So on Sunday, in the space of half an hour, I lost my keys. I had just come in from taking the trash to the dump, and I was steamed because that's not usually my job and I thought the person who was supposed to do it had forgotten. (He hadn't.) I also was steamed because I'd had to take the 'wrong' car because the Subaru keys weren't where they were supposed to be. So when I walked in, I threw a towering self-righteous fit of pique and made everybody hunt for car keys. A moment later, I found the missing Subaru key in my purse, a pink crossbody bag, right next to my own set of keys. I apologized to everybody, sort of.
And that's the last time I saw my own keys.
Half an hour later - after flying around the house doing laundry, making lists, and generally imposing weak order on strong chaos - it was time for me to do some errands with my daughter. I got in my own car and pressed the start button (it's a Prius). ". . ." said the Prius. I pressed it again. "[Karma alert!]" said the Prius.
My keys, in happier days. The current version has only one car key on it.
I borrowed my husband's key and did the errands. When I came back, it was time for a Lost & Found reading with Psy-Cards, the gorgeous 40-card Jungian oracle deck by Maggie Kneen. It's really the only non-tarot deck I use, and I mostly only use it to find lost stuff. It had never failed me before Sunday.
From the cards, pictured above, I had a couple of ideas: I dropped them while going out a door (Stranger). Or, they're in the basement (Cave) under something. Or, I dropped them while bending over to do something (Now). So, while re-tracing my steps, I concentrated on areas near doors, particularly dark cave-y places close to the floor. I vacuumed a bunch.
Now, my keys are not easy to lose. They're metallic and clunky and complex. When they drop, they make a lot of noise. They're too bulky to hide in a pocket or lining. All of that is on purpose - SO THEY WON'T GET LOST.
One great thing about being in the tarot community is that there are plenty of folks willing to help you interpret your draw if you're coming up blank. Another great thing is that lots of them are straight-up psychics. Here are several suggestions I've had:
- They're in a shoe in my daughter's closet.
- They're in a closet in the guest bedroom.
- They're still in the pink bag.
- The faeries took them - propitiate, cajole, or threaten them.
- They're in the laundry room, under the dryer.
- They're under the car seat.
- They're in the compost.
My friend Jason did a Lenormand reading and got Clover-Lily-Letter. Maybe they're where I sort mail? he suggested. Or near some herbal cookbooks, or a literal garden?
My friend Nya did another Psy-Cards reading and added Mother-The Sage-Liberation (which last, by the way, I've had on the occasion of losing other objects) to The Stranger-Now-The Cave. Around the chair in my office? In a drawer?
And then, I broke out the pendulum, which is a new-to-me tool I've always wanted to use. I got Husby to find his brass plumb bob and then I drew a floor map of the house. Even though I'd never used a pendulum before, I certainly knew where to turn for tips. Charnissa suggested I ask the ancestors to help with the pendulum, so I did that too. Belt and suspenders! The pendulum seemed quite certain the keys were still in the front room where I last saw them in my bag.
Another friend suggested I put the 3 of Wands, which she had found helpful for retrieving lost objects, up on my altar. So I did that too, and even wrote a little spell for it.
I took every single suggestion seriously. One thing I've learned from this experience is that a little humility is probably called for. I'm not dismissing anyone's wacky idea at this point.
Anyway. It's been 5 days now, but I still hold out hope. Finding things in our rambling farmhouse with its four not-very-organized inhabitants is always a Where's-Waldo-sized adventure. I keep thinking that I'll be haplessly cleaning up a counter for the millionth time and there they'll be, clanking and jangling and scolding me for my neglect.
In the meantime, though, I remain open to suggestions.