The Tower

 

Ah...Wallop! The Tower Card it's such a favourite of mine, with its rich imagery, complexity and drama, it's a Tarot readers dream. Whole books could be written about it and the many lessons it holds for our notions of Fate, Spirit, Matter, Self and Ego.

 

Many a Hammer House of Horror or Twilight Zone film has picked up on the power of this particular card. In fact it features in one of the most well known Tarot scenes in modern cinema,   when the bewitching Solitaire(played by Jane Seymour) accurately predicts the arrival of Roger Moore and the chaos that ensues, in that great Bond film 'Live and Let Die'. There is also a fab Jimi Hendrix song called 'Castles Made of Sand' which is very poignant, almost written with this card in mind, think also of his version of Dylans 'All Along the Watchtower', I am sure Jimi had come across the Tarot and gosh what a great reader he would have been!

 

In fairground Fortune Telling the card can speak of a sudden change, disputes, prison, a calamity or self-undoing. Pride comes before a fall and if our Tower is built on falsehoods and vanities then the fall will be a tough one. A reversed card could leave you wondering just who you are; completely disorientated. Don't be too scared though as it can also signal a clearing, and depending on the cards that precede and follow it, a life change for the better. Example: 3 of Pentacles Reversed (you are not getting the recognition you deserve at work), The Tower (you call the boss an idiot and get sacked), 6 of Pentacles (a kindly old friend looks charitably upon you and you get a lovely job on their market stall). All's well that ends well. One of the things we learn as we get older is that we often need a jolt or a bolt from the blue in order to propel us into the next phase of our life. In The Fool's journey through all the Major Arcana, The Tower represents his road to Damascus moment. Grace rather than punishment.

 

Scratch beneath the surface of any of the Major Arcana and we touch upon a world full of mythology, symbolism and history. Many cultures have a “Tower of Babel” myth. They also have  stories about re-births, baptisms of fire and cataclysmic overthrows of kings and gods. It is important to note that the next card in the sequence is The Star; this reminds us that the Towers appearance in a reading indicates potential catharsis and new life. Make no bones about it this card will bring you in contact with the primal forces that have been driving you consciously or unconsciously. Ideally it will knock away all that is unnecessary to shed a much needed and timely illumination. The Buddha tells us that our life and emotions are in constant flux, the Tower Card reminds us what could happen if we resist and try to build our walls too high and too strong.

 

So fear not when this powerful card appears in your reading but carry its lessons with you. The universe works in mysterious ways and we all need a little divine intervention at critical points in our lives. It is this that will help us to see opportunities after long suppression or internal battles.