Brandon Victor Swanson

Brandon Victor Swanson disappeared after leaving the home of a friend in Marshall, Minnesota. His car was found near Taunton, Minnesota. After experiencing car problems, he spoke briefly with his father via cell phone, which is how his car was located, but no one can find Brandon. Someone asked me if I would do a reading for him, so I will give it my best.

This reading begins with the Knight of Cups, reversed, crossed by the two of pentacles, which is also read reversed, here. When the Knight of Cups falls reversed, there is always trickery involved, as this is usually an untrustworthy man in his early twenties. His presence is followed up by the reversed two of pentacles, which points to forced, or simulated calm. At face value, it looks as if Brandon was carjacked and told to tell his father he was okay, when he really wasn't. But let's look further.

Another court card appears to lend some background information; the King of Pentacles, reversed. This would be a man who is older than the Knight of Cups, and I would expect him to have darker hair than the Knight of Cups and a darker complexion. He falls reversed here, and since his suit is pentacles, this points to a man who misuses his assets and, possibly, gambles. So we have two unknown people who might know what happened to Brandon.

The next card is also a court card; it is the King of Cups. As this card falls upside right, meaning that he is friend, not foe; I am inclined to identify him as Brandon's father. He is the last known person to have spoken with Brandon. This is followed by the Page of Pentacles, reversed. This leads me to believe that Brandon did not simply "disappear"; there was foul play involved. This page heralds bad news, and often theft, when reversed. Temperance comes up next; reiterating the message of competing interests and bad combinations. I would also venture a guess that Brandon either saw or heard something that could have compromised one or both of the men, the knight and the king.

The first card on the staff, describing problems connected to finding Brandon, is the seven of wands. This card tells of things that are guarded; secrets, homes, property, the like. The message here is that Brandon has not been found because he is either on private property, or somewhere bordering private property. Someone has deliberately impeded the search. The next card, showing environment, is Justice. This shows us that law enforcement still has an interest in finding Brandon, and if outworn ideas are scrapped in favor of trying new, Brandon can and will be found. It is quite likely that this will involve a search warrant, however. This is followed by the six of swords, which is a card of travel. The six of swords has appeared in the place of desires, and is a wish on the part of someone involved. The nine of pentacles is the last card, and it is a card of solitary enjoyment of property. This supports what we have seen in the seven of wands, by which we were told that private property and the need for a search warrant is pertinent. It is also a suggestion to look near or in a garden or flowerbed, or a small vegetable garden, near a house.

The pentacles and cups in this reading take us north and west, as directions. Fourteen is the number of the Temperance card; that is a likely number miles that should be covered. I found myself drawn to the small sun on the Temperance card; "sun" may be an actual, physical symbol here, such as part of the name of road or a place. Perhaps the name of a town that is somehow sun-related, or the name of a business. Somehow, this symbol is meant to give us a clue.

I always wish I had better news when I do a reading like this one. I will keep hoping for the best.

What Happened To Jeremy Coots?

Four year old Jeremy Coots wandered away from his babysitter's home in Atchison, Kansas,in 1977. After no one was able to find him, it was presumed that he fell into the Missouri River. He is presumed dead, but he has never been found. Perhaps the Tarot can shed some light.

We begin with the Knight of Cups, crossed by the eight of cups. This is a happy young man, on a mission of friendship or even love, but as the eight of cups suggests, he suddenly abandoned this activity for some reason. I do not believe he is Jeremy; but I do think he is someone with whom Jeremy may have crossed paths that day. Beneath this, we find the King of Swords, reversed. This time, I do not think the king's presence refers to another person, but to a situation, this situation being fear. This king often represents law enforcement, or law in general; and here, I think he is telling us about fear of the same, or fear of lawsuits. Somehow, that veneer colors this situation.

The four of pentacles follows this, heralding obstacles and setbacks in financial matters. Once more, this is in relation to the Knight of Cups, rather than Jeremy. Crowning it, we have the nine of cups, reversed. It tells of mistakes, possibly too much drinking. Then we have the nine of wands. A waiting game was played by someone, followed up by deliberate but discreet defensiveness.

In the place of fears, we have the nine of swords, reversed. This is a fear of not only a lawsuit, but of prison. The general environment gives us the Queen of Pentacles, reversed. This is a female presence, and as she falls reversed, her contribution to Jeremy's disappearance was a negative one. The sun comes up, reversed, in the place of hopes. This is a hope on someone's part that this whole matter stays clouded. The last card is the five of cups. This is a sad card to see in this position; it foretells recovery, but it is still a card of loss. The five of cups is also symbolic of water, often of shallow rivers or creeks. The Queen of Pentacles is associated with earth, however. The Knight of Cups, in fact all knights, often symbolize matters coming or going in the Tarot. On mundane levels, knights are sometimes people traveling or people driving. My first thought when I saw the basis, with the knight crossed by the eight of cups, was that Jeremy had wandered away and gotten hit by a car. If not, a car was definitely involved, somehow. Water is also involved. The wands point us south, perhaps nine miles, as tentatively suggested by the nine of wands. I would also look for evidence outside, as suggested by the Sun. I always hope to find that I am wrong when the interpretation of a reading comes to me this way. I hope Jeremy Coots is found soon.

