This is an example of a reading done about a fugitive from justice, using the horoscope method.
To try a horoscope
reading in a missing persons case, I decided to use the case of William Bradford
Bishop, a
former Maryland man who was once a secret service agent. He disappeared in
March of 1976 after the brutal murder of his wife, mother, and three sons.
Several months ago, there was a question as to whether or not Bishop had died in
Alabama and been buried, unidentified, but this was not the case.
The first house,
the house of personality, shows the five of pentacles reversed. Bishop was the
type of person who unable to settle for something he did not consider ideal, and
he also got bored easily with any type of "status quo". Also, while there is no
talk of extramarital affairs, he was not above having one and hiding it. The
second house, money and possessions, gives up the ten of swords. Not only did
Bishop commit an act of violence, he effectively ended his claim to everything
for which he had worked, thus far, in his life. The third house, that of
communication and short journeys, gives us Temperance. Bishop had, apparently,
planned this event more than anyone suspected, and his next moves and
communications were with people who did not know who he actually is, and were
unacquainted with his family. The next card bothers me a bit: in the fourth
house of home and environment, the Lovers comes up! This is almost self
explanatory. Bishop had a lover waiting in the wings. This not only gave him a
cover, but gave him a false alibi.
In the fifth house,
the house of children, creativity, and romantic relationships, the High
Priestess reversed appears to tell us that Bishop is just as shallow now as he
was while married. This also points to a strong possibility that he never told
his new lover his real name. Secrets; unhealthy secrets. House number six
reveals the two of swords, stalemating Bishop's health, somehow, and his day to
day affairs. Somehow, keeping secrets was not always amenable to moving forward
in life. The seventh house, marriage and partnerships, gives us the moon. This
is desire, laced with deception. Anyone this man loved heard lies, not the
truth. House number eight controls joint finances, wills, and matters connected
to death, and here, we get the five of cups. It shows regret, plainly and
simply. Also, there is a suggestion that there is something material that Bishop
would like to claim, but unless he comes clean about his new identity, it
remains unattainable to him. A direct, oppositional path to the ten of swords,
where he became violent and ended his career as William Bradford Bishop, is very
telling.
The ninth house,
dealing with life on life's terms, and also with long journeys, shows Strength,
reversed. Bishop's style, when met with opposition, was obviously to abuse
whatever authority he had, or any person who stood in his way. But where did he
go? Strength reversed usually refers stalled projects and things that go
nowhere. It has been speculated that Bishop relocated to Europe, but if so,
would be associated with a port or a harbor frequented by pirates and criminals.
Human trafficking is also suggested when Strength falls reversed. He has spent a
lot of time in seaside towns and seedy places.
The Knight of Wands
comes up in the tenth house, of worldly status, reputation, and career. Under an
identity that isn't real, Bishop has established himself as a businessman who is
"always on the move". Also, fire is the element associated with wands, it's
possible that he is somehow involved in shipping oil. Perhaps one of his haunts
was in the middle east, at one point or another. The suggestion is that he is
still active in his secondary career, too. In the eleventh house, that of hopes
and wishes, we have the Sun, which is success in all undertakings. In Bishop's
case, this is simply getting away with murder. The twelfth house, of
subconscious, hospitals, and death, produces the four of pentacles, reversed.
Here we see more obstacles and setbacks. It appears that a life of crime under a
false identity, lived largely on the lam, does not have the best retirement
plan. The four of pentacles is all about hoarding and saving when it falls
upside right, but upside down, it screams "waste". Another thing that is
addressed by the twelfth house is self-undoing. I believe this describes
Bishop's own undoing to an extent: when Bishop committed his special crime in
1976, there was no such thing as DNA evidence. He left enough DNA of his own
behind for authorities to create a profile for him. He left enough DNA at both
crime scenes, his home in Maryland and the place in North Carolina where he hid
his family after he murdered them, to place him at both. He obviously did not
expect science to progress so quickly in the area of forensic application.
So....Bishop will, one day, be identified.
