Hugues De La Plaza

Hugues De La Plaza, a young man from France, was found dead in San Francisco in 2007, having bled to death from stab wounds. To this day, his death remains unsolved, and it was rumored by some to be a suicide,, but evidence points strongly to homicide.

 

 

So how did this violence happen? The reading starts with the Tower, crossed by the four of swords, and while I was shuffling the cards, the Lovers fell out, as if to shed some additional light on matters. The Tower represents an implosion of bad habits and bad decisions, forcing a change. The four of swords is a card of rest, or as in this case, of waiting. I think that someone was waiting, either in Hugues's apartment, or outside of it, for Hugues to come home that night. Below this, describing the background of the situation, we have the three of pentacles, which is the card of the craftsman. This would indicate a connection from where Hugues worked, or made his living. Behind this, representing motive, we have the Empress, reversed, showing a female influence. As she is reversed, this female would not be favorably inclined toward Hugues, and her aspect was completely out of balence.

 

Following the event, background, and motive, we have the eight of pentacles, which is another "work and career" card. This whole matter somehow has a connection to Hugues's workplace. It is also distinctly possible, in fact, almost certain, that Hugues knew his assailant and was not that surprised at the conflict. The Page of Cups is next, and he would be a youngish man with light brown hair and hazelish or bluish eyes. He has a strong connection to the reversed Empress. Could the Empress have been involved in a relationship wherein she and her mate were attempting to start a family? In any event, there is no indication that Hugues was interested in a family, so the committed relationship of the Empress was not with him.

 

The six of cups reversed appears in the place of the fears of the person who committed the murder, and it WAS a murder. There is an element of "living in the past" here, for this person. His relationship with the Empress had changed, somehow, and he blamed Hugues! The next card, describing the environment surrounding this, is the five of swords, reversed. This is revenge, purely and simply. It would also not surprise me to hear that he was stabbed five times. The Queen of Pentacles, reversed, represent the murderer's hopes. This definately involved a woman, and betrayal and mistrust were clear factors, as this Queen is reversed. The final outcome is described by the two of swords, reversed. This suggests that perhaps the culprit had not fully decided to kill Hugues while he waited for him to come home, but conversation and events began moving in a direction that was difficult to control. Sadly, the factors in this are workplace connections, revenge, and a woman.

 

Happy Easter

Update For Kate Phillips

 

Katherine Phillips disappeared over a year and a half ago, and while her biological father is still in jail over this, Katherine has never been found. There were a couple of requests for an update.

 

I drew three cards for the past, which are the four of pentacles, reversed; the nine of swords, reversed; and the ten of cups. The four of pentacles reversed tells us about the wasting of resources instead of prudence in the area of paying bills. Clearly, someone involved in the situation with Katherine did not want to grow up and learn to budget money. Next, we have the nine of swords, reversed, which is worry, followed by the ten of cups, which, I believe, is Katherine's birth. While the birth was definately a happy event, and Katherine was very wanted, her presence caused worry for at least one party. But......everyone following this case already knew this much!

 

The next three cards are the four of wands, reversed;the ace of cups, and the four of swords, reversed. Four is a number that represents Family in Taosim, and in my opinion, the presence of these two fours in Katherine's reading screams "family"! Upright, the four of wands tells of happy family events, weddings, or parties, and reversed it often tells the same story, but sometimes as clouded, or imperfect happiness. The ace of cups refers, once again, to birth and happy news. The four of swords reversed is sudden activity after dormance. So.....the disappearance was planned, somewhat, and "sprung" on someone who did not suspect.

 

Finally, we have the seven of cups, reversed, representing the use of will and reason....we can safely assume that responsible party was not "insane". This is followed by the four of cups, also reversed. Another "four"......this one referring to new relationships and communications. Still a reference to "family"........I think the baby is somewhere near the biodad's last residence. All of the cups in this reading also speak of water, as water is the element that relates to cups, and point west. I do not think this baby ended up very far to the west, though. The final card is the Wheel of Fortune, which tells me that when Katherine is found, it will be by lucky chance. Ten is the value of the Wheel of fortune; perhaps that is a number of importance here.....could it corrospond to the ten of cups? Tenth Road? Ten feet? Ten ponds? Water is undoubtedly part of this picture now, whether is was when Katherine first disappeared or not. She is also not far from the home of someone in her family.  

Update For Sierra Lamar

 

There was a recent request for a reading for Sierra Lamar, who disappeared a year ago, with a focus on what Sierra was thinking at the time this happened, and possibly, the cause of death. I can certainly try this, and see what the Tarot has to say about those things.

 

This is rather a disturbing reading. It starts with the Emperor crossed by Temperance. The Emperor is the "father" card of the Tarot, and as he falls reversed here, I am going to assume that he is favorably disposed toward Sierra. Temperance is a card of good combinations and relationships, so it would seem that Sierra's father or someone who served as a father figure in her life had recently given Sierra some advice concerning boyfriends, drugs, or underage drinking. Beneath this, we find the six of swords, upside down. When this card falls upright, it is a card of travel. We see it reversed, here, which means that Sierra did not travel far, if at all, on the last day she was seen alive. It also tells of situations that have no escape, and it looks as if she was warned by her father about this particular possibility. The World also appears in Sierra's past, immediately before she disappeared. She had apparently just decided to do something that she saw as a positive step, or move, in her life. The five of swords overpowered her, though. Anger and revenge were involved. The Page of Wands appears as a message she was waiting to read or hear, but never got to see. Perhaps this was when her phone was taken from her. It seems that Sierra's last thoughts had to do with texts, messages, communication, and probably her phone.

 

The Hirophant, a card of tradition and sometimes of marriage, figured heavily into Sierra's fears. This is a bit unexpected, because Sierra was so young. The Knight of Cups, a romantic contact, occupied her thoughts. The Queen of Swords, reversed, was another aspect of Sierra's fears. There was a feminine influence here. The Queen of Swords reversed is intolerant and violent. The placement of all the cards from the suit of swords in this reading suggests strangulation or suffocation, as Swords' element is Air. Of course, the meaning could be more literal and suggest actual knives, too, but I tend to think strangulation. Justice, reversed, falls as the final outcome. Excessive severity, unjust punitive actions, and injustice in general is the meaning here. Sierra had either overstepped a boundery, or was perceived to have done so, and someone (or possibly two someones....a male and a female) about whom the Emperor had warned her decided to seek revenge. It does not appear that Sierra expected this, or saw it coming.