A giant phone hacking scandal led Rupert Murdoch to close down his flagship paper News of the World this past Sunday.
It’s a big story that looks like it’s getting bigger, and seems like an interesting topic for Tarot Views the News.
This is not a predictive reading, but rather a quick look at the following ideas, using the Tarot.
•what is hacking?
•what is privacy?
•what is journalism?
•what is the free press?
5 of Cups
The first card I pulled answered the question, ‘what is hacking? Consciously, I would have chosen the 7 of Swords, but the card I pulled was the 5 of Cups.
Rather than describing the action of hacking, the card seems to be describing the consequences. Hacking breaks trust, public and personal. It causes a lot of sadness and a desire to turn inwards.
The card might also represent the type of information that hacking usually gathers – personal sadnesses, tragedies, insecurities, and failings, all the disappointments in our lives, our spilt cups.
Queen of Wands
I pulled the Queen of Wands when I asked, ‘what is privacy?’ There she sits, with her little black cat, the keeper of secrets.
Privacy is power, your own personal power. This Queen is independent and strong, concerned more with being able to do what she wants, then to make others do anything.
In other words, she might be outgoing, but typically this Queen doesn’t try to get in your business.
And like her element fire, the desire for privacy expands and recedes. Sometimes we reach out and share, and sometimes we keep to ourselves. Privacy is the right to decide which we want to do when.
8 of Cups
For ‘what is journalism?,’ I pulled the 8 of Cups.
This card shows a willingness to leave what seems easy or comfortable in order to find deeper meaning. Or in this context, to follow the story.
Journalism is a passion. It’s not enough to just stay where everyone else is, you have to venture out to get the scoop. Depending on how you do that, it could be good or bad.
And maybe this card is also pointing to how journalism has been changing, that it might seem like the old structures are still stable, but really, they’re no longer serving their purpose.
Like the man in the card walking away from the upright cups, whether they’re being forced out through layoffs, or making the choice themselves, journalists are leaving traditional news organizations in droves.
#16 The Tarot
And finally, for ‘what is the free press?” I got the Tower – the shattering of empires, prisons, towers we’ve created for ourselves.
A free press isn’t afraid to speak to power, and sometimes that’s all it takes to brings things down. Revealing the truth can change the world.
And maybe the free press itself is facing a Tower of its own. This News Corp situation could really shake things up.
It’s a lightening strike that might tumble more than one fortress.