I would have written earlier about the bizarre fate of the News of the World, but I’ve been suffering from jet lag. I’m not used to transatlantic flights, especially all the way to the Pacific Northwest, and my cultural and circadian rhythms have been knocked for six.
However I’ve now had a few nights sleep, and chewed my way through half a pack of real American bubble gum, the dark-pink variety that I remember from my childhood, that I can’t get in Europe any more. I can refocus on reality, and on something that’s as British as bubble gum is American. The News of the World.
It’s a Sunday tabloid paper that’s dominated Britain’s cultural life forever, or so it seems. Every week it would come out, with generous helpings of sex, scandal and celebrity. Its methods were sometimes questionable, but it was a British institution, not to be missed.
Unfortunately the newspaper went too far, and it was revealed that it had been hacking into voicemail accounts of a murder victim and others. The outrage was so huge that the News of the World’s owners decided to close it down.
The first issue of the News of the World came out on October 1 1843, making it a Libran publication. Libra is the most socially-orientated sign of the Zodiac. They love people, and they love gossiping. So for a tabloid newspaper, it’s a perfect sign.
If we take a more detailed look at the horoscope, we notice that the News of the World has a conjunction between the Sun and Venus. This conjunction is a two-edged sword. Yes, it’s very charming, but Venus, the planet of harmony, is too close to the Sun. There’s a harshness to the newspaper, that’s exacerbated by the fact that both the Sun and Venus are making stressful, 90-degree aspects to Mars in Capricorn. In astrology Mars in Capricorn is very ambitious, and this ambition can override plain, simple, humanity – which in turn can lead to anger and outrage.
As far as timing is concerned, it’s worth noting that over the last few years Saturn has been in Libra – in other words it has been making conjunction aspects to The News of the World’s Sun and Venus. Saturn is the planet of Karma, and it was a time when the newspaper needed to come clean about what it had done in the past. Saturn doesn’t like cover-ups, and it tends to punish them.
We also need to consider the cycles of the outer planets. The planet Neptune takes around 165 years to go round the Sun. So a few years ago, Neptune returned to the place it was when the News of the World was first published in 1843. This was the time when the revelations of its journalists’ phone-hacking activities first came to light. Neptune is the planet of subterfuge, of doing things secretly, so over the last few years the Neptune energy in The News of the World’s horoscope has been particularly strong.
Also, this year the News of the World had its Uranus return. Uranus takes about 84 years to go around the Sun, and earlier in the year Uranus was at zero degrees Aries, the same place that Uranus occupied in the Autumn of 1843. Uranus is the planet of earthquakes and shocks, and together Uranus and Neptune created a very dangerous period for the newspaper.
I will now turn my attention to Rebekah Brooks. She was editor of the News of the World in 2002, when the most serious hacking incident took place, and she is currently chief executive of News International, the newspaper’s parent company. She is in many respects the public face of the crisis, and it has been said that if she had resigned promptly the newspaper might not have had to close.
Rebekah Brooks was born on May 27 1968. This makes her a super-Gemini. Not only does she have the Sun in this sign, but also the Moon, Mars and Mercury. And depending on her time of birth, Venus as well. Geminis, like Librans, are very suited to tabloid journalism. They like the gossip, and they’re great communicators. Indeed I’ve read that Rebekah Brooks is a networker par excellence - she knows the people that matter, in the world of celebrity, media and politics.
However Rebekah Brooks doesn’t have any traditional, non-discovered, planets in the Water signs of Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. The Water signs are about emotion and sensitivity, so from a networking point of view this can be psychologically useful – there’s probably little in the way of shyness or embarrassment to hold you back. Yet a Gemini without Water might lose touch with the finer, emotional nuances, and their treatment of other people might at times be rather offhand. Also, they might not always sense what’s going on around them, and if the emotional situation changes too quickly they could be left high and dry.
Despite all this, I am not saying that Rebekah Brooks should not have been appointed to the editorship of The News of the World, or to her position as CEO of News International. Rather, there should have been an awareness of her potential weaknesses, that are indicated by her lack of planets in Water signs. And her ultimate boss, Rupert Murdoch, who has the Sun and Mercury in Pisces, and Mars and Jupiter in Cancer, should maybe have appreciated this potential. If not, then perhaps he should have consulted Mystic Meg, the News of the World’s astrology columnist. Or don’t newspapers use their astrologers for staff selection? How strange.
Copyright © 2011 Archie Dunlop
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Now what will become of Bat Boy?! I used to get the biggest kick out of reading that paper. Farewell, News of the World.
Archie, glad to see you promoting astrology in talent selection.
I hope the trip stateside was enjoyable and profitable.
Trying my best! I haven’t been to the US for a very long time. Very disorientating, though at least it’s not blazing hot.