Paul Manafort's Trial

In light of recent news stories about Paul Manafort and his trial for bank fraud, money laundering, violating a federal lobbying disclosure law, obstruction of justice, and over twenty-five other unlawful odds and ends, I decided to do a reading about the trial, which began this week. My curiosity is piqued, not only about the outcome of the trial, but about the trial itself and its nuances in relation to others whose affairs are on Robert Mueller's radar. With that in mind, the reading will be a horoscope spread, since that type of reading often generates more information, albeit the final outcome isn't always as clear. Here goes:

We begin with the four of swords, reversed, in the first house; the house of self and of the actual charges and case, here. The four of swords, when it falls reversed, tells of sudden, renewed activity and social unrest. It also advises circumspection and caution about spending money, and it appears that Manafort used very little caution. This card points to Manafort's cavalier behavior as the reason he was so handily caught and arrested. It also shows us that regardless of the testimony of witnesses, there is a paper trail and an electronic trail in this case. Next, in the second house, of wealth, possessions, and prospects, we have the two of pentacles, also reversed. Here, we have an inability to balance two financial opposites, and we also have feigned happiness. This shows us that Manafort's checkbook did not always balance, and that Manafort had a tendency to pretend that it did. Following this, in the third house, which governs short trips, communication, business and commerce, and sometimes, relatives; we have the Knight of Wands, reversed. When this knight falls reversed, he is often a jealous and disruptive man, but he can also auger an event. Perhaps it is both, here. It would definitely describe a covetous and jealous middle aged man, always wanting more of everything; and it would also describe the arrest, complete with the "no knock" warrant that was served on Manafort in July of 2017. The cavalier behavior of this knight is one of the reasons he stood out as a possible criminal.

In the fourth house, of home environment and property, including real estate, we have the Page of Wands. This card can indicate a young person with something to say, or it can be a message. I rather think that this is one of the witnesses, here, and this witness knows a lot about Paul Manafort's homes and other real estate holdings. This witness is testifying and cooperating with prosecutors.

The fifth house brings us to a new theme in this case, and that is evidence. The fifth house is the house of creativity and amusement, and often, children. In it, we find the ten of wands. The ten of wands signifies an attempt to put something to rest that either did not work out well, or has ended. In this position, I interpret it to mean that someone close to Manafort, perhaps a family member, attempted to destroy or dispense with evidence. This will be featured in the prosecution's case. The sixth house, of health, day to day affairs, and inconveniences show the nine of cups. This may look like a partial victory for Manafort, as it shows he has enjoyed good health up until now, and has never lacked material comforts. Perhaps there has been too much focus on this, both by the prosecution, and by Manafort, during his pretrial life! He still has the best of everything material that a man in his position can have, and that includes legal representation.

In the seventh house, of partnerships, marriage and divorce, agreements, and of public perception, we see the three of wands. This augers that both the prosecution and the defense will have help and testimony from experts and from successful persons who have worked with Manafort in the past. This may look good for Manafort, but the eighth house, which is directly connected to the seventh house via monetary agreements with partners, gives us the two of wands, reversed. This is a warning that the prosecution has the upper hand here, in one way or another, and that any "help" offered to Manafort could easily backfire. The eighth house is also a house of death, loss, and karma. Manafort may find himself indefinitely dominated by others.

The ninth house governs long journeys, overseas matters, and law. In it, we have the four of pentacles, which is the proverbial card of the miser. Material possessions, once again, seem to feature prominently in this case. The suggestion is that Manafort still owns a few assets overseas, and this will factor into the case against him. Next, in the tenth house of career, ambition, and social status, we have Judgement, reversed. The verdict almost doesn't matter: Manafort will never fully recover from this trial. This card also speaks to a loss of worldly goods, and it certainly augers an end to some of the delusions with which Manafort fooled himself. He really thought he would never go to jail, and that's where he is, right now, while this case is tried.

