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Tarot: The Tower

The Tower, Major Arcana card number 16, comes to us in those moment of crash and burn, when the ground crumbles away beneath us, and old ways or unstable foundations are shaken to the core. It is so infamous, such moments in life can literally be referred to as “Tower moments”. I also liken it to the Saturn Return.

In this, what messages, wisdom, and medicine does the Tower hold for us? Plenty! Read on to find out more:

The Tower Tarot Card

The Tower is not often a welcome Tarot card, but if we had to pick all the happy, fluffy cards- it wouldn’t be the Tarot would it? I.e., a reflection of the Universe and life through archetypal symbols. In this, as anyone who has lived long enough knows all too well, life is made of immense ups and downs, of cycles and spirals, of highs and lows.

Such is the nature of what it means to be alive. Without one we could not possibly have the other. That would be a dream. An unrealistic, unstable wish.

How would you know what happiness was if you didn’t know what sadness was?

We only have the concept of “dark” because we have light. If the world was simply light all the time, that would be the default, the only way we knew. And so it wouldn’t be considered light at all, simply just what is, we wouldn’t know any different.

As a card of Mars, it speaks to anger, rage, conflict, energy, passion, and destruction. But sometimes those things just need to come out, ya know?

In the Smith Rider Waite Tarot deck, we see crowned figures falling to the earth, as we know in the Tarot- when something has been built up too much, placed on a pedestal and throned, it inevitably comes crashing down. A piece of humble pie. But also reality.

The Tower comes to us in moments when things must come down, sometimes we need an external force to shake us from inertia!

Sometimes things need that stress-test to see that the foundations are full of cracks or built on unstable ground, on mud perhaps, or that the framework itself has rotted.

Astrology of The Tower Tarot Card

Astrologically, in this, I liken it to the Saturn Return, that equally infamous moment of reckoning, the time when we are confronted with our values and the structures built in our lives thus far. The Tower, and the Saturn Return, require looking at, facing boldly head-on, there is no turning away- this is where Mars comes in.

The Tower is ruled by Mars. Mars is also the warrior Planet, the one of courage and bravery. It is also, traditionally, the Planet of agriculture and farming. Before the Romans shifted Mars to become more solider-like, the standard of desirability in their society, it was representative of what the majority of men were before that time- farmers, custodians of the land, and supporters of families.

In this is another link to Saturn, the Planet of agriculture. Saturn teaches us that we can only reap what we sow. Sometimes we have been ploughing ahead blindly, The Tower is here to shake us and wake us up- are we in alignment?

As Tarot extraordinarie Lindsay Mack says, there are Tower moments with a big “T” and a little “T”. When we have a “Tower” moment, we are being subjected to fundamental shifts, earthquake schisms. When we have a “tower” moment, we are being asked to check in with what modes of seeing, believing, acting have we outgrown? Where is there an “a-ha!” moment, or a sudden realisation or dawning?

Numerology of The Tower Tarot Card

Numerologically, the number 16 reduces to 7, The Chariot. This archetype deals with progress and containers- are we heading along the right path and in the most efficient way? Have we outgrown the way in which we are going about something or retreating into self-preservation too much?

As often mentioned, The Chariot card is called “The Chariot”, not “The Charioteer”- it is literally about the vehicle- the process, progress, container- not the person. If we overlook the wisdom of The Chariot, we may end up at The Tower! The Chariot is also a brave reminder to keep on going, that we are stronger than we may think, and an invitation to keep on persevering up that hill- we may be closer than we think. We are, after all, at the end of Line 1 of the Major Arcana!

With every card in the Tarot, it always bears reminding that we are on a journey, The Fool’s Journey, and as such there is a connecting thread tie them altogether (horizontally and vertically, diagonally, esoterically haha the correspondences of the Tarot are endless!).

The Tower comes after The Devil, where we are being invited to make friends with our shadow and become honest about where we are our own worst enemies, where we trip ourselves up, what parts of ourselves feel shunned and in need of love and choosing again (remember- The Devil reduces to The Lovers!)?

It is also important to remember what comes after our current position within the Tarot journey, where we are heading. In this, there is the sweet waters of The Star to await and soothe us. After major Tower moments, after the storm, comes the quiet. The peace and stillness that can only truly be felt once we know the opposite.

The Tower Tarot Card General Meanings

In a general reading, The Tower upright can represent major upheaval, change, chaos, and destruction. It can also simply represent a profound realisation. A Tower moment can come internally or externally. Sometimes it is the rug being pulled out from underneath us, sometimes it is a call from within. We may have been rigidly holding onto our foundations, our crowns, when instead they needed a bit more flexibility, now that a hurricane has come- the building has no sway.

