What Happened To Ashley Summers?

 

Ashley Summers disappeared from her home in July of 2007, when she was fourteen years old; apparently having run away from home. She telephoned her mom about a month later, but no one has heard from her since. So what happened?

We begin with the three of cups, reversed, crossed by the King of Wands. The three of cups reversed is often a message about excess, such as too much drinking, too much partying, ect. The King of Wands, taking his position crossing this, seems to be a clear enough message; an older male attempted to put a stop to the behaviors and excesses described by the three of cups reversed. Beneath this, we have the Page of Cups, reversed. This is a young person, quite possibly Ashley, who is a bit sneaky at times, and difficult. The nine of wands, reversed, follows, giving us a clearer picture of the impatience on the part of the King of Wands, and the defiance on the part of the Page of Cups. We have a rebellious teen.

Crowing the situation, we get the eight of wands, which is a card of infatuation and sudden decisions and actions. Somewhere in the background to this, Ashley had a love interest who inspired, and possibly assisted in her disappearance. Next, we see the seven of wands, reversed. This is indecision and anxiety; it is the fast forwarded "snapshot" of part of the situation today, over eight years later. Indecision and anxiety play major roles in the continued lack of resolution of Ashley's case. 

In the place of fears, we find the Queen of Pentacles. This is a woman connected to the situation, who was an adult at the time Ashley went missing. As she falls upside right, I will assume, for now, that she has Ashley's best interest at heart. The next card, in the place of environment, is the High Priestess. The High Priestess represents hidden matters and mystery, and this aptly describes Ashley. She has not decided to come forward yet. In the place of hopes, we have the ten of cups, which gives us two things: hopes of Ashley's well-wishers, hoping to find that she is doing well; and hopes of Ashley, herself, for happiness and family. As a final outcome, we have the Empress, which is an interesting card as an outcome. The Empress represents feminine influence and motherhood, and this is the energy at play, here. I think that the mother figure, and perhaps Ashley's own mother, is the voice to which she is most likely to respond, and in turn, the echo in her own life.

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.

Where Are The Fandel Children?

Amy and Scott Fandel, a brother and sister in Alaska, disappeared on from their home on September 5, 1978. He was thirteen years old, she was eight. They had been left home alone for the evening, and were not reported missing until the following day. Their case has not been resolved, so lets see if the Tarot can give us any answers.

This reading starts with the eight of wands, reversed, crossed by the Queen of Wands. This appears to be jealousy, aimed at this queen, almost as if harming the children were a means of expressing anger toward the Queen of Wands. Beneath this, we have the five of swords, reversed, supporting this. It is a suggestion that someone incurred a loss, of sorts, to the Queen of Wands, and exacted revenge upon her. We also have the two of cups, reversed, in the background, telling us that the loss involved either a friendship or a romantic partnership.

Crowning all of this is the Empress, reversed. She suggests that the children should not have been left alone. Following this, we have the six of swords, showing travel, possibly across water or across a border between different states.

The children were not taken by a sole abductor, as the three of wands appears in the place of "self" on the staff. The three of wands indicates a cooperative effort between different individuals. The next card, in the place of opinions of others, is Justice. This tells us that whoever took Amy and Scott felt perfectly justified in doing so. Next, we have the Fool, in the place of hopes. This is clearly a hope of moving forward without getting caught or discovered. Last, we have the two of swords, reversed. When the two of swords falls upside right, we see stalemated situations, but when it falls reversed, the message is quite the opposite: some time in the future, we will see movement in this case, but it will be unusual and almost appear to be the wrong thing at the wrong time.

The only card suggesting death or violence is the five of swords; this worries me; still, I do not see death in this reading.....that is not to say it hasn't occurred, though. The direction we see here is south......and combined with the six of swords, it is at least a couple days journey to the south. This whole crime appears to have been dreamed up and mostly executed by a woman, as there is a lot of feminine energy in this reading, lent by the Queen of Wands and the Empress. What I do not see are efforts on the part of law enforcement to find the children, or the results of such efforts.

How Has William Bradford Bishop Evaded Capture?

I have gotten several requests for another reading about William Bradford Bishop, who killed his Montgomery County, Maryland family in 1976 and dumped them, along with evidence, in North Carolina before he disappeared. He had worked for the U.S. State Department and for the U.S. Foreign Service for most of his career, but when handed a desk job in Washington, D.C., he responded with the murder of his family. I am not sure that I can add anything to the Tarot's initial comment on this, but I might be able to get some insight on how Bishop has evaded capture since 1976.

We start with a basis of the five of swords, reversed, crossed by the Page of Swords. This gives us a picture, via swords and air, of control of information and words. Somehow, Bishop has managed the information connected to his whereabouts very well. Has he seriously lived under the radar, though? When the five of swords falls reversed, as it has in this case, there is always a chance of defeat. We must note that the Page of Swords crossing the reversed five is upside right, so this page is likely to side with Justice, not with Bishop. It appears that there is a person, possibly a young person...or a significantly younger person than Bishop, who knows the story and can give us information.

Beneath this, we find the nine of pentacles. Bishop has made a very secure home for himself somewhere. He found a way to obtain everything needed for survival. Another card following this this is the Knight of Wands, reversed. This is a recent disruption in either Bishop's life, or in the secrecy of his situation and whereabouts. There has been a disagreement of sorts, about the carefully managed information. Either someone close to him has lost trust in him, or someone who knows his secrets has experienced a better offer, so to speak, than Bishop can offer. Bishop's secrets are in danger of getting aired openly. Next, in the realm of possibility, we have the Queen of Pentacles, reversed. This is a moody, mistrusting woman. And well she might mistrust; after all, look at the charges against Bishop! She is probably olive in complexion, with dark hair and eyes. So far, her testimony and contributions are only in the realm of possibility, though. Coming up in the near future, we have the five of wands, reversed. This card usually refers to games and deception, but as it falls reversed here, the message is about contradictions. Someone may come forward with embarrassing or dangerous secrets.

In the place of fears, we have the ten of pentacles, reversed. This lends an aura of fear of loss or "poor risks" to this situation. Bishop has remained successfully on the lam for many years by carefully evaluating every risk he has taken; but somehow, his abilities are outmatched, of late. The Hermit follows, in the place of environment. There is still a perceived duty, on the part of the law enforcement community, to find Bishop, and the few who know Bishop's secrets are aware of this. We find the Sun, reversed, in the place of hopes. There is, at some level, a changed plan or a nullified contract in the picture. We finish with the World, reversed. This is fear, and an inability to move on; in this case, from one physical location to another.

It seems that William Bradford Bishop has managed to evade capture by lying and manipulating information. When the five of swords or the five of wands appears in any reading, we can expect dishonesty somewhere in the situation at hand, but both have appeared in this reading! Bishop is probably using a different name, and probably had his name "officially" changed before the internet became a reality. It is strongly possible that those with whom he associates himself do not know the truth about him. As this reading tells it, there are only a couple of people who do know. The subject of inheritance is also broached, in a cursory fashion, via the ten of pentacles. Is there a chance that one of his enablers has passed away, and that person's assets are out of Bishop's reach? It's all an interesting question. Another piece to this puzzle is the fact that no one has demanded a verifiable backstory from Bishop, accounting for the earlier parts of his life. This may play a role in justice for his murdered family.