The two of swords appears in the eleventh house of debates, friends, and social life. This card carries a couple of different meanings, here. It is a card of balanced forces, and it sometimes signals a stalemate. It could warn of a "hung jury", or that Manafort will enter a plea before the end of his trial. As it appears in a house that governs social life, it still shows that this matter will not necessarily end with this trial, and that his personal life is still in a state of suspense. More charges and another trial, perhaps? Another possible message on this card could be about the length of the trial, which will probably be about two weeks, give or take a day.

The last card, in the twelfth house, of secrets, self undoing, enemies, institutions, and sometimes, death, gives us the Fool, reversed. This shows faulty choices, and also shows that there will likely be a guilty verdict, at least on a few of the charges; and that there will be an appeal. It does not appear likely that Manafort will be a free man any time soon, and there is a suggestion that a plea bargain prior to the beginning of the trial would have been a better choice.

I will follow this up after the trial is over, as I have never done a reading quite like this one. Thank you for reading, everyone.


Update: On August 21, 2018, Paul Manafort was found guilty of eight of the charges lodged against him. Ten charges were declared "mistrial".

Who Killed Lindsey Baum?

Lindsey Baum was found in September of 2017, in eastern Washington, over 100 miles from where she disappeared, in Grays Harbor, Washington. It took months for positive identification. Now that she has been found, the questions remain: how did Lindsey get so far from home, and who killed her? I will attempt to answer those questions with a horoscope spread.

In the first house, of the general atmosphere of the matter, we have the Empress. This is the card of the mother; but I must state that she is not necessarily Lindsey's mother. Her association with Lindsey had something to do with being a mother, or being someone's mother, though. And the Empress is followed by the Emperor, who appears in the second house, of financial prospects and valued items or ideals. It is interesting to see this pair together. We either have multiple suspects, or one suspect and multiple "accessories after the fact". I would expect one of them to be female, too; or, at the very least, I would expect a response to an adult female to show up as a factor, here.

In the third house, of letters, communication, and short journeys, we find the Hierophant, reversed. In reversal, this card is the card of the rebel, one who resists conformity and the status quo. Finding him in the third house, which deals in communication and in short trips, I would the perpetrator to be someone who not only lies, but distorts his words about situations and leads searchers on wild goose chases, in order to continue to conceal the truth. People who knew what happened to Lindsey either called in tips, or pretended to assist in ground searches. The reversed Hierophant is followed by the Knight of Swords, in the fourth house of home environment. Sometimes, this card refers to a violent male, but this knight also often refers to law enforcement. And law enforcement is definitely going over the details, right now.

In the fifth house, of creativity and amusement, we find the Moon, reversed. This is a secret enemy, whose intentions were completely unknown to Lindsey. This is the twisted reason for the entire situation: paranoia and revenge for imagined slights. In the sixth house, we have the two of wands. The sixth house deals with worry, work relationships, everyday matters, and inconveniences. The two of wands shows an effort to strengthen the home front and defend. It also shows partnerships of sorts, and as it shows up in the house of inconvenience, it almost goes without saying that Lindsey had to be transported far away from Grays Harbor, where she would not readily be found. Also, it is starting to look as though someone connected to Lindsey had made someone in Grays Harbor uncomfortable, and this was that person's grim response. The seventh house, of partnerships, gives us Death, reversed. When Death falls reversed, he speaks of stagnation and change that is very slow to occur. Finding him in the house of partnerships in this reading reinforces my initial suspicion that we have more than one suspect to track down in the death of Lindsey Baum.

