Tackle the Text: A Message in the Madness

As I said, I’m positive this is a message. But back then, we were too busy fighting to completely decode it. Can you guys help us figure out what Amanda was trying to tell us?

63 responses

1. Squiggles 12.11.2009

   Birds can symbolise many things; freedom, lack of gravity and thinking before you speak and act.
   Chains can mean slavery and also communication.
   A rainbow can mean heavenly or celestal but also yin and yang.

2. AwesomeAnna93 12.11.2009

   (Btw; I’m not making like religious references on purpose or anything. This is just stuff that I’m finding)

   -Birds have long been a symbol of the soul. Birds represent a passage between the physical world and spiritual worlds. Birds in flight can also represent freedom.
   -Bird – Birds represent freedom, inspiration, sometimes messengers related to the God/dess.
   -Dove – The dove appears in the Ace of Cups, and is also possibly the bird in the Star. It is a messenger of peace and of eternal love.
   -From the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, a white dove carrying an olive branch is a sign of peace. The motif can also represent “hope for peace” or a peace offering from one man to another.
   -Daisy: The most basic of flowers, a white daisy is a symbol of innocence.
   -The daisy brings a message of innocence and purity.
   -Rainbows a symbols of heavenly glory, and of celestial wonder.

3. AnnaliseVell 12.11.2009

   Maybe all she wanted was to draw (hehe, get it?) you guys together?

4. Glamrockgirl 12.11.2009

   Maybe its like Hal said, that Amanda needs the three of them to come together to help/find her. Maybe she is trying to send them a message. Like shes hiding something from them. Something that she needs them to figure out. Shes leaving them clues to help them unravel who she really is and why she chose each of them.
   What about the $2500 that amanda left Callista? Did she simply leave it so Callie could pay off the house? OR is there something more to it? maybe a mesage or symbol of some kind…
   Well have to see.

5. Milana 12.11.2009

   How again did Thornhill know about Hal, Callie, and Nia being her friends?  Also, was Callie’s mom good at art?

6. AniStory 12.11.2009

   What if the drawings on the car represented Amanda’s point of view?
   How she sees the world?

   What if the message has something to do with you guys entering her world?
   Finding out who Amanda really is?
   And what she needs from you guys?

   Maybe the money left for Callie was suppose to be use to help you guys find her?

7. Glamrockgirl 12.12.2009

   I can definatley see that as a possibility.
   yet why would amanda leave exactly the amount Callista needed to keep her house?
   I agree with your comments about teh art on the car. Good that callie hla and Nia took photos maybe if they look at it from a different point of view, trying to think like amanda theyll see a message.

8. LuluDaniels 12.12.2009

   Maybe the fourth guide IS Amanda, but not our Amanda. The coyote is one of the few things that she told to all three of you. Maybe there is an “Amanda” out there who IS our Amanda’s fourth guide.
   Or maybe, you need to stop looking at all the things that she told you differently, like where she lives or the places she hangs out at, and you should just look at the similar things that you ALL know about her.

   If there’s ONE thing that I’ve come to know about Amanda, it’s that she does things for more than one reason. Another reason to paint the car would be to draw attention to the letter inside it. Maybe she planted it there, and Mr. Thornhill hadn’t actually read it yet.

   And maybe she painted the car so that you three would have some time together to figure this out. She knew that when she drew your totems on your lockers you would all be framed for painting the car, and would all have to go clean it up together.

9. Glamrockgirl 12.12.2009

   Thats very true and i agree with much of it.
   The reasons for painting the car make a lot of sense.
   Another amanda besides our amanda…. interesting…
   Maybe,if there is another amanda, our amanda took on the personality of the other amanda. Maybe to hide who our amanda really was. To bring her 3 other guids together and try to figure her out.Thats defintaley true. Maybe were looking or thinking to hard about what amandas trying to say and we should look at the simple things that we all know and piece them together to find some answers.

