the cards as offering an indication of whether current energy supports or does not support a particular answer.

For a “Should I” question, the answer might be “The energy surrounding this situation indicates support for taking that action” or “The energy surrounding the situation does not indicate support for taking that action.” The cards would then reveal more about why or why not.

If the question is future-oriented, the answer might be “The energy represented in these cards suggests that it is likely / not likely to occur.” Again, the cards themselves can reveal why or why not. If it sounds like I’m hedging my bets, I am. The future is not written in stone. There are lots and lots of variables that come into play, including the free will decisions of everyone involved in a situation.

After that rather lengthy preamble, perhaps we can finally get to the reading! My question is: “Will we get an offer on Mom’s house this month?”

And the answer is:

Snake - Shedding (Queen of Clubs) - black

Birds - Songbirds (7 of Diamonds) - red

Lilies (King of Spades) – black

So we have two cards that indicate “No” and one that indicates “Yes.” To me, this suggests that there is a very slight chance, but it is unlikely that we will get an offer on Mom’s house this month.

How interesting that Snake – Shedding can represent a woman (including a mother) making changes in her life. The Affirmation for this card is “I shed that which no longer serves me.” And so we have my mother “shedding” her house, which she put up for sale almost two years ago now. She is more than ready to let it go, having already moved into another place. However, the Snake card can also indicate difficulties or disappointments, perhaps even lies or deceit.

The Songbirds can represent siblings, and interestingly, there are three birds on this card. I am one of three siblings helping Mom sell her house. Yes, there has been and continues to be communication among us about this issue. We recently agreed to lower the price on the house and to take steps to “spruce it up” and make it more attractive to buyers.

Snake plus Birds often points to negotiations or compromises. Perhaps more of that will be necessary before we see an offer on the house.

Finally, the Lilies can represent (among other things)“family,” “elders,” or “parents.” The card is often said to refer to an “older man.” I am not getting an obvious association for that. My 61-year-old brother could fit the description, as could my 65-year-old husband. Our realtor is a woman. The Lilies card suggests a slow pace – and heaven knows, being on the market for almost two years, the pace has been (to say the least) slow. Perhaps we can expect more of the same. I hope not.

Birds plus Lilies may indicate a senior-level person, perhaps a consultant, or possibly serious discussions. That makes sense, too.

So not this month, then. And maybe not very soon at all. Concerning timing, in some Lenormand systems, the Snake (7) is linked with the month of July, the Birds (12) with December, and the Lilies with the season of winter. So we get a similar message to the one delivered by two black and one red: Not likely to be this month.