Jessica Chambers

I got a request, over the holiday, for an "investigative reading" about the murder of Jessica Chambers, of Mississippi. She was found deceased earlier in December, and fire was used, either as a weapon, or to destroy evidence.

The reading starts with the Queen of Wands, reversed, crossed by the seven of cups. This queen, when reversed, is a jealous, angry woman who acts on impulse, rather than thought. Curously, the suit of wands also represents fire, so we are already being told of the element of fire, and of a feminine influence. The seven of cups represents dreams or delusions......things that the queen wanted, but which were either out of her reach or simply impossible. Beneath this, we find the five of cups, which tells of regrets and bitterness, accompanied by a loss. But that which was out of the queen's reach and the loss represented by the five of cups are emotional matters, and hardly seem like a motive for murder! 

Someone who contributed, in some way, to all this is the King of Cups; but as he falls upside right, I will assume that he is part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. He is a man who is trying to solve this crime, yet is challenged by the lengths to which the perpetrators have gone. He has empathy, almost to a fault. Sometimes it is easier to focus on a murder without so much empathy! This is backed up by the appearance of the Moon, as a possibility. This tells us that working with intuition and theories will help solve the crime; good, old fashioned police work. Sometimes, this card warns of exaggerations and lies, however; so it is important that the general public be patient with investigators while they sort through evidence. The two of wands appears to describe events in the near future, and this card speaks of scientific methods, and productive exchanges of ideas. Via this exchange of ideas, there is also a partnership of sorts: more than one person or agency will solve the crime. Also, a double meaning implied here is that more than one person must be looked at and questioned......we have multiple suspects. 

In the place of fears, we find the Hanged Man. This is a card of sacrifice, especially in the quest of knowledge. Whoever killed Jessica is very afraid of this kind of sacrifice. As a twist, Strength appears reversed in the place of environment; somehow, abuse of authority has played a role here. As of now, the guilty party is not as gratified with the murder as expected, and is mulling over new strategies for quieting down all of the attention that has been generated by it. As a final outcome for this reading, we have the Hierophant, a card of conformity, telling us that conformity is the method the killer is using to avoid detection and deflect suspicion right now. Something I find odd about this reading is the presence of an angry female influence here; I was not expecting that. While I am sure that there will be at least two suspects questioned, one may turn on the other, in return for immunity or a reduced sentence, it seems that jealousy and imagined slights were somehow the motivation for Jessica's murder. 

Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season!

Will There Be Answers About The Lyon Sisters?

There are now two persons of interest named in the case of the Lyon sisters, who disappeared in Maryland in 1975. There was a massive search in Bedford County, Virginia, and the grand jury is deliberating about charges. The question is, will we find answers through these developments?

We start with the five of pentacles, which speaks of destitution and loneliness. This describes where the girls actually are. It is crossed by the World, which is triumph and achievement. While the desolation of the five of pentacles is not good news, it is rather expected after all these years. The World is a good sign, although investigators are still working at finding answers. The Star appears as a foundation for the recent search......a reliable tip was received. It was followed by the three of swords, which tells us a little more about the tip. There is an element of infighting between involved parties here; someone either heard a secret he or she did not want to keep, or someone divulged information out of malice toward another party. Either way, there was discord involved. The ten of cups appears as a possibility, which means that this lead may, indeed, finally bring the Lyon sisters home.

The Knight of Pentacles appears as a young to middle aged man who is searching for the girls. He is moving slowly, not only in physical searches through rural places which must be physically dug up, or unearthed, (earth is represented by pentacles) but through information and paperwork, as well. Answers will come slowly, but he is not going to give up. 

The six of swords appears as a motivating factor, in some way. It is a fear of travel, or movement, on one person's part. Location, location........if it were a location, it would be a body of water big enough for a boat and deep enough for travel. The five of cups follows, as someone's unshared knowledge. It also has to do with disappointment over an inheritance, or frustration because a reward or payment was not as large as expected. Most Tarot decks show the five cups near a stream or a river. The five of swords follows this, in the place of hopes. This is clearly revenge, which, once again, gives credence to the idea introduced by the three of swords that came up earlier, showing some infighting among parties. The five of swords in the place of desires clearly details revenge. The last card here is the one true problem with finding answers through this investigation; it is the Page of Swords, reversed. Here we have someone who has shared information, but with ulterior motives, and who has not really shared ALL the information he or she knows. Hopefully, the Knight of Pentacles will persevere, and yes, it looks as if we may get answers through these proceedings.

Will The Arrest Solve The McStay Murders?

In light of the recent arrest of Chase Merritt for the murders of Joseph, Summer, Gianni, and Joseph McStay, who were missing for over four years before they were found in shallow graves in the Mohave Desert, I decided to do a reading to find out we will get any answers through this development. 

We begin with a base of the ace of wands crossed by the Knight of  Swords. This is almost classic symbolism for a new piece of information, or a tip, being put into the hands of law enforcement. Policemen are often represented by court cards in the suit of swords. Below this, we have the Page of Wands, which is also often a message, backing this up. The Page can also be a person with information, but this person would be a witness, not a defendant or anyone involved in the investigation. The Fool appears, as the reason the tip was investigated, and also suggests that someone went "out on a limb" to investigate a lead that seemed dubious, or not provable at first. 

The Emperor appears as a possible motivation for the arrest, and I suppose that is a pretty straightforward message: it stands to reason that Joseph McStay's father would want the case solved as soon as possible. Perhaps he is the one who did some of the sleuthing, or discovered something in his son's possessions or records that required further investigation. This is followed by the High Priestess, reversed, in the place of things that will come to pass. I do not like this card here, because it tells us of surface knowledge, or half truths; not the revealing of the entire truth. A challenge for law enforcement and prosecutors will be a temptation to accept only part of the whole story, rather than digging deeper. 

The first card on the staff is the three of swords, telling us that there has already been a bit of "infighting" between individuals close to this matter. Testimony from the person who was arrested may bring on more debate, and it will become even more personal than it already is. This is followed by the four of swords, reversed, which is a sense of urgency on the parts of family to get the whole matter over with, and the case closed. In the place of desires, we have a card that seems very much out of place, and that is the Moon. This is not a desire for closure, but a desire to keep hiding something, or misrepresenting something. Combined with the reversed High Priestess, this does not bode well for the arrest of Chase Merritt, in and of itself, solving this case. The last card is the three of wands, indicating that we are looking for more than one individual to stand trial for this crime. Ultimately, we will eventually get that information, but it will not be easy on the survivors of the deceased, and getting the truth from any witnesses or witnesses after the fact will be difficult.