You arrive at the path of the revelation of truth...The path of the Tower represents catastrophe, defeat, deception and accidents.
The Tower symbolizes troubled times, a sudden change that makes you feel disconnected from your axis.
The feeling of the Tower is the most uncomfortable and explosively transforming experience.
The Tower is ruled by the planets Mars (action), Pluto (new replaces old) and Uranus (sudden, unexpected changes).
The Major Arcana Represents Major Life Lessons: If the Tower card comes out on the first card of your reading in the positive position, you need to be prepared for a possible breakdown related to your relationships (close relationships and business relationships). You need to heed the warning and prepare for the future, or you might learn a new lesson.
If the Tower card shows up in the outcome of the reading in a positive position, it indicates that you will accept the breakdown of a relationship, and make the needed changes to your lifestyle because you are being steered you in a new direction.
The Story Of The Tower Tarot Card
The Tower is enumerated sixteen, a karmic number connected to catastrophe, defeat, disgrace, deception, and accidents. Sixteen is a warning number connected to fortune and power. If you cling too tightly to your fortune, you may lose it. However, giving some of it away might protect you from losing it all.
The foundation of the Tower is built on a rock formation so positioned as to make it higher than any other building. Though rocky, the foundation is not solid. The Tower's defensive position affords it a better view of the surrounding areas.
The gray clouds suggest a sudden revelation. Perched atop a giant, ice-capped mountain (difficult goal, harsh times, sudden devastating events), the Tower has been struck by lightning (powerful force beyond your control). The lightning lifts the gold crown the Tower, setting the Tower ablaze. The gold crown represents the egos of the man and woman who built their Tower brick by brick as a way of building their egos.
The lightning strike shattered their future hopes and dreams, their delusions of grandeur and their false perceptions of themselves. Their egotistical thinking was flawed so a higher source sent a powerful message of truth, demanding a reality check, encouraging the shedding of old habits and adaptation of positive changes.
The lightning is yellow (enlightening message) and shaped like the letter Y (Yod in Hebrew). Yod is the mark of humility, an indication that the Tower was struck by lightning to enforce humility.
The man and woman being ejected from the Tower are powerless to control their plights, falling from a throne of security forged from ambition and built on false ideas. Catastrophe and ruin are robbing them of everything that they built together.
The falling man is aflame, the fire burning away his old life and beliefs. His blue clothing represents thought, his gray leggings and shoes represent what is unclear and the uncertainty of his landing. His yellow arms and hands represent a sudden realization. The twelve yellow Yod's falling with him indicate that he will lose it all because twelve represents the Hanged Man in reverse, a forced relinquishment.
The falling woman is also aflame, the fire clearing away her old life and beliefs. She is dressed in blue (thought) and her shoes are on fire (action). Her yellow arms and hands represent a sudden realization of loss. The ten yellow Yod's falling with her represent the Wheel of Fortune in reverse, a turn for the worse, and a sign that she must release her fortune.
My Interpretation Of The Tower Tarot Card
The Tower is an unwelcome card because it calls for destruction preceding a rebuilding. An initial problem with the foundation never achieved correct resolution, and now a sudden catastrophe shatters our illusions and makes our Tower crumble. The Tower is about sudden and unexpected shock, such as severing a friendship, discovering a partner is having an affair, the death of a loved one, divorce, bankruptcy, or another terrible catastrophe.
This card symbolizes troubled times, a complete and sudden change that makes you feel disconnected from your axis. It is a most uncomfortable and explosively transforming experience, a wakeup call that blindsides you, shakes the living daylights out of you, and lets you know that you are alive. Sometimes you are too blind to the signs around you. You refuse to admit there are problems, so you turn away or tune the problem out because you feel it unimportant.
If the Tower card comes out in your future position, heed its warning and examine your life. This card sneaks up on you with a sudden and shocking change. The most important revelation is that tearing down the old structure, however painful, makes room for something new to be built. Anything built on a lie will not remain standing for long. It will be torn down and rebuilt with the truth.
The Tower could indicate that you remain in an abusive relationship. You suffer for many years because your ego is crushed by this person. You let this person control your life because you feel you are weak and incapable of making it on your own. Your low self-esteem causes you to lose yourself and your fear encourages stagnation.
Positive: You experience the path of defeat, deception and catastrophe (severing of a relationship, discovering a partner is having an affair, the death of a loved one, divorce, bankruptcy, an unexpected accident, illness, job loss), and you hit rock bottom. Or you feel defeated, insecure or deceived, or you are the one that destroys the relationship, free to build a new foundation that is right for you.
Negative: You are stuck in a bad situation and unwilling to move on, or you are experiencing entrapment in an unhappy situation and staying on the old path that is making you miserable.. Unwilling to change, you remain stagnant, on the same path. It is not yet time to move on.
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