Murders Of Patricia Smith And Patricia Magers

Here's a cold case from Wichita, Kansas, from 1992. Patricia Smith and Patricia Magers were both shot to death in the bridal shop where they worked. A composite sketch of the suspect appears on the poster, above, but no one was ever arrested and brought to justice in this case. Let's see what the Tarot can tell  us.

I used a horoscope spread for this reading, and while I shuffled, the Knight of Wands fell out, reversed, so the descriptions of a suspect with reddish hair in 1992 are apt; however the first house in this reading has given us the Knight of Pentacles, and the second house has given us the Knight of Cups. These two houses represent personality and financial prospects, respectively, so what are two knights doing here? Also, these knight fall upside right, describing them as part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. The Knight of Pentacles is methodical and moves slowly, going through everything with a fine toothed comb. The Knight of Cups is more expressive about his feelings, and may be a spokesperson for the local police. He is often a messenger of sorts. He is still hopeful that the suspect can be found. In the third house, we find the Empress. The third house is about letters, communication, short journeys, and relatives; the Empress is the "mother" card in the Tarot. We have a suspect who has used a woman, either his own mother, his childrens' mother, or a woman who has children who are not connected to him, as a "front". He has probably retreated to her home, and she is probably unaware of his pastimes. Look for her, also, to have reddish hair and a complexion similar to his. This is backed up by the fourth card, in the place of home environment, which is the nine of cups.....the card of home environment! This suspect is completely unworried about getting caught.

The fifth house, the house of sex appeal and pleasure, gives us the Queen of Pentacles. This is an adult female; brunette and possibly with brown eyes, with whom the suspect has had a romantic relationship. She is not, as of yet, connected to his life of crime, but she represents the prototype of his victims...mostly brunettes! House number six, work relationships and everyday matters, gives us the King of Cups, reversed. As an employee and as a neighbor, this man is dishonest and twisted; he has a perverse sense of entitlement.
The seven of pentacles appears reversed in the seventh house, of marriage and partnerships. This suspect has probably been divorced at least once, and has lost income or property he considers rightfully his because of it. In the eighth house, of death, transitions, and legacies, we have the Moon. This clearly points to imagination, and the suspect almost feeling that by targeting a certain "type", brunette females, he can "regain" something. Almost as if he thinks he is "owed" something.

In the ninth house, the house of long journeys and the "establishment", and relationships thereof, we have the six of swords, reversed. This is very interesting, because it indicates that wherever this killer is, currently, he is not doing much travel. His home, or his stomping grounds, are probably in the same part of the Midwest as Patricia Smith and Patricia Mager's homes had been. He has even used this as a strategy. Also, look for him to be on probation for other types of crime. The tenth card, in the house of career ambitions and social status, is the seven of cups. This person has a vivid imagination about his own abilities, and has never really applied himself to a stable type of gainful employment. Those who know him are well aware of this. The eleventh house, of hopes, wishes, friends, and hobbies, shows us the ten of pentacles. Somehow, the suspect has either inherited, or by some other means, acquired a large amount of money or property which he did not earn. In the twelfth house, of secrets, secret enemies, and self undoing, we have the ten of cups. So far, this suspect has gotten away with everything he has done. Kansas authorities are not really hopeful that they will find him, either, especially if he is related to someone in the community who is enabling and protecting him. His mistake will be in thinking that his enablers will remain perpetually interested in enabling him.

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.