The Three of Wands Yes or No: Yes, the Ships Are Coming In

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Three of Wands is a yes with ships on the horizon. Here is how I read it for yes or no questions, upright and reversed, and why the reversal is about delayed returns.

If you want the short answer, the Three of Wands is a yes. In a yes or no draw the upright card says what you have set in motion is coming back to you, that the effort was sound and the return is on its way. It is a patient yes, and a confident one.

This is a card of yes as ships sighted. They are not in yet. They are definitely coming.

Is the Three of Wands a yes or a no?

Upright, I read the Three of Wands as a yes. Reversed, I read it as unclear, neither a clean yes nor a clean no. My free yes or no tarot draw uses the Major Arcana only, so if you want a quick draw, use that; these Minor Arcana values are the ones I apply when a full deck is in play.

Tina Gong's the Three of Wands guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with expansion, foresight, overseas opportunities and long-range plans. Brigit Esselmont's yes or no tarot overview at Biddy Tarot notes that readers assign yes and no values differently, which is true, and it is why I state mine rather than pretend there is one correct table.

Why the upright card reads this way

I read the Three of Wands as yes because the card is about effort already made and results already underway: the figure on the cliff, the three wands planted, the ships crossing the golden sea toward him. When a question is about whether something sent out will succeed, the Three says yes.

The yes includes a wait. The Three of Wands does not deliver today. It says the outcome is secured and in transit, and that the useful work now is preparing to receive it.

The Three of Wands reversed as yes or no

Reversed, I read the Three of Wands as unclear. The reversal describes delays, obstacles in a plan, or a return that is held up by something outside your control. It can also describe effort that was never really sent out.

If you drew the Three of Wands reversed, ask whether the ships are delayed or whether they never left harbour. The first needs patience. The second needs you to actually launch.

The Three of Wands yes or no in a love question

In a love question, the Three of Wands is a yes to a connection that develops over distance or time, and a yes to hearing back from someone you have reached out to. It is a good card for long-distance questions. Reversed, it suggests the reply is delayed, or that what you think you sent was never received as you meant it.

The Three of Wands yes or no for work and money

For work and money, the Three of Wands is a yes to results from applications, proposals, investments and overseas business. It is one of the better cards for "will I hear back". Reversed, it describes a delayed payment or a stalled deal and asks for patience rather than a seventh email.

When a yes or no draw is the wrong tool

The Three of Wands answers questions about returns on effort. It is a poor card for questions about things you have not yet acted on, which it will answer as though you had. A single card answers a single, well-formed question. If the question is really three questions, or is about another person's choices, a yes or no draw will give you a confident answer to the wrong thing. My guide to a one question psychic reading explains how I handle questions that need more than one card.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the exact question you asked, what you have actually sent out, and what you will do with the result when it arrives. If the second note is empty, you are holding the Two, not the Three.

For comparison, the Two of Wands yes or no and the Eight of Wands yes or no answer differently. The the Three of Wands card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Three of Wands as timing and the Three of Wands as feelings cover the two other questions people most often ask of it. For a personal interpretation, my guide to an online psychic reading explains how readings work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.