What Happened To Emanuela Orlandi?

 Emanuela Orlandi, of Vatican City, disappeared while walking home from a flute lesson on June 22, 1984, at the age of fifteen. It seemed, last week, that there may have been a valid tip given to her family, pointing them to the Teutonic Cemetery in Vatican City. "Look where the angel is pointing", was the advice, and that led to two graves from the 1800's, of two princesses. The graves were opened, and no bones were found; not the princesses, or Emanuela. So where does this leave the investigation, and where is Emanuela? We will see if the Tarot can help. I will use a horoscope spread here.

In the first house, of the matter, itself, we find the seven of cups. This is a card of illusions and choices, none of those choices truly reflecting reality. We already have a message that Emanuela may have been lured by someone or something that was not as it appeared. This sets the stage for the entire matter. Next, in the second house, we find the Wheel of Fortune. The second house deals with wealth and ownership of material things, and the Wheel of Fortune deals with unexpected luck......it seems that her disappearance represented an unplanned opportunity to someone, rather than stalking. As things currently sit, the perpetrator still "owns" the entire matter. In the third house, of communication and short journeys, we have the seven of pentacles, and card that shows waiting for fruition. On more mundane levels, this could also relate to a place that is a short journey from where Emauela was last seen; a place with gardens and possibly fruit trees or grapes growing. The fourth house gives us the Knight of Pentacles, a young man who moves slowly and thoroughly. This man is connected to Emanuela's family and home, and represents the efforts to find her. He has not given up.

The fifth house, of creative endeavors and speculation, shows the nine of wands. The message here is not to give up; the nine of wands is patience. In the sixth house of inconveniences and disagreements, we find Judgement, which is good news in a case like this. Judgement is all about the revealing of secrets, even the secrets of the dead. This could also show legal matters moving in the favor of finding Emanuela. The seventh house, of partnerships; however, yields the two of swords, which shows that there is still some resistance on the part of someone who has not wanted a thorough investigation over the years. The eighth house, of legacies, secrets, and sometimes, death; is a problem. Here, we find the Knight of Cups, reversed. This is a man who is dishonest, perverse, and who has been protected by others. This person has lied about other matters, too, and may have also embezzled. In the ninth house, of justice and religion, we get the Page of Cups, who is a younger, less powerful person. That person has somehow stumbled upon information that is pertinent and is not sure how to share it and be taken seriously. There is a a problem of power here: an older man who has power and protection and a young person with information and an institution that will not give up secrets that it finds demeaning to itself.

The four of cups, reversed, appears in the tenth house of law and order. New information is now possible to assimilate. Communication between investigating agencies will also get better. We have the Hanged Man in the eleventh house of organizations and friends. This shows that there are people who are willing to make a few sacrifices and stand up to authorities in pursuit of the truth. That is a change for the better. In the twelfth house, we find the five of pentacles. Like the eighth house, the twelfth house also deals with death, in addition prisons and hospitals. The depiction on the card is usually a church, which leads me to believe that Emanuela never left Vatican City. I believe that her remains will be found either in a church or a garden outside of one. Sadly, this card also speaks to the idea of lovers unable to find a place to meet.....I really think we have a priest who used a church for this purpose.

Since July 11, when it was discovered that the bones of  were no longer in their marked graves, the investigation has uncovered two ossuaries beneath a floor in an area in the Teutonic College. There are thousands of bones, and DNA testing will be required to determine the identities involved. While I always hope for resolution, I wish my conclusions in this case could have been more positive.

 

Update: On January 9, 2023, the Vatican reopened Orlandi's case, and will investigate again.

Livia and Alessia Schepp

On January 30 of 2011, the father of Livia and Alessia Schepp, of Switzerland,  reported his twin daughters, pictured left, missing; instead of returning them to their mother. French, Italian, and Swiss police have all been involved in the search for the six year old twins. Sadly, their father died in an apparent suicide in Italy by jumping in front of a train; yet, the girls have not been found. Someone asked me to read for them.

The reading gives us the nine of wands as a beginning card. This is impatience, pure and simple. We have someone who was unwilling to to wait for something. It is crossed by the ace of cups, which is often pregnancy, children, birth, or happy family matters involving children. It looks as if the father was unwilling to endure separation from his daughters after his separation from their mother. Underneath this, giving us some foundation for the situation, we have the four of wands. This is a card of whimsical celebrations and fun. Apparently, this was the setting immediately before these girls disappeared. Into the background, we have the Emperor, which is the one card in the deck that describes the role of "father" best, and as it comes up here, I think we can assume that the father did know what happened to Livia and Alessia. The best news we are going to get about this is the ten of wands. This is a card that tells of carrying a burden, but all the way to it's end. So there is a chance that, one day, we may find out exactly where Livia and Alessia are. Something that was a serious problem for the father before his suicide was bad credit and unpaid debt, this we know because the six of pentacles appears reversed. Not all of his financial problems have been resolved, either, despite the fact that he has died. There is a suggestion that he somehow perceived this as a reason to make rash, unbalenced decisions about his children and their fates, as well. So there was a father who didn't like the custody arrangements for his children and was frustrated about money, financial resources, legal fees, and supporting his children.

On his mind at the time the girls went missing were all things connected to the three of swords, which tells of lovers quarreling and breaking up, divorce, child custody disputes, and unresolved disagreements in general. It was his feeling that he could not cope or communicate. The three of wands is the description of environment here, and it looked to everyone, especially Livia and Alessia, like they were just traveling and going from one place to another. This is interesting: sometimes, this card refers to news from across water or sending something or traveling across water, and it is a "three".....I think it refers to the three of them, father and two daughters. It also refers to possible help; the whole journey looked innocent enough, and someone inadvertantly helped him "disappear" his daughters somehow. The dark side of his nature is described by the King of Cups, reversed. This is dishonesty, lies, violence, and sometimes drunkenness. Cups are also associated with water, and as the king falls reversed, I think the girls never made it out of the water. Water had something very big to do with their fates. Sadly, I do not see them reappearing in the future. The last card is the Knight of Wands, reversed. In this case, he simply represents an event featuring discord, fights, upsets, and bad news. Also, the father's suicide. I feel very sad for the mom.