THE FOOL AND MISINFORMATION

                                        Fools+ Misinformation, Lies and Conspiracy Theories

 

“Saturnalia,” an ancient Roman celebration of Saturn began on December 17 and lasted through December 23^rd. A “Lord of Misrule” [The Fool] presided over a feast of silly fools honoring the ancient god, Saturn, patron of the crops. In a gleeful carnival atmosphere, it was celebrated with robust partying complete with a loosening of all moral restrictions. The “mock king” oversaw unlimited feasting, dancing, gambling and masquerade parades. People spoke freely in story-telling, stating lies, giving gag gifts, spreading misinformation and ridicule. Like a fantasy circus, this dystopia was all carried out with no social norms. It was a few days of an elaborate evasion of reality. Eventually, some of the activities of “Saturnalia” were transferred to the Old Europe celebration of the “Twelfth Night,” the last night of the Twelve Days of Christmas from December 25 to January 6^th. Over the centuries, a bean was baked into a cake and whoever found the bean would be king (Lord of Misrule) for the night. * In Tarot, The Fool card can represent a character who plays tricks, talks in riddles, creates chaos and invents paradoxes in order to subvert ridged systems. In a different context, The Fool can be the prequel to the beginning of an adventure on the Tarot path to enlightenment as he travels through the other 21 Tarot cards—Tarot symbols of certain arenas of life’s experiences. But here we are concerned with the silly crazy-making trickster—an unpredictable clown generating chaos and confusion.

 

“Foolery sir, does walk about the orb like the sun. It shines everywhere.”

Shakespeare (The Twelfth Night)

 

“As pagan mysteries found refuge in carnival clownishness, so the fool was preserved by his know-nothing character, like that of pagan heroes before their enlightenment.”

Barbara G. Walker, The Secrets of the Tarot, (HarperCollins, 1984)

 

 How does this relate to us In our time today? It seems the USA has been in a similar Saturnalia-like state of political disorder since the election of the 45^th President in 2016. We have witnessed the spreading of contemptuous lies and unbelievable conspiracy theories via social media and fake and obtrusive websites non-stop. We have been constantly bombarded daily with made up stories concocted by divisive groups in a reckless subversion of any sort of order and promoted by TV news and social media sites.

On January 6, 2021, the cumulative effect of election lies resulted in a state of stochastic violence carried out by rioters in a violent attack on the US Capitol building. Screaming people overloaded with conspiracy theories were breaking in while shouting about a so-called “stolen election.” Ultimately, the “Pied Piper” led brain-washed “lemmings” over the cliff of reality concerning the voter’s legitimate election, into a state of divisive unreality by trying to stop the certification of the election for the President of the United States. The sadistic protesters were also threatening to kill those who were overseeing the count of the electoral college results. Fomented by lies and fear, everyone there just stepped into a quagmire of mindless mob rule and insurrection. The unmitigated violence sent congressional members into hiding. On TV, viewers witnessed plainclothes men and Capitol Police standing behind blocked doors with their guns drawn. Then a rioter was shot and killed. Police officers were mangled and beat up. Later, one died. It’s a wonder more rioters weren’t shot. 

Confronting misinformation:

“We must confront the truth with candor, resolve and determination.”

(Bennie Thompson said this as he opened the Jan 6th Hearingsabout the attack on the capitol.) 

 

Naomi Klein in her book, The Shock Doctrine, The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, (Knopf Canada, 2007) was mainly talking about an economic dystopia, but some of the concepts iterated can be applied to what we see going on in a USA "political dystopia." She says of this that it: “Centers on the exploitation of national crises (disasters or upheavals) to establish controversial and questionable policies while citizens are too distracted (emotionally and physically) to engage and develop an adequate response and resist effectively.”[Wikipedia review of The ShockDoctrine] The time is now to deal with lies and not be held in bondage by the “Shock Doctrine.” As someone said on Twitter: “Speech is free but lies you have to pay for.”

 

Rather than meeting friends and family members when they post conspiracy theories on Facebook, start a conversation about the serious damage that rumors and falsehoods are doing to our lives…”Clare Wood, (Scientific American,November 2020) “How to get through this Election.” [Most of the November 2020 Scientific American deals with confronting misinformation, including vaccine mistrust.]

