Lyle Stevik

On September 16,2001, in Grays Harbor, Washington, a young man who used the name Lyle Stevik hanged himself. He was found in his hotel room. Lyle Stevik is a name used for a character in a novel by Joyce Carol Oates. The number to call, if anyone has information, is 360-537-6319.

The question I put to the cards is, "who is this man, and where is he from?" This reading starts with the ten of wands crossed by the ace of cups. This young man was experiencing more than his fair share of burdens, and had obviously become impatient. Had he simply waited, the ace of cups indicates that while he may not have gotton better off materially, an important relationship would have had a new beginning. Beneath this, we have the High Priestess, reversed. This is a feminine influence; possibly a relationship that was only a fling for her, but serious for him. This is followed by the ace of wands, reversed, which is a false start, in this case, with the same relationship. A possible outcome would have been the four of cups, reversed, which is reconciliation, had "Lyle" lived. In what will come to be, we have the Queen of Wands, reversed. This is a mistrustful, overly dependant woman. She may be the only person who knows the current circumstances behind this case well enough to identify "Lyle".

 His secrets are represented by the three of wands, which would point south to tell us where he came from. His reason for travel was business, and it was probably international travel. In the place of friends and family, we have the two of wands, which tells me that someone, somewhere, is looking for him, but does not know where to look. Hopes and fears connected to this are represented by the seven of cups, which tells me that quite a few attempts to find this man have ended in false leads. The reading ends in the six of cups, which is a card of memories, often childhood memories. This gives us a clue about "Lyle's" state of mind when he died, and I also think he may have visited this part of the country at one point when he was a child, and that he had sentimental reasons for choosing Greys Harbor.

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.