The Tower XVI
Keywords & phrases
- Shock
- Crisis, catastrophe
- Breakdown, burn out
- House of cards
- Ivory tower
- Ignorance to enlightenment
- Starting from scratch
- Opportunity for growth
Keywords & phrases
- Shock
- Crisis, catastrophe
- Breakdown, burn out
- House of cards
- Ivory tower
- Ignorance to enlightenment
- Starting from scratch
- Opportunity for growth
First impressions
A terrifying scene of death and destruction. Disaster – natural or man-made.
What is happening in the card?
A lightening bolt pierces the dark sky on a stormy night striking the top of a tall tower that stands on a clifftop with terrifying precision. Two stricken figures can be seen plunging head first from The Tower – either thrown by the force of the explosion or choosing a fatal drop over an agonising death in the towering inferno.
Flames emanate from the dark windows and the top of The Tower where a crown has been blasted away.
Fiery golden yods rain down from the sky. This is the stuff of fire and brimstone.
How can we relate to this card?
The Tower represents some of your greatest fears. The fear that the life you have carefully constructed is about to fall apart. The fear of disaster.
It also raises the question of what that life is based on. Is it built on truth and strong foundations or is it built on shaky ground and false beliefs?
The Tower can be a precursor to devastating, life-changing events. As such it can be a pretty shocking card – a challenging card. When it pops up (or strikes) in a reading it can represent huge upheaval or a shocking event or piece of news in the seeker’s life.
When the lightning strikes it can leave you feeling like your world (and what provides your safety and security) is crumbling around you or like the rug has been pulled from under you.
This is not a comfortable card or a comfortable feeling. Yet, the Tower often serves as a wake-up call. An event that forces you out of your comfort zone and demands that you sit up and make some conscious decisions about what you want to do now and how you plan to do it.
Quite often we find that after the initial shock we clear away the debris left behind after the destruction of the Tower and what we are left with is a new opportunity. A chance for new growth.
Elements, numbers, symbols & imagery
- Element – Fire
- The number 16 → 1+6=7
- Crown – authority
- Tower – establishment
- Mountain – challenge, achievement
- Yods – Yod is the first letter of the unpronounceable name of God and symbolising the presence of the divine in the situation
Emotions expressed
- Shock
- Fear
- Insecurity
- Enlightenment
Other associations
Tree of life:
Peh – Throat, mouth
Path 27 Netzach – Victory, endurance, perseverance, persistence, commitment, tenacity → Hod – humility, gratitude, surrender, splendour, glory, conscious mind, ego
Thoth:
The Tower, Mars
Golden Dawn title
Lord of the Hosts of the Mighty
Astrology:
Ruled by Mars ♂︎
Minor Arcana:
The Tower relates to the 7s
Message & affirmations
Today, I face my challenges with courage and tenacity and I see opportunity in change.
“We have a lot of choice about whether to interpret something as adversity or as opportunity. I see in myself the tendency at times to make situations worse than they have to be because of my catastrophic interpretation.”
~ Marianne Williamson
” When faced with a radical crisis, when the old way of being in the world, of interacting with each other and with the realm of nature doesn’t work anymore, when survival is threatened by seemingly insurmountable problems, an individual life-form — or a species — will either die or become extinct or rise above the limitations of its condition through an evolutionary leap.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
“We underestimate the power of choice, our power to suddenly wake up one day bored of our own bullshit and decide to do things differently.“
~ Saskia Lightstar,The Cancer Misfit: A Guide to Navigating Life After Treatment
My personal experiences of this card
Since the start of the COVID pandemic, it seems to me like the whole world has been having a Tower moment. Our freedoms and the way of life that we took for granted was taken from us over night. Many thousand were sick and dying. For a while there we were all in shock and I feel that many of us have taken a knock to our self-confidence and our confidence in the future.
There was an idea that when the danger passed we would enter into a state of ‘new normal’, that we would do things differently… and yet, here I am writing this is spring 2022 and the world is looking on as Russia, led by psychopathic tyrant, wages a brutal war on Ukraine. Whole cities have been raised to the ground and once again people are being killed or forced from their homes. Grievous destruction.
What kind of Tower moment is it going to take for real change, real growth to take place in this world?
The Tower and recent world events also bring to my mind R.E.M.’s It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine). It’s a reminder that when the storm comes and destroys your home, if you are lucky enough to come out of it alive and be left with what really matters, then you are lucky enough. You can rebuild.
Events, situations & readings
In a relationship spread:
A Tower moment could may indicate some kind of shock that sees you questioning the whole basis of your relationship.
In a work, business or finance spread:
The Tower could represent something as drastic as losing your job or business or simply indicate a restructuring. But as hard a prospect as that may seem it could turn out to be a great catalyst for change.
Or it could simply mean that you need to take a look at current situation and whether it is truly aligned with your values and goals for the future.
In a health and wellbeing spread:
Where your health and wellbeing are concerned The Tower could represent a crisis, breakdown or burn out that causes you to rethink your lifestyle and health choices.
People & interaction with other cards
When The Tower appears with Death these cards will dominate any reading. A combination not to be ignored and a reminder that you must be rid of old, outdated ideas or relationships and situations that no longer serve you in order to grow.
Another challenging combination for The Tower is with The Devil, indicating the need to free yourself from limiting habits and beliefs.
With 7s, The Tower speaks of survival, perseverance, bravery and tenacity in the face of chaos and disruption.
Questions, prompts & insights
What areas of your life could benefit from restructuring? What needs to be destroyed to make way for something new?
Are you facing a crisis? Can you see opportunity for growth in the wreckage?
Featured decks & credits:
Main image from The Rider Waite Tarot.
The animated image of The Tower is part of an ongoing AI art Tarot project by Still Small Voice Tarot.
Explore the Tarot deck with me
This is a work in progress, a project far from complete. I’m exploring traditional and personal meanings for the Tarot cards in a semi-orderly fashion. Please take a look by clicking on the cards below. Or you can pick a card to see what comes up for you today.