10. Glamrockgirl 12.12.2009

    Idk if callistas mother was good at art… maybe she was/is. Or maybe Amandas “gaurdians” are good at art. Maybe that her mother travels all over the world and experiences so many cultures. Amanda piced up on the art of those cultures.
    Response to Milana

11. Glamrockgirl 12.12.2009

    Interesting awsomeana93——
    Maybe Amanda was trying to send a message abou who she was by those sepcific drawings. Maybe the daises symbolize that amanda may be caught up in something and is trying to get out and prove her innocence.
    Rainbow—-Celestial wonder———-CALLISTA…..
    Maybe a connection there…I think there R lots pf ways we could look at this…
    we just have to find the right way.

12. LuluDaniels 12.12.2009

    Hmmm… actually, Glamrockgirl, I was thinking that there are a lot of different ways to look at this AND we have to see all different possibilities. Chances are that Amanda has more more than one hidden message in the car art. There are lots of “right” ways to look at it, maybe…?

13. Glamrockgirl 12.12.2009

    yeah i can see that. Its seems to me that amanda is a very complex and mysterious person…maybe Clallie hal and nia have to figure out the messages in order to unravel the answers to understanding who amanda is. Hopefully that may help find her.

14. Milana 12.12.2009

    Perhaps the fourth guide was a more mental/spiritual guide.  Totally random yet insistant theory:  Amanda is Callie’s unofficially adopted sister.  When Callie’s mom disapeared, she met Amanda’s parents and they died/left for some reason.  Then she took care of Amanda without actually adopting her, and Amanda can’t really remember her parents.  That could be a reason why she creates stories about them.  That’s how Callie’s mom is her fourth guide, who guided her out of a depressing time without any parents.

15. Milana 12.12.2009

    AwesomeAnna93, if you read the Bible closely, in Genesis 8:7, Noah sent a raven first until the water’s from the flood were dried up, and then he sent the dove.  Just a thought.

16. AwesomeAnna93 12.12.2009

    hey milana, i’m hindu s0o i’ve actually never read the biblee. all that stuff i posted earlier was pretty much info i found online.
    and i do agree w/ your theory about mrs. leary being the 4th guide…

    i think i already said this once but oh well. i think that the Valentino’s were a part of an overseas/somewhere other than Orion segment of Project Omega and that’s how Amanda is connected to Callie.

    But still here’s something that we are leaving out. Callie isn’t the only guide.
    Why did Amanda choose Hal and Nia as well?

17. AwesomeAnna93 12.12.2009

    AnnaliseVell has a point. Amanda did do this to draw you guys together. There’s a reason whyy she wanted you three to come together and solve this. She didn’t choose you guys just because you were nice enough to be her friends because we now know that most of us on this site were her friends.

    I think we need to find like a common connection between Callie, Nia and Hal other than the fact that they go to Endeavor and were Amanda’s friends.

18. dem_94 12.13.2009

    I defiantly agree that Amanda brought you all together for a reason. I think Amanda knew she was going to leaving (or disapearing) before she even came to Orion.

    She obvisously choose Hal, Callie, and Nia as friends for a reason. She trusted you and thought you were special. There might be a reason we don’t know yet. All your friendships with hewr were kept a secret so Amanda must have not wanted you to now about each other until you absolutely had to.  I think Amanda planned ahead for a future she saw inevitable. What do you guys think?

    AwesomAnna93; all that info you found makes prefect sense. If you put everything together maybe Amanda is trying to say she’s innocent (Daisies), but she’s in trouble somehow. She knew all of your souls (or atleast your totems) and that fits with the bird. And even though Noah sent the raven first, everyone recognizes the dove as a symbol for peace, and obvisously Amanda’s trying to send us a message.

19. MandysBoy 12.13.2009

    Hal Callie and Nia: what happened to the pictures of the car?

20. AvrilAngels 12.14.2009

    Amandas always drawing stuff, she drew a hate mural on my kitchen wall of a coyote and a cougar (you, Hal?) chasing a horrifies looking tigress… my totem. she ended up trying to chase me away from her “brother” Casimir. anyone else ever see him? he wasn’t related to her (thank GOD!). anyway, he also drew a mural on my driveway, full of color and light and everything… really good art. she brought us together to help us not find them, but help them

21. Glamrockgirl 12.14.2009

    Yeah i met him, when imet him he had this kinda sk8r/rock thing goin on… Maybe hes the 4th guide and thats why amanda got so upset w/you… but when i met him she wasnt upset at all…. Im so confused…....

