STUFFED GATOR MAY HOUSE BORGIA SECRET

Valencia, not far from the Cathedral. Everyone knows Roderigo Borgia, the corrupt Renaissance Pope. But few non-Valencians know Lepanto, the stuffed alligator that, as an alleged dragon (actually, a feral pet of the ancien régime), haunted the local marshes and Turia riverbed during the reign of Philip II; and even fewer have seen Lepanto, only knowing that the gator hangs, like the one at the pharmacy where Romeo Montague purchased his poison, from the rafters in a certain downtown church, which can only be visited at certain hours, in order to preserve the sacred art within.
Rumours going around the University of Valencia may have established a strange connection between the alligator and the Borgia Pope. According to Frédéric Premier-Avril of the Fund for Inquiry into Conspiracies, Lepanto's straw-filled inside may hold a code related in some way or another to the rise and/or downfall of the Pope one century before his capture.
"The Church, of course, owns the 'dragon' and forbids us to conduct the dissection or any other testing on its historical property," says M. Premier-Avril. "But of course I was fascinated when I realised there was 'an alligator stuffed', like the one at the pharmacy where Romeo Montague purchased his poison, hanging from the rafters in the Església del Patriarca. And, after getting the chance to see Lepanto, I began to wonder if the Bard had ever visited Valencia during his lost years," he continues, recalling his youth and awe at that first encounter.
Then, last year, M. Premier-Avril made a breakthrough. "I was listening to this episode of Madeline 2000, Madeline and the Spider Lady, and something plinged in my mind at the lyrics: 'From the stage at Carnegie,' when this opera singer appears on screen. Rearranging the letters of FROM THE STAGE AT CARNEGIE has given us GATOR as well as R'DERIG'. The subliminal message, even without any Os in the second word, is crystal clear. The O is the open mouth of the red-headed primadonna upon the stage."

The O is her open mouth, I mean, there is already an O in "From," according to Premier-Avril.

Furthermore, a cross-examination of Roderigo's lines in Othello, substituting "Venice" for "Valencia", may hint at an adventure which the young future Pope and Archbishop had during his twenties. Which is certainly proof that the Bard knew of the confidential decision to use an alligator stuffed, an alleged dragon, as the perfect place to store the secrets of a decadent dynasty.

"The Church, of course, owns the 'dragon' and forbids us to conduct the dissection or any other testing on its historical property," reiterates M. Premier-Avril. "Leaving us to rely on coded messages within lyrics and Shakespearean tragedy, in the hope that we shall make our next breakthrough before 2020."

TAROT - HORSESHOE SPREAD - RENTRÉE UV

Horseshoe Spread
24th of October, MMXVII
On the Eve of:
Rentrée - Master's Degree in Creative Translation - University of Valencia

1) Forces In Favour: XIII Transfiguration (Death). Change, of the life-changing kind. Metamorphosis: Coming of age, passage from Castellón to Valencia and from Bachelor's to Master's Degree.
2) Forces Against: King of Swords. Authority on the Intellectual Plane. The UV establishment? Surely. A centuries-old, renowned, illustrious institution with whose establishment my stubborn self may clash.
3) Resources to Encourage Forces in Favour: Six of Swords. The passage of the Styx (Charon, Urshanabi) - transition. Murky waters astern, but calm waters ahead. Keep looking forwards, instead of over your shoulder. It will be all right on the other shore.
4) Resources to Overcome Forces Against: XVI The Tower. Revolution. Downfall that brings about something good, overturning the old order. Razing the established structures. The fall of the Bastille... Right, this is the big leagues, so the rules of young adulthood of the past lustrum are becoming obsolete. Time to storm the inner Bastille and get serious.
5) Turning Point: Eight of Cups. Turning one's back to the old and setting off on a quest for the new, for what is missing. Into the great unknown where there are dragons and where angels fear to tread.

Conclusion:
Great changes straight ahead. Keep moving forwards and never look back as you tread this new uncharted region. You're not in Castellón anymore...