In the eighth house, of death, joint finances, and debts, we have the three of cups, reversed. We have a perpetrator whose priorities are his own enjoyment, and his own welfare...no one else's. In addition to seeing Lindsey and those close to her as a "threat" of some sort, he truly has no remorse about what he did. The ninth house, of long journeys and protection, gives us the Star. This card often comes up to tell us that something, or someone, was left outside, "under the stars", so to speak. We can also take some hope, here, that this case will eventually be solved, as many aspects of it are now uncovered. The tenth house, of social status, shows the Knight of Wands. This tells of one particular male presence, among those in Lindsey's community. He would be anywhere from twenty-eight years of age to mid forties. This is someone whose testimony may help investigators. Following him, in the eleventh house of social connections and friends, we have the Page of Wands, reversed. This, I feel, is not a false tip or bad news, but an actual person. He is male, in his late teens to early twenties, and has withheld some very important information concerning this. In the twelfth house, of secrets, self defeat, and institutions, we have the seven of swords. The seven of swords tells us that somehow, the whole case will unravel, despite the killer's efforts, and it will be solved. The seven of swords shows up when an action, especially a misdeed, has been done sloppily or is otherwise too difficult to accomplish.

Solving this case will get complicated at times, and it will involve more interviews of persons who have already been interviewed. One of the clues of the reversed Hierophant is to look at any and all conflicting stories and anomalies concerning the evidence and what is thought to be known. Eventually, Lindsey's family and community will have answers.

Lucas Hernandez Found

Sad news. Five year old Lucas, Hernandez, missing From Wichita, Kansas since February, has been found, deceased.  Hopefully, justice will be swift.

What Was The True Motive For The Bombing Of The Murrah Building?

It has been almost 23 years since the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City was bombed, killing 168 people, including children who were at a daycare that was on the premises. While two men, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, were largely thought to be responsible, no clear motive, other than a general disliking for the government and disapproval of the way the government handled Ruby Ridge, in Idaho in 1992, was ever established for this act. So I will do a Celtic Cross reading to see if there may have been other factors.

We start with the Devil, reversed, crossed by the Page of Wands. When we meet the Devil reversed, he is telling us of secrets revealed, and the Page of Wands is often a message or a messenger. This is interesting; it alludes to information that someone had intended to bury and keep secret. Beneath this whole matter, we have Death. Death appears here as a factor that is an ultimate deal-breaker: information that could make or break anything from a decision to a career. While he looms in the past, he casts his shadow on the event. Death is followed by the six of swords, reversed. When we see the six of swords upside right, it tells of travel. In reversal, the card means the opposite. So...we have information that was somehow connected to the Murrah Building and was never intended to see the light of day.

The best possible scenario for this matter would have been the nine of cups, reversed, which tells us that had the building and its offices not been destroyed, someone's career and choices may have been questioned, and perhaps someone might have gotten "pink slipped", but there was nothing that required mass murder. This also refers to the perspective of those who planned the bombing: they did not think that bombing a building was too serious or a big deal. Sickening.

What followed the destructive intent and decision was the Knight of Pentacles, reversed. The actions that led to the bombing actually moved more slowly than the perpetrators intended. There is also an element of dishonesty here; dark money was paid, about which nothing was ever said.

In the place of fears and purposeful intentions, we have the Empress, reversed. This is a bit of a surprise, to see a woman in this spot. She is shallow, and unconcerned about possible victims. Her mission is to destroy, rather than to create. The whole event turned unfolded at her direction. The next card, in the place of environment, is Justice, reversed. It screams that justice was never actually done. The case was closed with only pawns charged and tried. Next, in the place of hopes, we find the ten of pentacles, reversed. It is someone's sad hope that lives lost and destroyed remain a mystery that is never avenged. The final card here is the three of swords. This is a card of quarrels, discord, and in-fighting in political circles. Should the subject ever be revisited, discord is what we can expect. It is doubtful that we will hear more about this in the near future, though, because I just pulled the Hanged Man out of the deck in answer to my question concerning any future re-opening of investigations. The matter remains suspended, and the ten of swords, reversed, shows the whole matter owned by the reversed Empress. It appears that there actually may be a lot more than meets the eye with the Oklahoma City Bombing.