AUTHOR’S NOTE: Although there is little background information online other than a police-department request for community assistance, Dan Jones (apparently of Alexandria, NH) has been missing since December 1, 2025 in increasingly frigid weather. I performed a horary astrology reading followed by two tarot readings to see what I might learn about his current situation. (As you may know, a horary reading is performed at the astrologer’s geographic location for the precise instant the question is understood.)
The ruler of the Ascendant (and therefore the Querent’s significator) is Mercury in Aquarius in the Ninth House, suggesting that he has left the area, possibly encouraged by another person. The fact that the Moon – general significator of missing objects and people – is in the First House within two degrees of the Ascendant implies that he was personally responsible for his disappearance, and the close conjunction of Mercury to Venus in Aquarius with the Sun nearby seems to confirm that he is not, or is at least no longer, troubled by it, which could speak to his current condition given his lengthy absence – he is either in a warmer place or a much colder one. (See the Mars-Pluto discussion below.) The Ninth House planets are in the South-Southwest sector of the chart, showing that he may have gone in that direction. But the prominent Aquarius presence in the Ninth House proposes “air travel,” which I think is unrealistic in this case, so I see it as representing an online (perhaps social-media) contact who is “aiding and abetting” his misadventure.
The Moon ruling Cancer is the “lord” of the Second House, location of “moveable” items and “mobile” entities, and expansive Jupiter is in Cancer (its sign of exaltation) in that house, so if still alive Dan may have traveled some distance by now.
Tenth-House Saturn in Pisces is in a fairly tight square configuration with the Gemini Ascendant and Moon, creating the possibility that he was under some kind of duress before leaving. There is no indication that he was physically challenged in any way that would make this likely, so Pisces intercepted in the Tenth House insinuates that the Saturnian pressure he was feeling was internalized and probably due to some kind of socio-psychological upset.
Although it isn’t sound astrological technique to equate houses with their “natural” signs (e,g, the Eighth House with Scorpio), and it is also beyond the scope of horary methods, I can’t help noticing that both of the classical and modern rulers of Scorpio are conjoined in Aquarius in the Eighth House, with the faster-moving Mars sitting just over one degree of separation from being perfectly conjunct with Pluto. Although I seldom use the three outer (or “modern”) planets in my horary work, this conjunction merits attention due to its House location.
While Aquarius is more urbane than gritty Scorpio, the implication is of some kind of aggravated coercion (Mars) or even bondage (Pluto), possibly in a “cult” setting (Aquarius). This is the astrological house of Death, so separating Mars could convey that Dan is attempting to – or needs to – escape something dire. In this chart, Mars rules the Eleventh House of communal engagement, which may be instructive for the above analysis. Those who were potentially motivating him almost certainly didn’t have his best interests at heart.
Other than the Saturn-Moon-Ascendant square, there are no close aspects in this chart that can furnish more information. The dominant Air-sign emphasis could mean that he is “on the move and traveling light.”
Now for the tarot readings. All card images are from the Albano-Waite Tarot, copyright of US Games Systems Inc, Stamford, CT.
I chose the King of Pentacles to represent Dan because, based on the published photo, his dark hair and beard remind me of an Earth-sign type. In the random pull, this card came up reversed in the fifth position of the “Train to Nowhere” missing-person spread, a frame of reference I’ve labeled the “Dining Car,” implying that his disappearance is somehow related to lack of physical (and possibly emotional) sustenance.
The reversed King of Pentacles suggests that, prior to withdrawal, he felt “boxed in” by something in his life.
The 3 of Wands reveals that he was looking for “a way out,” maybe to recover by traveling to a better place.
The reversed 8 of Cups shows that he was despondent and felt there was no hope.
With two-thirds of the cards being of the Water element, the reversed Chariot could mean that he drove his vehicle into a lake, pond or river, whether accidentally or intentionally. Alternatively, he may have steered it into the woods and was injured or even incapacitated but can’t be easily spotted. The Chariot is the “turning-point” or crisis card in this spread, lending credibility to the perception of vehicular involvement. This scenario is remarkably similar to the reading I did for Trish Haynes, which indicated that she had “traveled over water” and was “in a wet place” before she was found at the bottom of Grant’s Pond in Grafton, NH. All of the reversals suggest that, if this did indeed happen to Dan, it was unexpected and not purposely executed.
The reversed 2 of Cups describes being deprived of emotional satisfaction, most likely under romantic or domestic circumstances. This could be viewed as a different form of “withholding sustenance.”
The 4 of Cups reversed as the outcome card intimates that he could be submerged, either literally or just in a mental funk that won’t allow him to face returning to what he left behind.
As a follow-up, I performed my “World of Hurt” missing-person spread. In this layout, the first court-card of the correct rank (in this case King) to show up in the draw identifies which of five circumstances the missing subject is experiencing. (The spread is linked below.)
The first King to show up (King of Cups) appeared in the category described as “Mentally feeble or disoriented. (Incompetent; not of sound mind.)” This “bin” is titled “Dazed and Confused,” emphasizing some kind of psychological trauma.
In the “Now Alive?” column, the 9 of Cups delivers an emphatic “Yes” but the previous tarot reading does not support this conclusion. Here we have more elemental “Water” to add to the earlier predominance, which could simply mean a larger volume is inndicated, such as a major river or lake. In addition, the King and 9 of Cups are two of the “signature” cards for alcohol addiction, which may have played a part if he went off the road. The horary astrology interpretation is a little more encouraging if he has in fact left the area willingly under his own power.
In the “Found When/How?” column, the suit of Pentacles normally signifies “Years” but here the 3 of Pentacles is more likely to mean “Within three weeks or three months,” possibly after some of the deep snow melts or the ice goes off the regional waterways. Regarding “how” he will be found, this card reflects “through a lot of diligent effort by several agencies.” This stipulation can also mean “In what condition?” and the 3 of Pentacles conveys a physically robust state of being, which would be a pleasant surprise as a reinforcement for the 9 of Cups, but there is a lot stacked against it.
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