This is the card that none of us wants to see in our reading. Death and The Devil are disturbing, but this card is terrifying. Its meaning is obvious, since the symbolism is so blatant and in your face.
Towers are symbols of ascent, of rising above the common level. We build them out of pride, ambition, or idealism. We also build them for protection. Because it stands tall and often has eye-like windows at its top and a crown-like roof, the tower is analogous to a human. So when we look at the card our heart sees all our cherished hopes, dreams, ideas, ideals, and safety nets getting blasted to smithereens.
Photo by Kemdav
The tarot Tower is all the illusions of the material realm:
* The more money and stuff you have the happier and safer you are
* The more power you have the happier and safer you are
* This reality is the only reality
* When you’re dead you cease to exist
It is the imperfect systems and beliefs that we work so hard to construct and that we cling to with such fierce determination.
It is also the lies that we are willing to believe so that we can keep things as they are.
When we build a tower or choose to live in one, it blinds us to our true purpose and path and separates us from the healing strength and guidance of the Divine. It makes the Devil go “Bwah-ha-ha!”
As far as the Universe is concerned, a tower is a building with “target” written all over it. The lightning bolt striking the tarot Tower is “the power drawn from above by the Magician. It is the sword of the Charioteer, the scepter of the Emperor, the force which turns the Wheel of Fortune and wields the scythe of Death, the light streaming from the Hermit’s lantern. It breaks down existing forms in order to make room for new ones.”*
The process of this card is terrifying and cruel, but it is an efficient way of jolting us out of our ruts and bringing about useful and much needed change.
To be continued…
*The Tarot, A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages, Paul Foster Case