How do you know anyway? When you're not casting, all you can see is your hand.
I Morrowind you see your hands, so you know that you're about to cast a spell, you can see which spell in the little icon on screen.
In Skyrim, since there isn't a spell icon, you see you're hand and a little spell of the same appearance always cast around your hand. Look up Might and Magic: Dark Messiah, when you had a fire spell equipped, your hand was on fire.