Six rules for a good question
- One question, one topic. “Will we be together, and will I find a job?” is two spreads.
- An open question beats a closed one. “What will help me…”, “How is … developing”, “What should I pay attention to…” give a detailed answer. A yes-or-no question only suits simple decisions.
- Ask about yourself, not about someone else. “How should I act with him?” instead of “What does he think of me?”. You can change your own actions, not other people’s.
- A specific time frame. “Over the next three months” is clearer than “someday”.
- Don’t hint at the answer. “Why will he leave me?” already contains the answer. Ask: “What lies ahead for our relationship?”
- Don’t repeat the question. If you didn’t like the answer, a second spread on the same question on the same day adds little; it’s better to work through the first one.
Open and closed questions
A closed question expects a “yes” or “no” answer: “Should I accept this job?”. One card is enough for it; that is how our online Yes or No Tarot reading works.
An open question begins with “what”, “how” or “which”: “What is important for me to consider when accepting this offer?”. It is answered by a spread of several cards in which each position has its own role, for example the Three-card spread or the Situation spread.
Examples: how to rephrase a question
| Not great | Better |
|---|---|
| What awaits me? | What should I pay attention to over the next month? |
| Does he love me? | What can I do to bring us closer in our relationship? |
| When will I get married? | What is stopping me from building the relationship I want? |
| Will I get fired? | How can I strengthen my position at work over the next three months? |
| Will my ex come back? | What did my past relationship teach me, and what do I need now? |
| Will I have money? | What step will improve my financial situation this year? |
How to ask a question about a relationship
This is the most common topic for readings. The difficulty is that you want to ask about the other person’s feelings. You can ask the cards about that too, but it is more useful to keep yourself and the connection itself at the center:
- “What is happening in our relationship right now?”
- “What should I understand about him (or her) in this situation?”
- “What step will help us come to an agreement?”
- “Does this relationship have a future over the next six months?”
More examples are in the article “Tarot questions about relationships”, and a ready-made spread is on the Relationship spread page.
How to ask about work, money and the future
- Work: “What will help me in my interview with this company?”, “Which strengths should I show my manager?”
- Money: “What is stopping me from saving money?”, “What should I pay attention to before a big purchase?” More on this in the article “Tarot questions about money”.
- The future: “What opportunities will open up over the next year?”, “What is important to do now so that in a year I’m where I want to be?”
Tarot cards don’t provide legal, medical or financial guarantees. If the decision is serious, use the spread as a prompt to think, not as a substitute for a professional.
Questions it’s better to avoid
- About health and diagnoses. The cards don’t replace a doctor; if you have symptoms, see a specialist.
- About death and life span. Spreads like that only increase anxiety.
- About someone else’s life without their involvement. “Is my friend’s husband cheating?” is not a question about you.
- Test questions. “Will the cards guess what I’m thinking of?” The answer gives you nothing.
How to phrase your question before a reading
- Write the question down on paper or in your notes: that shows where it is vague.
- Take “he”, “they” and “fate” out of it and put yourself at the center.
- Add a time frame.
- Check that the question doesn’t already contain an answer.
- Keep the question in mind while you shuffle the deck.
Once you have phrased it, try an online tarot spread.
Frequently asked questions
How do you ask tarot cards a question correctly?
Briefly, about yourself, on one topic and with a time frame, without a ready-made answer built in. Open questions starting with “what”, “how” or “which” work best.
Can you ask tarot yes or no questions?
Yes, if the decision is simple. For questions like that, people usually draw one card, as in the Yes or No Tarot reading.
Can you ask tarot about another person?
You can, but it is more useful to ask about your own actions and about your connection with that person: those are things you can change.
How many times can you ask tarot the same question?
It is not worth repeating a spread on the same question on the same day. It is better to come back to it when the situation changes.
How this article was prepared
This text was written with the help of AI, based on the sources listed below and on the questions people actually search for. Every factual statement — about the history of decks, what a deck contains, what authors wrote — has a footnote. The text was then checked by a separate AI instance that took no part in writing it: it compared the facts with the footnotes, and errors were corrected. The English version is a translation of the original Russian article.
We describe reading practices — how to shuffle, charge or “cleanse” a deck — as traditions and habits of tarot readers, not as proven methods: there is no scientific evidence for divination. Read more on our editorial policy page. Found a mistake? Let us know via the contact form.