22. Willow 12.14.2009

    It is easy to read a million things into one tiny detail. It’s what all teenagers do, after all! But I think AnnaliseVell may be on to something. This was kind of the point of entry into the maze that finding Amanda has turned out to be, and so maybe this act of artistic brilliance was simply a way to really bring you together. The reason it was such a huge thing, was that she needed you guys to believe that this was real, and not a joke.

    Just a thought…

23. ♥MLE♥ 12.15.2009

    LuluDaniels ( all the way up there in the responses) i am totally w/ u. I was thinking that the coyote may be our amanda but also another person. because totems can symbolize a lot of things… and people. I mean so many other people are the same totem on this website so why not with amanda and the car? Just pointing this out here. We will and probably can assume it is meant for Hal, Callie and Nia, but wat is there are more poeple in the school that amanda “touched” and have the same totems?????? What if?

24. haitianqueen 12.16.2009

    BIRDS CAN MEAN ANYTHING LIKE PEACE HOPE LOVE. THE RAINBOW CAN MEAN HER BEING HAPPEN WHEE SHE IS AND DONT WANT TO BE FOUND EITHER WAY. THE COYOTE CAN MEAN CATH ME IF U CAN U CAN SEE ME NOW U DONT. AND THE COGAR IS MEANI GOING TO GET U ARE SOMETHING

25. Mnyca1213 12.17.2009

    If Callie didn’t get that $2500 then she would of lost her house and would of had to move. Maybe Amanda left the money to keep her, hal, and nia together. Because if she moved who knows how far away she would of been from hal and nia? That wouldn’t of worked out so well…

26. L.K 12.17.2009

    Well what about the rainbow-it also could mean peace, and promise(i dont mean to talk about religion or a/t but it says so in the Hebrew Bible….)

27. x_jinx_x 12.20.2009

    I think Amanda has something to do with Callie’s mum! first off after watching the cctv camera another person was with amanda! and if \thornihill is getting two letters such as the one from callie’s mum and one from amanda and just putting them randomly in dentention seems a bit weird! Amanda seemed to know if they were going to break into thornhil’s office and somehow for callie to find that letter and amanda only found out a day before about her family it must mean something!!!

    Love x_jinx_x

28. LuluDaniels 12.20.2009

    I think we might be giving Amanda too much credit (if that is even possible). Maybe She meant for Callie, Nia and Hal to find the letter to Thornhill from Callie’s mum. But on the other hand, maybe it was just a fluke? We can’t start seeing connections that aren’t necessarily there. How could Amanda have forseen that Callie would find the letter from her mum? I’m sorry to be playing the devil’s advocate, but maybe we need to think this through a bit more.

29. Mnyca1213 12.21.2009

    is there even a such thing as a fluke in books?

30. LuluDaniels 12.21.2009

    Yes. Yes, there is.

31. AnnaliseVell 12.21.2009

    Willow, I totally agree with you! I think the main message of the car was peace, and that Amanda wanted you guys to find a peaceful way to be friends and put your heads together to figure out where she is and what she wants.

32. Watson 12.22.2009

    The message has something to with a place that includes rainbows, peace, the animals of yours and amanda’s totem signs, peace and rainbows. So it might be in a place were all these things are.

33. Watson 12.22.2009

    Also this whole thing might be away to find out about amanda’s and Callie’s mom’s where abouts. Just one question why whould Amanda send something about sherlock holmes to the VP of the school before he got his car vandalized by her and he got beat up. and Who was the other person with amanda on the survallience tape.

34. Watson 12.22.2009

    Sorry, i coundn’t write any were else but. I live in Canada and I’ve seen amanda. She cut her hair to neck length but it really was Amanda. She came into my favourite bookstore I noticed her because of her wig. And when I talked to her she mentioned the names Callie, Hal, and Nia, she also mentioned she might take me to get a dolphin tatto.