 

On another note: “The Southern Poverty Law Center has exposed 838 active hate groups in the United States.” See (www.splcenter.org/hatemap). These groups have been racially motivated in feeding lies and false information while training and poisoning the minds of young people who don’t know or understand the history of previous wars fought by their grandfathers, particularly in bringing down the fascism of Nazi Germany in WWII.

 

Concerning the Internet:

“Now the field is open to any ideological tactics including impersonating individual politicians, create mass fake accounts and coordinating harassment of journalists through the use of streaming platforms, chat rooms and message boards, bots’, trolls and fake accounts.” Joan Donovan “Truth Activism” (Scientific American, Nov. 2020, "How to get Through this Election”)

 

The Fool in a Tarot reading:

How can you relate a Tarot reading to all this “noise”? In the context of the fool as a trickster, and you have receivedThe Fool card, it’s time to consider how someone or something is trying to “fool” you. Ask yourself why someone else is trying to tell you what to believe? What is their source of information. Who said what to whom and why? How are you being impacted by rumors, conspiracy theories and outright falsehoods? 

Now is not the time for false hopes. For instance, are you being intimidated to vote a certain way? Turn off the TV. Work on solving doubts in your own mind. Research the facts. Who is telling lies? Why? Who is telling the truth? Network and discuss how to deal with forces that are up to no good with your friends and relatives. Don’t be “fooled.”

 

*Edna Barth, Holly, Reindeer and Colored Lights (Clarion Books, 1971).

Queens in Tarot

Queens: Leadership and Autonomy 

 We need fiery women’s leadership to keep women From Bondage! 

      

     As mentioned before in my earlier blog of 2015, a Queen card in Tarot no longer represents the aristocratic power of a kingdom as in the “bow and scrape” type as it was during Medieval times. Yet, today, Queens in a Tarot deck still signify the status of power and leadership nonetheless. 

      

     As Gail Fairfield in says her book, Choice Centered Tarot (Weiser 1997): 

 “All the Queens represent competency. They show that you’ve achieved a deep level of fulfillment, skill or maturity … and you are given the respect or status that is due to you.”

     Today, we acknowledge that a modern-day woman in the USA is capable of competency and powers of leadership in her own merit, especially in the days since she won the right to vote August 18, 1920. For The Supreme Court to take away the 1973 act, “Roe vs Wade,” this has ended the rights of women to govern their own bodies and to no longer have a choice of whether not they will bear a child. This is a grievous mistake. In Texas, to punish others through civil lawsuits who are involved in supporting a woman’s abortion including doctors, is downright cruel and demoralizing, and reeks of patriarchal authoritarian punishment. 

      What does it mean to be a woman of “child bearing age?” Obviously to most women, the men of the Supreme Court, plus one conservative woman, enacted a ruling that smacks of the attitude that women are just “breeders” who need control—as in cattle husbandry. And there is a lot more hidden behind this concept, because now, several state legislatures are deciding what is best for pregnant women in their state. The huge problem here is that someone else will make the decision for a woman about whether to bear a child or to keep it, and punish her if she doesn’t follow their rules. We can see that certain state legislatures that lean far-right are beginning to impose a repressive agenda and assert control over women by rewriting state laws, some that even threaten to prosecute women for murder with execution for having a miscarriage. And prison for doctors? What is this? 

      The assumption is that a woman cannot make a private decision herself about her own pregnancy, even if it is still a miniscule fetus. If the states are bound to criminalize and punish women, their doctors and their supporters, why aren’t they talking about punishing the men who get women pregnant in the first place, including cases of rape and incest, particularly for teenagers. In those states, there is no legislative support for that child when poor women are forced to bear it if they can’t afford it. There are no resources for maternity leave and affordable childcare if they are working, for example. 

      On the other hand, a miscarriage is Nature’s process of correcting something that has gone wrong in the mysterious growth processes of a womb. “Murder?” Is this some kind of madness brought on by fear of death and Nature’s ways in the 21st century on the part of these legislators? Are we living in Medieval times again? Burn the witches? 

