Reading 1/2

For the “rather specific entity”

You / Entity: Ace of Wands / High Priestess (reversed)
Your Will: 9 of Cups (reversed)

Evocation: 6 of Cups (reversed)
Risks / Advantages: Temperance (reversed) / 6 of Swords (reversed)
Bad Result / Good Result: 5 of Cups (reversed) / 3 of Pentacles
Projected Outcome: Knight of Pentacles
Advice: 7 of Cups

Invocation: Knight of Wands
Risks / Advantages: The Emperor / 8 of Cups (reversed)
Bad Result / Good Result: Queen of Cups / King of Pentacles (reversed)
Projected Outcome: The Fool (reversed)
Advice: Queen of Swords (reversed)

For the sake of your privacy, I'm not going to talk about the primary significator cards expressly; I'll just use them to help my interpret the rest of the spread. I'm just going to say that this whole spread screams to me about trying to pull something from the past or clinging onto something of which you can't let go because it seems absurd the way things turned out, and I'm just going to leave it at that.


Starting with the evocation, we have as the significator card the 6 of Cups in reverse, clearly calling back to the theme of something in the past. Calling this ill-dignified, I'd say it has to do with clinging onto hope when sources of hope aren't the easiest to find.

Taking a quick look at this spread, the outcome seems favorable, but you should take care not to let it go too far: the Temperance in reverse as a risk is clear in showing that things can get out of control, and things set in motion have the possibility to roll farther than you'd like them to, farther than you might anticipate. If this risk is not properly mitigated, it could lead to the bad result, the 5 of Cups in reverse. In this context, it represents frustration and ongoing suffering: sinking deeper into the pit you're looking to escape.

The 6 of Swords in reverse is strange to see as an advantage, but I think it harkens back to the original theme of remaining in the past or avoiding moving forward. In this context, this is your will, so you'd essentially get what you want if things go right. The Three of Pentacles as the good result reinforces this, showing a work of cooperation towards building something long-standing, the structure you seek to create as a basis for future development and growth.

The most likely outcome being the Knight of Pentacles suggests that you'll most likely lean farther towards the good result, rather than the bad one. I'm not going to venture any detailed guesses on the precise interpretation of this court card, but I'll just say that it represents the setting of your plans in motion towards your will.

In order to swing the outcome in your favor, the 7 of Cups card reminds you not to get too caught up in fantasy or delusion. You have many choices available to you, but you shouldn't assume that any of them are favorable simply because you have good intentions. Make sure you get all of your ducks in a row before proceeding, as there is likely some detail you have missed, or otherwise your mind might not be entirely prepared to mitigate the risk of intemperance that could lead your work to cause your detriment.


The invocation side of this is a complete mess, and I think the cards raise a point even with this. The significator card as the Knight of Wands represents you wanting to take point on this and go all in, taking the power for yourself and wielding it to your advantage.

I'd expect the Emperor in the risk position to be ill-dignified, representing abuse of power, but it could simply mean that you get caught up in the power and sort of lose sight of what you were after in the first place, perhaps lose sight of yourself a bit. The advantage here as the 8 of Cups in reverse has the same essential message as the 6 of Swords in the evocation section, so I won't go over that again.

Here's where it gets really messy. The Queen of Cups, one of the kindest and most gentle of cards, is your bad outcome here, and the King of Pentacles in reverse, a harsh card, is your good outcome.

Starting with the Queen of Cups and calling back to The Emperor, I would say the result of that excess power that is a risk inherent to the invocation is the potential for your emotions to get the better of you and make you lose sight of yourself, like I said. While the Queen of Cups is kind and nurturing, she can also be emotionally manipulative and deceitful. In this case, it would be the result of the risks against which I warned arising from The Emperor. If you have a rival of some sort or some other woman involved, it could represent her, possibly her greater prominence. I don't know your situation, so I won't go any further into that.

Now, the King of Pentacles in reverse is greed, clingy, possessive, and jealous. Why is it the “good” outcome? Well, your entire work seems to be about holding onto something, and this card would represent you holding onto it at all costs. Makes sense, right? Given this context, the Queen of Cups as the bad outcome could simply represent that you might become pliant and simply stop fighting for what you want.

The outcome for the invocation looks bad: The Fool in reverse, indicating that you are being reckless and naïve in your consideration of this work. You really don't know what you're getting yourself into here, and it's likely to bite you in the ass if you go through with it. The advice card as the Queen of Swords in reverse reminds you that you make be having some issues with self-awareness, and you aren't thinking things through clearly here. This is another card that warns against manipulation and not thinking things through clearly, as well as disconnection from yourself.


Between these two options, evocation is clearly the less shitty of the two, but it's not without its risks. In either case, you run the risk of getting mired more deeply into the situation in which you're currently stuck, but the evocation is less likely to ruin you as a person than the invocation.

As a closing reflection, I have used bibliomancy to find this passage:
"If you take the same 5 inch space and divide it with 4 dividers, each 1/4 inch thick you now have an effective air layer of 4 inches. You have gained one inch."
https://www.princeton.edu/~oa/winter/wintcamp.shtml

To me, this reminds you to reconsider your available resources and see what you can do with them. For all you know, this particular goal you have in mind might be easily accomplished by mundane means, or otherwise through the use of your personal power. Be careful about how strongly you consider pulling out the big guns when your own resources might be sufficient: a cat is a better tool for killing a mouse than a tank.