35. Eloe 12.22.2009

    I think this was to get you guys to join forces. If she didn’t draw on the car and found out she was missing you would of never found each other.  she needed to let you know to stick together and trust each other.
    The drawings on the car look all peaceful. what I think she is trying to say is what ever you find out, to keep your head!

36. EmiJeanMarie 12.24.2009

    i think Amanda is kind of like a guardian angel. she came to each of you in a time of need. each of you felt like you were lacking something in your life; Callie felt alone and confused- her mother left (which i can relate) and she felt she had to be something she wasn’t with her friends. Hal felt like he didn’t fit in at school and Nia felt like she’d been stabbed in the back by Heidi- who needs to grow up and realize that the world (LIFE) doesn’t revolve around her! (Someone should put her in her place and point her out for what she really is)- and what she’d done even though they weren’t in the same circle. i think she came to each of you as what you wanted and in the end gave you what you needed, freedom. actually i don’t think i would even call her a guardian angel…i don’t exactly know the words for her, but i think she’s still in Orion. if she’s still leaving clues, i think she’s still around.

37. miswera 12.26.2009

    Amandas talents are many. She is very clever and I think the car was just a starting point. Amanda is probably in plain sight and because you don’t expect to see something you won’t see it. You need to stop looking for a deeper meaning and look siply at what each message tells you. Amanda has disappeared from sight but not from mind. Hal, Nia and Callie you guys are doing a great job keep it up.

38. PiscesGirl 12.26.2009

    They might be all clues and stuff, but maybe it was just graffiti. Maybe she just wanted to show off, or something. It looks really cool though, you’ve got to admit that. There’s a big peace sign on it, and there are doves on it. Maybe it has something to do with world peace? Or smoething like that… I’m not even sure…
    Also, no offense to hippies, but it looks like a hippie car… or like this one Barbie doll car I had when I was little :)

39. fun-lovingisi 12.29.2009

    I’ve skimmed through these comments, and my opinion/conclusion about amanda’s many childhood stories are because she doesn’t know how much she can trust her guides so she tells them different things. She tells all three of them the same thing when it’s something that she can trust them with. I guess she doesn’t want to talk about her childhood as much.
    As for the car, I’d say its not about the little designs but the big picture. why draw something so bright? to draw attention to the car. Why the car? because of the note inside. She not only wanted mr. Thornhill to read her note but also her 3 guides. Am I making sense?

40. Laurel 12.30.2009

    What about Mr Thornhill? Amanda has left him a message? Asking for help so why would Amanda hurt him? In the book it tells you a little bit about people telling Callie, Mia and Hal to stay away and not help. If Amanda asked Mr Thornhill for help, maybe he was or did somehow and the people that will be warning the Guides to stay away had hurt Mr Thornhill as if they are trying to prove a point or something.
    Also I have a hunch that Callie’s mum is involved and I think Amanda lied to the guides because it sends them like one step back from something or someone.
    The animals, I don’t understand very well. Maybe it’s a code, like how Mia is wise. Amanda puts hard clues which helps Mia use her wisdom on things, Hal is strong and solitary, maybe meaning organizing things and Callie is the one who thinks outside of the box but not as much as Amanda. I think that you three are kind of in a way her. Split into three, which explains why you became friends. Why she made you friends. You all carry the things she is! Her personality is in three people.
    The car is showing you that just because she has disappeared doesn’t mean she’s in huge trouble if she has time to do that and she’s not alone. It also shows that now, you are part of her and you are one guide. As I said before, your all part of her personality so together your one which means you are special! The other messages are peace signs. Like what the ending will be. Peaceful.
    Tell me what you think and if you agree. Tell me what Callie and Mia think to.

41. Cheerleader 12.30.2009

    I think Amanda wants to be free. The birds symbolize being free. I think its a sign that you, Callie, and Nia are sopose to have peace with each other, like no fighting.
    I used to go to school with Amanda and she would always draw degnings like the stuff on the car but only in her notebooks. She showed me one of her diaries one time, it was all about the desnings. I had asked if i could read it and she said
    ” Each sign means somthing different to each person, i cant share my thoughts”
    So i guess its like the totems that she has given us.
    Me,well im the horse.
    If you need help figuring out anything, i was her guide at my old school.
    ttyl
    cookielover00

42. fun-lovingisi 12.31.2009

    also maybe just the fact the the art was drawn in chalk symbolizes that nothing is permanent?

