1. To Know: The first card, the top of the Pentagram, is Air, and what we need to know here is that there is a young person, or a new circumstance, both symbolized by the Page of Swords, who has something unsavory about hir character or intentions, symbolized by the mushrooms in the Page's hand. This card is denoting a person who is trying to deceive so they may force their will upon you, or a situation wherein you are not being given all the information because the intent is to fool you. Know and be wary.
2. To Will: This is the Point of Fire, and it represents your own desire to learn what is the illusion or deception which is being given to you by the aforementioned person or circumstance. The Moon not only represents that which is not what it seems, but calls upon the Goddess of the Full Moon (which is coming next week) to assist you in stripping away the veils of deception and knowing the truth.
3. To Dare: This is Earth, and in order to "dare", we have first to "do". So this card represents a suggested course of action. The Page of Cauldrons, as we have noted before, is reserved and quiet and contemplative, and this card is all but saying, "What you should DO here is dare to do nothing, until you know more. Think, observe, and keep your Self protected, and wait until you are sure before you act."
4. To Keep Silent: This is the Point of Water, and "Keep Silent" here doesn't just mean "don't go blabbing your business all over the place". It is about Intuition, the Gift of Inner Silence, where we look within and listen to our instincts and dreams and that which is true but cannot be put into words. The card here, the Two of Swords, shows two Knights locked in combat, neither of them aggressive and both of them at a stalemate...the name of the card is "Peace". And so the intuitive truth you will contemplate is the concept that in this situation you are not going to "win" but you won't "lose" either, if you merely hold your own inner Being safe and at peace and let the other person or people go on about their business. Having a fight about this won't change anything. Don't let yourself be deluded, but don't argue about it either. Walk on, and let it be what it is.
5. To Evolve: This card is "Spirit", and represents the equivalent of the "Final Outcome" in some other spreads, the Gift of Spirit from which you will grow and learn. The card, a woman surrounded by a barricade of sharpened birch rods and holding one which has been set aflame, is the representation of the inner Strength you will achieve by understanding that just because someone wants to deceive or fool you or change your perspective or make you do what they want you to do, you do not have to fall for it. You can hold your own position with strength, be prepared to simply walk away to your own stronghold, and think and be and do as you Will. Strength is there, and it doesn't require fighting and winning to achieve it. It simply requires learning to hold your position.
May you have that Strength, today and always!
Aisling the Bard
