Kara Kopetsky, of Belton, Missouri, was last seen at her school on May 4, 2007. She was initially listed as a runaway by law enforcement, but it has been seven years....an awfully long time for a runaway to stay hidden. So I will put the obvious questions to the Tarot.
We begin with the seven of swords, reversed, crossed by the eight of swords. The seven of swords generally denotes a theft, or an effort that is incomplete due to lack of ability or resources....the subject is attempting to take or do something he or she does not have a right to take or do. But here, it is reversed, but crossed by the eight of swords, a card of entrapment and restraint. What this gives us is a picture of someone who THOUGHT he or she could either take or get away with something, but actually couldn't. It was tried, though. The background for this is the King of Wands, who is an unyielding older male whose advice should have been followed, and the six of cups, a card of childhood and memories. So a deeper picture of a conflict here has to do with being a child vs. being an adult, and being recognized as an adult. Somehow, and I am not sure where this fits.....a yellow cat seems to be part of the scenario.
Above this, we have the Empress, who is the mother in this situation. Kara's mother is still looking for her, and will not stop until Kara is found. And a future event is Judgement, which is a renewal of search efforts for some reason, possibly an overlooked clue suddenly come to light. As a physical location and event, this card would literally depict an object suddenly being revealed in water deep enough for hidden objects, such as a lake or a reservoir. The swords point us east, yet not east.....once again, the seven is reversed. I would expect the answer to lead us somewhere rather close to where Kara was last seen, within thirty miles.
The Emperor appears at the base of the staff; he is a male with authority in this case, and if not Kara's father, has an air of fatherly authority. He is upside right, so I will assume he is kindly disposed toward Kara, and looking for her, as is her mother. The six of pentacles appears in the place of environment, lending an element of "you get what you pay for", or "give and take" to this situation. Did someone perceive Kara as owing money? Was some sort of blackmail involved here? This card points to a trade or an exchange as having taken place between Kara and someone immediately before she disappeared. The next card is a card of regret: the five of cups. The regret is not on Kara's part, however; it is on the part of the last person to see her. While this person would be a man, I am not seeing a romantic relationship. In fact, the nature of the acquaintance between Kara and this person may have been the source of tension between Kara and the King of Wands. But the five of cups speaks to regret and loss, things that were not intended. It is also another water card. The last card we have is the Moon. The Moon is often psychic knowledge, but can also indicate deception and can tie into the aspect of that which is hidden by the High Priestess. We can be quite certain that Kara probably did not run away from home, but encountered some very bad circumstances that were covered up and well hidden. As a physical location, the Moon is also a watery card, specifically in a place where the reflection of the moon can be seen on the water.
I wish this reading could have given us a more positive outlook. I always advise not to ever give up or stop looking for a missing person until he or she is found.
