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Kerykeion

Obstacle Insight Spread #

Introduction #

When you’re stuck—when progress halts, when something blocks your path, when you can’t seem to move forward no matter how hard you try—understanding the obstacle is the first step toward overcoming it.

This spread examines blocks with curiosity rather than frustration. It asks: What is this obstacle, really? Where did it come from? What is it protecting? And how can I move through it? Often what seems like an external block has internal roots, and what feels impossible becomes navigable once understood.

Use this spread when you feel genuinely stuck and want insight into what’s in your way.

The Layout #

1 Goal
2 Obstacle
3 Root
4 Message
5 Through

Drawing order: Goal (1), Obstacle (2), Root (3), Message (4), Through (5)

The spread moves from what you want, through what blocks you, to how to move forward.

The Positions #

Position 1: The Goal #

What it represents: What you’re trying to reach or achieve. The destination the obstacle stands between you and.

This card answers: What am I actually trying to reach?

Reading this position:

  • This may clarify or reframe your goal
  • Sometimes the obstacle reveals the goal isn’t what you thought
  • Understanding the true goal changes everything

Position 2: The Obstacle #

What it represents: The nature of what blocks you. What the obstacle actually is, which may differ from what you assume.

This card answers: What is truly blocking me?

Reading this position:

  • Be honest about what appears
  • The obstacle may be internal, external, or both
  • Understanding the obstacle’s nature is essential

Position 3: The Root #

What it represents: Where the obstacle comes from. Its origin, history, or deeper cause.

This card answers: Where does this obstacle come from?

Reading this position:

  • Obstacles often have histories
  • The root may be in you, in circumstances, or in others
  • Understanding the root reveals how to address it

Position 4: The Message #

What it represents: What the obstacle is trying to tell you or teach you. Obstacles often carry information.

This card answers: What is this obstacle trying to tell me?

Reading this position:

  • Obstacles aren’t only problems—they’re teachers
  • What you resist often has something to offer
  • The message may change your relationship to the block

Position 5: The Way Through #

What it represents: How to move past this obstacle. Not necessarily around or over, but through—integrating its teaching.

This card answers: How do I move through this obstacle?

Reading this position:

  • “Through” often differs from “around”
  • The solution may require change in you
  • This is your practical guidance

Understanding Obstacles #

Types of Obstacles #

External obstacles: Circumstances, other people’s actions, timing, resources

Internal obstacles: Fear, belief patterns, self-sabotage, lack of skill

Mixed obstacles: Where internal patterns attract or create external circumstances

Most obstacles have internal and external components. The spread helps distinguish them.

What Obstacles Protect #

Often obstacles exist because they’re protecting something:

  • Fear protects from possible failure or rejection
  • Procrastination protects from facing difficult truths
  • Self-sabotage protects from the responsibility of success
  • “Being stuck” protects from having to change

Understanding what the obstacle protects reveals what must be addressed.

Working With This Spread #

When to Use It #

  • Feeling stuck: When you can’t seem to make progress
  • Repeated patterns: When the same obstacle keeps appearing
  • Before forcing: Before trying to push through what resists
  • Confusion: When you don’t understand why you’re blocked
  • Self-examination: When you suspect you’re blocking yourself

Sample Reading #

Question: “What’s blocking me from finishing my creative project?”

Cards Drawn:

  • Goal: Ace of Pentacles
  • Obstacle: Nine of Swords
  • Root: Five of Cups
  • Message: The Hermit
  • Through: Page of Pentacles

Reading:

The Goal (Ace of Pentacles): What you’re actually reaching for is manifestation—making something real, tangible, successful in the world. It’s about the creative work becoming something solid that can support you.

The Obstacle (Nine of Swords): What blocks you is anxiety, mental anguish, sleepless worry. The block is in your mind—fears about what could go wrong, obsessive thinking, the torture of anticipation.

The Root (Five of Cups): This anxiety roots in past disappointment, in losses you haven’t fully grieved. Previous projects that didn’t work, opportunities that spilled away—these unprocessed griefs feed the current fear.

The Message (The Hermit): The obstacle is saying: go inward. The answer isn’t in pushing harder but in reflection. You need to understand yourself more deeply before you can create from a solid place. The block is inviting solitude and self-examination.

The Way Through (Page of Pentacles): Move through by beginning small, with beginner’s mind. Practical, modest first steps rather than grand leaps. Study, learn, start where you are. The Page’s humility and practical focus dissolves the Nine of Swords’ grandiose fears.

Synthesis: You want to manifest something real (Ace of Pentacles), but you’re blocked by anxiety (Nine of Swords) rooted in past disappointments (Five of Cups). The obstacle asks you to go inward (Hermit) rather than push outward. The way through is small, practical, humble steps (Page of Pentacles), letting go of the pressure that feeds your fears.

Journaling Prompts #

  1. Goal examination: Is the goal Card 1 shows what I thought I wanted? Has clarity shifted anything?

  2. Obstacle honesty: How do I feel about the obstacle shown in Card 2? Do I recognize it?

  3. Root exploration: What experiences might connect to the root in Card 3? Can I let myself feel this?

  4. Message reception: If the obstacle could speak to me, using Card 4 as its words, what would it say?

  5. Action planning: Based on Card 5, what one concrete step could I take this week?

The Gift in the Obstacle #

Every obstacle contains potential blessing:

  • Delays can allow better timing
  • Blocks can redirect to better paths
  • Difficulties develop strength
  • Failures teach what success cannot

Consider: What if this obstacle is exactly what you need?

Affirmation #

I face my obstacles with curiosity. I seek to understand rather than just overcome. I receive the teaching in the block. I find my way through, transformed by the journey.

Being stuck isn’t failure—it’s information. The obstacle that blocks you also teaches you, and the path through it shapes who you become on the other side.

What blocks you has something to say. Are you ready to listen?