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.

Erica Nicole Baker

 

Erica Nicole Baker disappeared in 1999, while walking her aunt's dog, in Kettering, Ohio. A suspect was prosecuted, but Erica has never been found. So what actually happened? 

We start with the Page of Pentacles, reversed, crossed by the King of Pentacles, which is also read reversed, here. This is a younger person with a tip or a story that is, for some reason, refuted. It is interesting to find it as the backbone of the reading. The King of Pentacles is a man who has somehow used either his power or his skill in an unethical way in connection to Erica's case. This is based by the three of pentacles, reversed. A general "aura", if you will, of not paying close attention to details, or not being very good at what one does.....either as employment or in other aspects of life.....plays a role, here, too. Then, we have the ten of swords. This is not a good card to find in a reading for a missing person. The ten of swords is a card of violence, and of violent endings, and it is a clear suggestion that Erica may have met with such a situation. 

The Page of Cups appears as someone with reliable testimony, but this testimony has yet to be heard. I am inclined to think that this is the person who, one day, finds the evidence, or finds Erica. In the meantime, the two of cups, reversed, appears to show that while one person is actually responsible for Erica's disappearance, two people participated in the cover-up. There may have been a quarrel underway at the time it happened, as well. 

The King of Wands, reversed, comes up in the place of fears. This is someone who is not likely to listen to any new information, and may be someone responsible for decisions concerning any new searches or legal actions connected to Erica's case. In the place of environment, we get the World, reversed. This is a suggestion that someone may have withheld information in this case, with ulterior motives. The Page of Swords appears as a hope, and this is a hope of hearing from someone who can testify to Erica's location and state what happened on the day she went missing. The final outcome is the Moon, reversed. Not only does this show that there has been deception in this case, but now there are practical considerations being imposed. The hope of finding Erica rests with the Page of Cups, who has not yet come into the picture. 

For a location, the three cards from the suit of pentacles, connected to the persons of interest, almost scream "earth", as in burial. Such symbolism would also take us north. But then, we have the two of cups, which tells of shallow water and takes us west. As both cards are reversed, I would not expect the direction to be very far in either direction. The World, reversed, also suggests that there was not a lot of travel. The reading suggests that Erica was taken two or three miles west, or northwest, and either buried in a very shallow grave or just abandoned. Whenever an interpretation to a reading ends this way, I always hope I am wrong, and I always hope the victim is found alive and well, in spite of the reading.  

Jonathan Shay

Jonathan Shay disappeared in July of this year from his Missouri home, along with his cousin. His cousin was found a day later, but not Jonathan. So what happened to him and where is he? I will put the question to the cards.

We start with Temperance crossed by the Moon. Temperance is a successful combination or a well planned event, and the Moon, which is read upside right, can either mean psychic awareness, deception, or secret foes. The latter seems to fit the best, here. This basis lends itself to a scenario in which the boys may have been stalked, and the perpetrator knew when to find them unsupervised, and did so. The Moon points to an agenda of some sort, hinting that Jonathan was the victim.

This is preceded by Strength, reversed, which tells a clear tale of abuse; when this card falls reversed, it often indicates abuses of power or authority, and preying on weaker individuals. Next, we have the card of secrets, the High Priestess. Since she is upside right, I will assume that she represents an aspect of this situation that is in Jonathan's favor, somehow. We are still dealing with hidden influences. This is crowned by the World, which speaks of completion of some kind, but as this is in the realm of possibility, not past or present, we shall return to it later.

The card that follows, and shows some tension in Jonathan's situation, is the three of swords, reversed. This card often comes up to describe infighting between family members, custody battles, and ugly political/personal strife within peer groups. In reversal, which is how we find the card, it warns that the subject of the reading has compromised another in some way, and there either is, or has been, a confrontation. This makes me wonder of Jonathan witnessed a crime, or saw and heard something that could have created problems for someone in his environment, had the information become known.

The first card on the staff is the Magician. Here, the Magician is someone who knows his job, and he is in the place of fears. The message is clear: someone connected to Jonathan's disappearance is worried about the presence of an expert who can do his job and find Jonathan. In the place of general environment, we find the four of pentacles, reversed. This is wasted resources and delay. Somehow, it seems almost deliberate. In the place of hopes, we find the Hermit, reversed, which gives us the message that someone has deliberately stalled the investigation by sending searchers in the wrong direction. And finally, the reading ends with the Tower. Jonathan will be found, and someone will be held accountable. Sadly, the Tower does not predict a very happy ending, either for Jonathan or the perpetrator. This is what I read as a very strong possibility that Jonathan has met with foul play---the accountability described by the Tower. I always hope I am wrong about that type of assessment, however. Possible locations appear, via the Moon and the High Priestess, to be places where there is water; enough water to hide evidence. The World suggests that he will be found, possibly outside. Because of its position, we are being warned that the resolution of this case will not be handed to searchers and investigators; it will only come after efforts. The other clue about whereabouts has to do with the situation of a person: the four of pentacles reversed tells us that someone connected to this case has recently suffered a setback or a material loss. This is someone who should be interviewed.