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.

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.