Quite honestly I can’t blame the parents for this overblown vampire connection, but I do blame the media.  The second the word “vampire” got thrown into the mix “cult” got attached to it pretty quickly and since then it’s all been a big speculation as to whether or not she ran away or was taken away into a “vampire cult”.  The girl’s mother said on Nancy Grace’s show several nights ago that she knew her daughter had an account on VampireFreaks.com and that, while banned from using the site at home she assumed Shelby was getting access to the site at school and at friends houses.  Apparently Shelby left for school on the bus on day with about $160 and never came back.  The mother claimed that Shelby had a boyfriend presumably from the VampireFreaks website who she had talked to the day she disappeared.  While she continued to say that she thought that Shelby’s activity on the VampireFreaks site was likely connected to her disappearance she did say several times that she didn’t know anything about a vampire cult and she didn’t seem to be the one generating that connection.

Things just seemed to spiral a bit out of control and things got weirder when a week after Shelby went missing a 15 year old friend of hers, also assumed to be involved in some “Gothic double life”, as this is being billed, also went missing, and then shortly after a third girl disappeared.  Those two girls were found and all was well but Shelby was still missing until today when she was found in Lakewood, Washington.  Shelby had apparently, of her own volition, taken a bus to the town to stay with someone who she may have met online.  Since the last website she apparently visited on her computer was VampireFreaks according to one article, this is part of why the assumption of a “vampire cult” may have come more strongly into play.

The thing that makes me a little annoyed about this whole story is that even news outlets like CNN/CNN HLN are quick to jump the gun on why this girl ran away when she hasn’t made a single contact with her family since the say she left and she hasn’t talked to anyone (at least that the media has reported) but yet these frantic assumptions about vampires and cults because of her interest in “the dark side of life”, as they’re all calling it, is getting a heap of attention.  There’s certainly nothing saying that this isn’t a possibility but I would have to say that it’s probably more likely than not that she met a boy on the website and decided to take off and meet him.  For all we know she got stranded there and couldn’t afford to get back home or, who knows, she might have just liked it there and wanted to stay.

Why does it have to be able vampires, drinking blood, and being Goth?  She could have just as easily met some clean cut football playing kid from Washington and decided to take off just the same.  Would a football cult have been to blame?  Probably not.  And what if that nice boy had been a Christian and she met him on a Christian social networking site?  Would it have been a Christian cult to blame?  Maybe but most likely no.  Had these been the case then it would have just been a crazy teenager “acting out” and it wouldn’t have become such a huge issue making headlines with the every lovely Nancy Grace.

I’ll be very interested to hear what she has to say about why she left.  Instead of blaming their daughter’s interest in an alternative lifestyle that is constantly getting the shaft from an uneducated media community and her involvement in what is nothing more than a social networking site for Goth kids, how about the parents take a little of the blame here and let’s hear what it is that they did or didn’t do that would make their 16 year old child think it was a good and safe idea to take off to the other side of the country.  Someone was kind enough to post a clip from HLN today after she’d been found where Michelle Belanger made the attempt to quell some of these fears about Goths and vampires but, no surprise, she got about 30 seconds of speaking in and that was about it.  The newscaster covering the story was more interested in making the connection with the fact that the Twilight stories, which are about vampires, take place in Washington state and Shelby ran away to Washington state and therefore there’s a possible Twilight connection.  Really??!!  That’s just sad.

Not sure what to think about the Goth thing?  Check out these links:
What is Goth?
The Goth Culture on ReligiousTolerance.org
GothicSubculture.com

Tarotscopes for Monday October 4, 2010 through Sunday, October 10, 2010

Aries  The Magician
During this week you will find yourself anxious to impose your power in a creative way.  There are other people who you may be working with this week who seem to lack the fire or passion that you do and your ego may feel a little bruised by their lack of excitement or support of your ideas.  When you decide things need a little change in order to pick up the pace, work with your magickal creativity using your magickal skills to help get things back on track.  Don’t be afraid to use it!  However it would be wise to do your best not to become too forceful with others that you might be trying to sway in your direction.  Remember that you have the power to turn things into what you like but the process is one that needs gentle balance.

Taurus  Four of Knives
The need to take a break this week and take time to really sort our your thoughts and feelings is going to be a nagging thing.  It’s not going to be a feeling you can shake until you really commit to making time for yourself this week.  Something has been off and you may be feeling like you need to seek shelter but finding where to turn seems to have you a bit confused.  Take this as a sign that it is really time for you to take a pause.  This week you need to make the time to rest, do something relaxing, something to feed your soul, and remove yourself from anything that has you particularly stressed.  Be mindful however of those around you who are sympathetic to your situation and are willing to support you and provide a shoulder to lean on.