     A lot of anxiety is expressed in the attempt to control women, especially when it is based on a misunderstanding of the processes of natural reproduction. Just look at your garden. In Nature’s methods for promoting growth, flowering and reproduction, so-called attempted “murder” is going on all over – insects eating your tomatoes; cats killing and eating birds; birds eating the bugs; humans spraying poisons on the worms, rats carrying off what they can eat. It’s kill or be killed and worse … eaten! 

     This is patriarchy trying to control something they don’t understand. Only a pregnant woman and Nature knows what’s going on in her body and what the consequences will be. We are treading on very scary ground here loaded with ignorance, fear, terror, and misunderstanding of the creative process and especially about what goes on in a woman’s womb. There are many reasons women have abortions including what can go wrong medically: ectopic pregnancy, uterine fibroids, prolapse, endometriosis. Then there is rape, incest, being poor, lack of money to raise a child, job loss, abandonment of husband, illness. 

 “Our bodies are our gardens, to which our wills are gardeners” Shakespeare, Othello 

      Imagine being sued in some states by an unknown person because you helped save a woman’s life during a disastrous miscarriage when you took her to the hospital, or you got sued because you drove your sister or wife across state lines to an abortion clinic to get help for an ectopic pregnancy. Or worse yet, what about the 10-year-old girl who was raped in Ohio and was driven across state lines to Indiana to have an abortion? Now the doctor is being investigated. This is obscene. Luckily the rapist has been arrested. 

Taking action to stop this: 

      Who are the Tarot Queen leaders taking on leadership roles in finding ways to help right now? How are they challenging and changing this unwieldly oppression which is obscured in a maze of rules, regulations and legal fences. What are women and the men who support them going to do about this? 

      Well, first, women who want to end a pregnancy will do as they always have in the past before Roe was enacted in 1973—they will resort to so-called “backroom abortions” or worse yet, to “hangars” and various concoctions to induce an abortion. I’ve lived long enough to hear many horror stories from many women friends about those unfortunate situations, some impossible to believe and have met medical personnel who spent time in prison for helping women. With Roe vs Wade, women could make a choice of what they did with THEIR bodies and with their doctors, versus previous “state control” over their bodies. 

      Who will help combat this situation? We see congress women, lawyers, women GYM’s, doctors, authors, journalists, sports figures, artists, playwrights and so on, stepping up to support a woman’s “Freedom to Choose.” We need a massive protest agenda that will allow women and their doctors to take action on ways to protect themselves now. The medical profession as a whole must step up and protest what can happen to doctors as they are sued or jailed by those states that are in control of women’s bodies and the doctors. So far, in Ohio, 1,000 doctors have signed a letter of dissent against restrictive bills which are now being voted on in the Ohio State Legislature. 

 Michele Goodwin Professor of Law made it plain in an article in the New York Times (June 26, 2022) “No, Justice Alito, Reproductive Justice is in the Constitution;” she wrote that “Ending the forced sexual and reproductive servitude of Black girls and women was a critical part of the passage of the 13th and 14th Amendments.” 

 Washington Senator Patty Murray on the Senate floor has stated: “Roe vs Wade” is no longer settled law, but we aren’t going to stand idly by while they rip away abortion rights of go after birth control. We are going to stand up and fight back with our voices and our votes — to protect the right of every woman to make her own health care decisions.” She introduced legislation condemning the criminalization of the full range of reproductive and sexual health care. 

 On July 8, 2022, President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at protecting abortion rights.

 Representative Cori Bush from Missouri stated: “At this moment, we must show up. We must stand up. And we must support those in our community. It’s not over. It’s changed but it’s not over.” 

 Dr. Amy “Meg” Autry from the University of California, San Francisco, has started a nonprofit program “PRROWESS,” to protect reproductive rights of women by creating offshore aquatic clinics in federal waters. This plan has been tried by “Women on Waves” a Dutch nonprofit that has provided abortions off the coast of Mexico. This plan is still on the drawing boards as they work out the ramifications and legal issues. 

 For more information, see the latest Mother Jones Magazine “Lock Her Up” (August 2022) and Ms. Magazine “We Have Had Abortions” (Winter 2022) and “patriarchy” (Spring 2022). 

 Ms. Magazine also sponsors podcasts: “On the Issues” with Michele Goodwin. msmagazine.com/podcast