Skyscrapers are built with the capacity to move in order to withstand earthquakes. Likewise, Saturn reminds us that boundaries are meant to be firm yet flexible (which is also why Mars, the ruler of this card, is exalted in Capricorn, a Saturn-ruled Sign; it tempers some of its brashness).

Historically The Tower was sometimes called The House of God, aligned with the lightning strikes of divinity. Sometimes, like the Tower of Babel, we need to come down a peg, as the Tarot often teaches us— crowned figures are often dethroned.

The Tower Tarot card reversed

The Tower card reversed can be an invitation for us to actively question where we are being asked to change, or lean into something that is falling away. Like a Pluto transit, there is no resisting— the path of least resistance is surrender. The Tower reversed can also be a message of warning, an invitation for us to check in with what has been built on unstable foundations pre-emptively, like a bridge checker testing its soundness.

Whilst this can often be an unwelcome card, like all of the Tarot, there is purpose and meaning to each of them— and often they are not as scary as our mind can make them out to be! How often are we actually in a big “T” Tower moment in life, usually just a handful of times (and it is often in these states of contraction that we grow the most— and still, of course, we cannot constantly be in this type of fundamental crisis, even if The Star awaits us on the other side, it would simply be unsustainable).

And so, often The Tower, especially in regular pulls, can simply be an invitation to check in with our most pressing beliefs— are they still aligned? What is ready to change?

Again, as with all of the Tarot, it is symbolic and personal. Yes, sometimes it is objective and external, a literal “Tower” moment, but most of the times it is an internal state of being. Does that make it easier to deal with? Sometimes no, as The Devil preceding it teaches us— we can be our own worst enemies.

But The Devil card can also act as a helper to The Tower— where is there a shadow aspect of the self that desires to be listened to and integrated?

Sometimes I liken the Tower to the cries of the body when we have neglected or pushed it aside for too long, when we ignore its whispers and power through— and suddenly we come crashing down. A reversed Tower can be an even bigger internal pull than the Tarot already naturally represents, an invitation to sit and really listen to what the body is trying to tell us about a certain situation— to not resist necessary change.

Biddy Tarot says a reversed Tower can also indicate that we are almost through with change instead.

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two-wander-the-tower-tarot-card-reversed

The Tower Tarot Card in a Love Reading

The Tower in a love reading can represent major revelations or surprises. It can symbolise a fundamental shift in the dynamics or structures of the relationship. Just like in a general reading, it can also come to us in big “T” Tower moments or little “t” tower moments. Either way, it is an invitation to remain present, open, and aware to what is revealing itself, to check in with the solidity of something and ensure it withstands the earthquake test.

As the Tarot often represents the energy that is currently surrounding us, we may already be in a Tower situation- and so the invitation is to allow what needs to crumble to crumble. We can rebuild something sturdier from the rubble. Not all paths come to destroy you, as they say, some come to clear our path.

Like with all Tarot readings, it is of course absolutely essential to take into account the context of the situation, the nature of the question asked, the spread used, the cards surrounding it, and your own intuition! The flavour of a card meaning is also dependant on the Tarot decks used.

The Tower Tarot Card in a Career Reading

The Tower in a career Tarot reading can be a symbol that something major needs to change, or is currently cracking under the pressure. It can be a message for us to review what structures aren’t built on solid frameworks and to be open to the concept that any seismic shifts may be unavoidable and occurring because something had been built too high.

In a professional context, The Tower calls to mind the Tower of Babel, and the hubris in trying to avoid the unavoidable or meddle with fate. Sometimes we need to allow the Universe to do its thing. It can also be an invitation to check in whether there are any situations or beliefs that are too rigid and could do with some flexibility.

I think The Tower correlating to The Chariot has wisdom in how to handle it, rather than immediately panicking and assuming the worst (a job loss for example), where can we feel into our emotions (Cancer- ruler of The Chariot) and tend to the heart, whilst checking in with the structural integrity of our vehicle- the way in which me move through our careers and day-to-day work (The Chariot itself, rather than the charioteer)?

Perhaps there is simply a different way of doing something, radical and groundbreaking maybe, one that may require a lot of change and internal friction before the cogs are oiled enough to be most effective, but one that can then lead to the satisfaction of The Star— Major Arcana Tarot card number 17, next in the sequence.

So those are some of the Tower meaning I hope they’re insightful for you! Let me know in the comments section below if you have anything else to add or any questions.

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