4 Card Simple Answer Spread

My brother, Samuel, asks: ''I want to know whether I should study hermetic magic in the very near future?''

I'm going to use my favorite spread at the moment, the 4 Card Simple Answer spread.

1. What is Happening: Knight of Pentacles Rx

2. Answer to Question: Page of Pentacles

3. Guidance or Advice: Ace of Pentacles

4. What Will Happen: 2 of Wands

What is happening right now is the image of yourself as the Knight of Pentacles Rx. Typically this is a young man who is quiet and meditative, who works with unfailing determination towards the goals he sets for himself. He is reversed, suggesting what you already know, that you are at a standstill, you don't know what the goal is you really want to work toward. What you want is to turn this Knight upright and you are on that path. The Knight of Pentacles is more imaginative than the King of Pentacles, though he has the same quiet strength and gentleness. His quality of contemplation often yields fruit in surprising ways, generating a deep and broad-sweeping understanding about the inner workings of life.

At the moment, his is reversed, suggesting stubbornness...and inverted type of a great quality that is Persistence. This is easily remedied, obviously, which is why you wanted to ask your question, to be released from your standstill, to find out if it will pay off to spend your time studying a new esoteric tradition. Judging by how many pentacles cards showed up, I see it definitely will.

You are represented here as one who produces unusual yet practical solutions which resolve otherwise intractable problems. You believe that all things yield to a determined will and well-directed activity. The image here is of a man who achieves his ambitions and creates a world he is comfortable living in; he has an interesting way of doing this-he takes every task a stage at a time. Keeping the end aim in mind, he diligently attends to the task in hand, completing it satisfactorily and then moving on smoothly to the next logical stage.

This method of working has numerous advantages - there’s the satisfaction of completing something - even though you might still be aware that this particular piece of work is just one step in the journey.

Another plus is that work unfolds in a productive stream - each process deriving from the last. This often allows you to pick up on any detail you may have overlooked or missed. Also, there is a consistent sense of progress - a feeling that you are drawing closer to your goals. Every single achievement is composed of many small acts which add together to create the whole.

The Knight of Pentacles is a fertile and abundant card - it signifies the planting of seeds which will grow into great big trees. The tree would not exist without the seed which was planted in the very first place.

The answer to your question comes in the form of the Page of Pentacles, in keeping with this suit of practicality, there are logistics to be planned. The when and where of studying, things like that. Here, the image corresponds to a young person who enjoys studying and is a persevering scholar. We see here a person on the threshold of greater things to come in the pursuit of knowledge. Note that in the card he is standing on books.

This card touches upon the most important issues about being in love with life - it's creation, it's experience, it's (is the apostrophe to indicate Life's possession right?)excitement and promise of fulfillment. When we are able to enjoy each passing minute of our lives, we put ourselves in touch with the mighty and empowering forces of love which flow through the Cosmos at all times. We become more deeply aware of the creative force of the goddess, and more in touch with our own inner vitality and life force.

Your Guidance/Advice comes in the image of the Ace of Pentacles and this is great! There is a new beginning happening for you if you go ahead and start studying along these lines. And the beginning is in the form of studying something that will be applicable to your life, something practical and solid. This image indicates success, and shows the sort of project that seems to continuously keep on growing, with each level of attainment producing-almost of itself-the next step in the journey.

On a more spiritual level, this card relates to the Earth, and to the appreciation of Nature. It might mark a period where we draw closer to environmental issues, or where we engage in a period of study, contemplation and alignment with Earth forces.

One thing that we often miss, when considering spiritual development, is the way that each development grows out of the last. Anyone who has been involved in the search for spiritual truth will already have experienced the weirdly coincidental manner in which spiritual opportunities and teachers present themselves at the relevant stage in our growth.

There's a saying - 'The right teacher only appears when the student is ready'. It is as though we grow spiritually from the inside, the same way that trees do. And in so doing, maybe we develop inner rings - just like a tree's trunk. The outer ring, just under the bark could not exist without all of the others it encircles.

The topic that we are exploring today has grown from all of the earlier topics we have looked into. Our experience is formed in layers, each of which is inter-dependent with the earlier ones. The Ace of Pentacles relates very closely with this method of human development - it shows us the way we grow. And warns us against trying to skip any of the stages.

This is a remarkably optimistic card, which usually heralds an exciting period of progress, whether spiritually or materially. We can expect expansion, new beginnings and often also, an input of funds. There is a less obvious perspective on this card, too, which has to do with its inner truths. Pentacles are not only about money, physical life and materiality. They are also about the cycles of life, of the planet, and of ourselves. The Ace begins a journey during which we can come to understand these things more clearly, thereby attuning ourselves more thoroughly with our Universe.

What will happen comes in the form of the 2 of Wands. This is a card I actually went into yesterday, so it's nice to see it again since I have so much clarity on it now. If you look into the card you see a man with the world in his hand. A small globe, a representation of what his eyes are looking at around him...I usually see this image having to do with the internet, because it too is a small item we have around that connects us to the rest of the world around us...mostly this card shows that you will achieve your plans if you follow up with studying hermetic magic in the near future. There is an important contract, letter, or transaction indicated.

Here's an excerpt from Angel Paths you might find useful:

The Two of Wands is an important card when we consider our personal freedom of choice, for it relates to the way in which we live in accordance with our own Will, and the consequent results of this.

The card indicates that we are in charge of the way that our lives are unfolding, and that this happens in the fashion we had anticipated. It does not rule out the occasional nice surprise, nor obstacle, but it does promise us that we are in a state of mind which allows us to fulfill our needs and chase our destiny.

There's harmony and contentment when we manage to achieve this position in life. Events take place in an ordered and positive fashion. Things unfold around us the way that we want them to. Everything goes according to plan.

In fact, this is probably a natural state for a healthy human being. The fact that we have to struggle so hard to achieve it, and then maintain it, is more a comment on the type of life we lead, than anything else.

When we can bring ourselves in harmony with the forces of our Universe, achieving our dreams becomes far more possible than at any other time. We attain harmony when we are centered and at ease with ourselves.

Careful planning is always important when this card comes up - again there is a need to order our future so that we know where we're headed. And it's also important to reconcile any uncertainty or confusion generated within us. Both of these actions will ensure that nothing interferes with the flow of our own Will out into the Universe.