Here’s a quick one. A friend of mine asked me if it was a good thing for her to join a certain rather well-known magical order. The order shall remain unnamed, as in case of a defamation lawsuit it wouldn’t be a good sight if I just waved a picture of a card spread under the judge’s nose as evidence.

The most obvious thing that caught my eye is the reversed Three of Spades (the Widower). This card represents secret sects, and it never describes them in a positive light. To be clear, a secret group is not in itself a bad thing. Nor is a magical order a bad thing in itself – I have been part of a couple and still am in one. But if the group you are enquiring about is represented by the Widower reversed it is NOT good.

That they perform less than positive acts is shown by the reversed Peacock. The Seven of Clubs indicates that they prey on people’s self-esteem and/or by promising honors. I could have added some cards to see if it also showed that they wanted some of her money – but it doesn’t really matter. The spread is clear: the querent has already had contacts with them and has been offered to join, or something else, like a ritual (I haven’t asked) but the querent would do well to stay away. This is not to say that they are charlatans, as the spread does not concentrate on this, but that they are people that are best kept at a distance.

MQS