43. aadwar00 01.01.2010

    Even when we were little kids Amanda was always weird about stuff like that. She doodled on everything, incuding our bedroom walls once when we shared a room. When our mom came in screaming about having to repaint, amanda simply said that she liked her pictures and they were staying. Turns out she had aso used chalk on our walls, which she said later was for two reasons 1. it could wash off easily and 2. she said see? nothing lasts forever, not me not you, not my drawing, and NOT moms temper tantrums..and we both sat and laughed about the way my moms face changed when she realized it was only chalk. Maybe she wants you to make the most of everything…even the bad times…because nothing is permanent, other then change.

44. Strawbezz 01.03.2010

    The lizard that is drawn on the car is what confuses me. So I googled it. Apparently someone who has the lizard symbolizes dreams, change, the ability to rescue oneself by leaving a part of itself behind, and psychic perceptions.
    Also, it could be: “sun-seeking habit symbolizes the soul’s search for awareness.” To the Romans, who believed it hibernated, the lizard meant death and resurrection.<removed by Cornelia’s minions>
    I have no idea who could possibly have the lizard as their totem in Invisible I!

45. Tails 01.03.2010

    ...Callie’s mother?
    I don’t know why.
    I just think that it may be.

46. BlueLibby 01.03.2010

    I think first of all, and most importantly, it was to bring you guys together. This is shown by the symbols on the cars and the symbols on your lockers.

    Secondly, due to the letter inside and the car`s colourful decorations, it was a way to get a message across to Mr Thornhill.

    The chalk was, i think, partly so you didn`t get in too much trouble, but also it symbolises change & that maybe she being there wasn`t permanent?

    The doves, rainbows and peace signs & daisy chains probably showed that she wanted you guys to be friends ,as all in one way or another represent Peace, Harmony and Joy.

    Okay my rant in over. I think I may have re-capped rather than put any incredibly new points across, though. Still, I hope you people find my opinions useful.

    (BTW, I don`t think the coyote shows a new Amanda. I think it was her version of an Artist`s signature.)

47. BlueLibby 01.03.2010

    Also, where did you see the lizard, Strawbezz? Because that could be the symbol of the other person who helped her draw.

48. Zoey 01.03.2010

    I agree with BlueLibby, the lizard totem could symbolize the other person who vandalized Thornhill’s car. I’m not sure what to think, but I believe that maybe Callie’s mom could have helped. Yet there is no way to know what callie’s mom’s totem is. Maybe Callie should think of which totem her mom would best represent.    :D

49. LuluDaniels 01.03.2010

    I agree with Zoey. Maybe the lizard is Callie’s mom!

50. Layla 01.03.2010

    I agree with what people have been saying: that the lizard, if they are the second person on the tape, could be Amanda’s mother.  Maybe the symbols on the car have to do with bringing all of the totems together.  Every totem is very different from all of the others, but maybe Amanda’s trying to show them that, if they want to figure out her mystery, they need to set aside their different views and personalities and come together to figure everything out.  They need to break free (birds) of their individual totems.

51. fizzy79 01.04.2010

    You said it Layla! I agree 110%! Amanda is trying to tell us to join together-be more peaceful! Go Team Amanda! (if you don’t know what Team Amanda is, check out my Zine input)

52. Layla 01.04.2010

    Totally!  That’s exactly what I was trying to say.  Except I meant Callie’s mom—not Amanda’s.  Oops!  But I wish I knew about Amanda’s parents as well..
    Team Amanda!  :)

53. *SugGAHiPpY* 01.05.2010

    I think the pictures On the Car Represent Everything Amanda stands for:
    *Freedom,Individuality and well…Colourful and Unique
    I dont think she was Trying to send a message but rather telling them to be Free and break some rules (Painting on the princibles Car,like Duh…)
    BUT hey…thats just my opinion…

54. BlueLibby 01.05.2010

    Yeah, I agree with what you guys have been saying- I think Amanda & Callie`s mum are definetly connected!