Who Killed Tiffany Nelson?

Nine year old Tiffany Nelson disappeared in 1994. In 2005, her remains and some of her personal effects were found, so her case is no longer a missing persons case, but a homicide case. Still, in all these years, there have been no clues, so I will put the question to the Tarot. 

This reading starts with the Queen of Swords, reversed. She is crossed by the Hierophant. When this queen falls reversed. we usually find a woman who is narrow minded, bigoted, and violent. Here, we have her crossed by the Hierophant, so we see her in a situation involving Tiffany, and she is faced with a duty to do the right thing, yet finds excuses not to. Also, on a more mundane level, the Hierophant represents conformity and the careful following of directions. Could Tiffany have been run over by a driver who wasn't following laws for driving? Beneath these two cards falls the ten of pentacles, reversed, lending an air of a loss of family honor, or financial losses to the Queen's situation. 

The action here is illustrated by the sex of swords, which is a card of travel. Something happened to Tiffany while sharing the roadway with someone who was travelling further than she was travelling. This is followed by the six of cups in the place of what was attempted; Tiffany was left in a place where someone hoped that no one would look for her, find her, or remember her. Next, we have Death. This speaks for itself, Tiffany was already deceased by the time she was reported missing. It really looks as if she was killed on the road by someone who did not want to report the accident or get her any medical attention. 

In the fears of the perpetrator, we find the Hermit; so someone, possibly an older male, advised the perpetrator to keep quiet about Tiffany. In the place of environment, we find the High Priestess, once again, lending a feminine influence to this. The High Priestess also represents secrets, and as she falls upside right, she has rationalized her role here as somehow "justified", and does not feel any appropriate empathy for Tiffany or her family. The same goes for the man represented by the Hermit; he is without a conscience. This is how these individuals can think of themselves as worthy of love and friendship after all these years. The nine of cups fall reversed in the place of hopes....this is a fear on the part of the perpetrator, for not having done a good enough job of hiding all the evidence. And the reading ends with the three of swords, reversed. This is disorder and confusion. It's entirely possible, that by chance, the perpetrator will be confronted by some piece of evidence or testimony that will bring Tiffany justice, in the end. There is someone who either saw some part of this, or heard about it, who may be able to bring Tiffany's case to resolution. 

Kelsie Jean Schelling

What happened to Kelsie Jean Schelling, and where is she? It has been two years since she was last seen, in Pueblo, Colorado. She disappeared on February 4, 2013, and her car was found a week later. 

The reading starts with the basis of the eight of swords, crossed by the Queen of Pentacles. This beginning already looks like the story of being trapped somewhere; the Queen here is a dark haired woman, possibly Kelsie, herself. The eight of swords is a card of forced inertia....inability to move in any direction. As a location, a run-off stream or drainage pond is suggested. I would expect to find a few buildings nearby, but not close enough to see the water clearly.

Beneath this, as a precursor of the action that led to this situation, we have the Page of Pentacles. Pages are sometimes messages, sometimes ideas, and sometimes young people. I think that the card is referring to the last phone call she made, or the last message she left, when she parked her car in Pueblo. Someone she knew was even anticipating her call. This is followed by the Emperor. The Emperor is the "father" card in the Tarot, and this is a person whose actions here were motivated by the energies associated with fatherhood. It is noted that Kelsie was about eight weeks pregnant at this time, so it is possible that the Page of Pentacles has a double meaning as a message/phone call and Kelsie's pregnancy. The next card is the two of swords, which is a stalemate. There was a disagreement over something, and no compromise was reached. And....I do not like what I see next; the ace of swords. Someone forced his will in the disagreement. 

The staff appears to show us how the perpetrator thinks in this case. It starts with his fears; represented by Justice. This person is worried about justice. It's another card I do not like to see in 

this position, because it's telling us that there is someone out there who is concerned about 

getting "found out". The next card, describing this person's actions and surroundings, is the seven of swords, reversed. He made sure that he left no clues in any obvious place. The next card is the Page of Wands, reversed. This represents bad news, and it is in the place of fears, so it means that this person is deeply worried about the news that information has been discovered about Kelsie. And the last card is the Empress. This card often appears in a reading for a pregnant woman, or for a mother. The Emperor also appeared in this reading. I think we can safely assume that parental energies played a role in the dynamics. Also, instruction and possibly counsel are alternative meanings of the seven of swords when it falls reversed. In addition to a suggestion that the perpetrator has "lawyered up" already, it's quite possible that one other person, besides the perpetrator, knows what happened to Kelsie, and may have even assisted in some small way and left evidence behind. There is also a woman pushing very hard for Kelsie to be found, another double meaning here; this time, the Empress. Also, with the Empress, I am getting a picture of seeds and planting...perhaps that somehow becomes a factor in finding Kelsie. The strongest compass direction I see in this reading is east, suggested by the heavy presence of swords.  I wish the outlook had been more positive. I will keep Kelsie in my prayers.