Fools+ Misinformation, Lies and Conspiracy Theories
“Saturnalia,” an ancient Roman celebration of Saturn began on December 17 and lasted through December 23rd. 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 6th. 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 45th 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).