55. Ellen 01.06.2010

    umm, can i get one thing straight please is this real life or a story please help me im a little confused…please tell me the truth aswell

56. LuluDaniels 01.07.2010

    <Removed by Cornelia’s minions>

57. Strawbezz 01.08.2010

    Haha… Okay well apparently we can’t put up links but Cornelia and the other main characters can. Sorry, didn’t mean to break the rules.
    Yeah, I think Callie’s mom and Amanda are connected. But it’s too early to say that Callie’s mom is the one who helped decorate the car.
    If this was the case, why would Amanda seek out Callie only now. It seems like Amanda had many other guides before Callies, Hal, and Nia. Plus, I’m sure Callie would know if her mom is a great artist.
    Since Amanda disappeared the Ides of March, it /could/ symbolize that there is a TRAITOR involved. Not pointing any fingers… but, didn’t Julius Caesar die on that day because Brutus, his own friend, killed him?

58. teenage.poet 01.09.2010

    I know this probably completely irrelevant and stupid idea, and I don’t know if anyone has mentioned it yet because since I got the idea I didn’t read anymore responses, but… Could it be possible that Amanda is Ursula’s (Callie’s mum) illegitiment daughter?

59. xxsarahlovexx 01.20.2010

    *okay so i think every thing drawn on the car has to be connected with amanda’s scribble book*

60. Skinnyhippo 01.20.2010

    I think Amanda is trying you guys to be peaceful and get along, be friends or the images on the car
    smbolize where she is. there are so many possibilities but in order to find Amanda we have to try to think like her but the question is, is if thats even possible. Is Amanda Valintino even Ananda Valintino or is she some one else? Is the totem she told you guys was hers even hers or someone else’s? Is she trying to tell you guys to look for someone else named Ananda Valintino? Did she take on someone else’s identity? It might just be Amanda doesn’t want you to find her just Amanda? (If that makes any sense.) She might just want you to find the real Amanda valinto and help her.

61. Skinnyhippo 01.20.2010

    the birds with olive branches remind me of the dolloar bill because the dollar bill has an eagle with an olive branch in its tallons. I think the olive branch repersents the branches of the goverment. It might have something to do with it. or it could mean the dollar bill its self witch means money it could be talking about the money she gave Callie in the envalope. or it could mean the sign for a the dollar wich is $ this is supposed to symbolize Moses’s staff and a serpent winding around it. it could also mean many other things doing with the secrets of the dollar bill. And back on the branches of the goverment thing it could mean to go to washington DC where many people in goverment are including the President. From there i would assume the National tressury would be the place to go conssidering the fact that she could be talking about money. The chain of daises though could mean she wants you to go to the chain of Historical sites and such there like the lincon momorial and the White house. or she could mean the museum!!! The smithsoian!!! it has and under ground area or in this case a “chain” connecting the diffrent parts of it. I hope though that Amanda’s clues are not that complicated.

62. AGirlNextDoor 01.20.2010

    Think about it, if she chose that theme then it could suggest that she wants something to do with happiness, and the other person, who could she be friends with, who might do this? If it’s someone in the school, could she have another guide?  And back to the other question, I understand that she changes her moods everyday so why this?  There’s meaning behind it all. Maybe it’s that she want’s them to work together, as a team.  So now all she wants is for them to understand that she wants to be free, she doesn’t want to be told what to do and when. She’s independent, but very mysterious. So maybe the answer relies on how you look at it…

63. Alliepallie 02.12.2010

    I think Amanda was trying to tell Hal, Nia and Callie that she diddent mean any harm and that she comes (and goe’s) in peace. All the simbols add up to one thing Happyness! Amanda wanted them to be happy when she left and not hate her for dooing what she did. Amanda was a very mysterious, cunning and maby even a little sly so if you want to find the true meaning of the painted car you have to look beyond the colour and find the true meaning of the symbols and there will lie what we are all looking for. The truth.