The Tower
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The Tower ☽ ☾
The Tower
Key Meanings
Upright: upheaval, change, awakening, shock, trauma, foundational shift, disaster, destruction
Reversed: denial, reluctance to change, avoidance, fear, delusion, willful ignorance, biding time
The Tower:
Archetypes
The Villain, The Opportunist, The Shadow
Examples: Sauron (Lord of the Rings), Mephistopheles (Faust)
The Tower:
Description
Lightning streaks over black skies and strikes a high tower. The Tower’s crown blows off, and a fire ravages the building from within as smoke billows out. Two figures jump from the flaming windows, falling uncontrollably to their rocky demise. Embers fall alongside them. The scene is one of complete chaos and destruction.
The Tower:
Upright Meaning
The Tower represents the inevitability of life’s changeable nature. Whether your Tower moment has already occurred or you can see it on the horizon, all you can do is free-fall. The Tower is unavoidable and forces us to surrender & trust that all will be well in the end. Whatever has been destroyed was not serving your highest good, and the Divine is forcing it from your grasp.
You can wallow in grief and lament your fate, but someday you must sort through the ashes to analyze where your foundations began to crack and how you can rebuild with a greater vision. Perhaps your Tower moment was as small as the flu, forcing you to rest for a week or two or as big as a natural disaster that wiped out an entire town. In either case, there will be a time for mending what is broken and a lesson in letting go.
The Tower:
Reversed Meaning
As The Tower represents an inevitable fall due to faulty foundations or the changeable nature of the world, a reversal can indicate staving off collapse. Perhaps you have avoided disaster altogether. On the other hand, you may be sticking your head in the sand and pushing against necessary changes. Whether you like it or not, delusion will not prevent you from discomfort and will only make it worse once change knocks down your door. Better to lean into the growth and learn from the lessons.
Know that it is okay to admit defeat. Giving up can be a sign of strength since we, as humans, will go against logic just to hold on to something or someone we know is no longer sustainable. This forces stagnation and causes us more long-term pain. Besides, your fears may be entirely unfounded. Do not cause more suffering by letting anxiety absorb your thoughts in anticipation. Often, reality is kinder than our imagination, and pushing through the resistance leads to great opportunities for growth and healing.