Gemini  Seven of Skulls
In the face of success we can sometimes become paralyzed by fear.  The fear of living up to the expectations of others or the worry that we’ll never again do anything as great as this thing that we have just accomplished can be difficult to get out from under.  This also can cause some of the sweetness of our success to vanish.  This week you might find yourself feeling that even with a recent success you aren’t really moving forward or feeling like you thought you should.  What fears about the future are keeping you trapped in the present?  Letting go and being able to evolve is the only way to see true success and progress.  Don’t become stuck in the small victories and the fear of reaching your dreams.

Cancer  The Fool
The sense and energy of the fall season is going to take over for you this week and you’ll really be feeling the spirit of the season.   October is going to be a month that brings on a feeling of new beginnings and new possibilities for you and may feel you’re channeling a bit of the regeneration aspect of fall.  Be mindful this week of messages, signs, and omens coming to you in your environment, especially from animals that you may encounter.  Do you keep hearing the same bird calls or seeing the same types of animals crossing your path?  Take time to pay attention to these animal messengers because there is something in their presence that is trying to get your attention and help direct you on this path of renewal.

Leo  The Lovers
This week you may find that issues of trust come up in many of your close relationships, especially romantic ones.  Have you been giving or taking too much in this relationship and causing and imbalance?  Making changes to create more balance and reestablish a sense of unity and connection will help to bring things back to where they once were when you felt things were most balanced and at peace.  You may find some of this draining and a little difficult but in the end the work will be worth it.

Virgo Eight of Grails
Lately you may have been feeling like something has you slowly slipping into a state of depression or stagnation.  It’s that time of year where we often start the transition from being very focused on the outer world and other self and we start turning inward.  With this being the nature of the season, now is a time to start leaving behind the emotionally draining things that keep you from being your true self and instead begin the hard but worthwhile journey of seeking to connect with your higher self.  Begin this journey with simple changes such as meditation or a change in diet, but do it with excitement for what is to come.

Libra  Prince of Skulls
This week you may find yourself drifting off into deep thought without realizing it, day dreaming but not about anything really exciting.  Rather you’re mind may be easily pulled into the mental merry-go-round of thinking about the day to day responsibilities we need to deal with.  Things like paying the bills, making dinner, planning for the future all seem to really pull at your awareness and have you spending a great deal of energy on their needs.  You may begin to get some sense of how to make some existing financial concerns more workable with some creative money planning.

Scorpio  Five of Knives
You may find yourself in a state of haziness this week, feeling somewhat stuck in thinking about things of the past that haven’t panned out as you might have hoped.  You may even start to feel like something or someone has a strange hold on you, keeping you stuck in the past.  In a sense this is true but the only person robbing you of peace or happiness is you.  Work to fight back this week and get past feelings of guilt, shame, or sadness by accepting that these things are in the past and can’t be changed.  Instead focus on taking your power back and moving forward, waking yourself from your states of stagnation.

Sagittarius   Nine of Knives
When we get to a point where we have reached our most distressed state we can, sometimes we end up acting out in really irrational ways or ways that just aren’t indicative of who we really are.  This week you may find yourself acting out after some difficult times with friends who you may have suspected don’t have your best interests in mind.  Face the shadow side of these people and work through the fear of having to address that these people aren’t who they seem.  As you do that you’re need to react will stop surfacing and you’ll be able to let go of the defenses you may have been creating and carrying with you.

Capricorn   Ace of Skulls
The key focus for you for this week is about finding balance between the spiritual and material worlds.  The real focus will be bringing the spiritual into the material.  This is the time for you to get your spiritual work out of your head and apply the things you have learned and developed to everyday life.  Your spiritual growth has really bloomed on the inside but now it needs to be expressed and put to use.  There’s no point in just gathering up this information and never using it practically!

Aquarius  Daughter of Skulls
There is a great amount of power and potential around you this week to work on getting new projects going if you’re willing to do the work to make everything happen.  You have the tools and the ideas but when it comes to getting your hands dirty there seems to be a hesitance.  This week pay attention to your inner spark and see what it is that really keeps it burning.  Determine what will help keep you going, working toward your goals, and what will prevent you from becoming distracted and falling off course.

Pisces  Nine of Grails
This week you’ll find yourself feeling the complete content nature of true connections in your life.  Love seems to be in great abundance and a feeling of bliss seems to follow you wherever you go.  Allow yourself to open up to those around you who care and want to be part of your life more fully.  Wishes and desires, especially related to love and family are going to start showing signs of coming to fruition.  Keep up the momentum of positive energy because it is the glue that keeps things together for you.

Have a great week everyone!