Introducing The Tower XVI
We see a nighttime scene: A tower has been struck by lightning, the roof is exploding, and a crown is detached and falling off. Flames shoot out of three windows. Two people are falling from the tower, their faces exhibiting shock and terror. The tower is on fire, and 22 “flamelets” fall from the sky.
Expect changes when you get the Tower card.
Symbols & Systems
tower
The Tower represents our ego and persona, i.e., who we perceive ourselves to be. The Tower tells us that a change is coming or is upon us, causing us to question our beliefs. We are never the same after experiencing The Tower. The 3 windows represent the Supernal, or the top 3 sephiroth on the Tree of Life.
roof / crown
The Roof/Crown represents the conscious mind and what we think.
lightening
The lightning is a wakeup call, a sudden strike that will change us forever.
Flamelets
These representing the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. One the right side are 10 flames, representing the Tree of Life. On the left side are 12 flames, representing the Zodiac. The flames are in the shape of the Hebrew letter Yod – י – the first letter in the Hebrew name of God.
clouds
The clouds signify that our views can be clouded. Usually after storms, the sky is clear and there is a freshness. This storm will pass, but how long it takes is partly up to you.
black sky
The sky is heavy and ominous. The Tower is never easy to experience, as it can lead us to a ‘dark night of the soul’.
two people falling
They represent us and the experiences that we are going through. We can see the shock on their faces.
gods / goddesses
The Tower is ruled by all the Gods and Goddesses that rule over destruction and take some part in the cycle of rebirth.
Female: Coatlicue, Sekhmet, Hel, Morrigan, Kali, Sedna, Keres, Anat
Male: Crnobog, Elrik, Ahriman, Batara Kala, Ares, Mars, Indra, Shiva
number
The number of The Tower is 16, whose digits reduce to 6 + 1 = 7 = 7, the number of The Chariot Card. How could these two cards be connected? The decisions that we make have consequences, and the Tower indicates not always nice ones. The Chariot is about control, whereas The Tower is about lack of control.
Astrology
The astrological sign ruling The Tower card is Mars. Mars rules over Aries and Scorpio. Mars rules over the muscles. Action is this card’s nature: sped-up action, after which life is never the same once the Tower card has acted upon it.
Kabbalah
The creators of the Rider Waite Tarot deck were members of the Golden Dawn, a group that followed teachings based on the Kabbalah. Kabbalists are mystics who believe that God is neither male nor female, and has many aspects. Kabbalah is all about learning why we’re here, the mystery of the universe, and what the big plan is.
Being the 17th card, The Tower corresponds to the 17th Hebrew letter, Peh – פ, the first letter of the Hebrew word for “mouth”, or voice and expression. The Tower is considered a big wakeup call, like someone shouting to us, “WAKE UP!” The Tower on The Tree of Life sits on the path between Netzach (victory) and Hod (glory).
The name of The Tower is ‘Exciting Intelligence’, with “exciting” in this case meaning “stirring up”. The Tower stirs up everything and shakes us to our very foundation. We cannot ever be the same again after experiencing the Tower.
The message from The Tower XVI
The Tower has come to tell you that SUDDEN CHANGE has arrived. How you face that change will determine how painful or not this card will be. Change can come in many forms, but most change is challenging. Changes challenge us to rethink your mindset, look outside the box, and/or allow ourselves to be awakened no matter how painful.
Ask yourself these questions:
• Do I feel as if my life is falling apart?
• Can I accept that big change is happening? If so, how is my life radically changing?
• Am I in a process of loss or grief?
• What sudden revelation am I being shown?
• Am I entering a new phase of my life whether I like it or not?
• When I feel like I have lost everything, what remains?
• What old ways of thinking do I finally need to let go of?
• What false beliefs do I need to destroy?
• What dream of mine has crumbled?
• How can I see the situation I am in and seek the light?
Allow yourself to focus on the fact that change – sometimes incredibly hard change –comes to all of us. While it can be a shock, we have the opportunity to rise above it and see what we can pull out of it that is positive. Things external to us happen; our reaction thereto is within our power.
The Tower XVI reversed
When I see a reversed card I simply see the energy blocked or inhibited in some way.
How would The Tower be inhibited?
With The Tower reversed, the shock and change might feel less intense, but also perhaps last longer. It may be that change is occurring and you are resisting it, or you could be in denial. If you get The Tower reversed for yourself or someone else some questions to ask might be…
• Am I feeling stuck in this change?
• Is something dying in order to make way for the new? If so, am I in denial of it?
• What am I not seeing? What needs to die?
• Am I aware that my ego and persona are not serving me right now?
• How can I speed up this process, so that it passes faster?
• What events am I creating because of my refusal to see the truth of my situation?
• Am I allowing myself to stay in a place of suffering?
• Am I trapped in the past?
If you get The Tower reversed, you’re being advised to wake up and see ‘what’s really going on’. Change is never easy, be we can make life easier for ourselves by not resisting The Tower card, and going with the flow. Acceptance.
To sum it all up
The Tower comes to warn you that change is happening right now or will shortly come your way. We cannot control or fight change; sometimes we simply need to accept it. Always easier said than done, of course!
The Tower invites you to consider how a sudden change can influence you today and for many years into the future.
On September 11, 2001, two planes struck the Twin Towers, changing the psychology of Americans forever and shocking the world. The Towers collapsed in a matter of hours, a radical change to the planet’s psyche from one day to the next. Shock – Sudden- Shaking up the System.
What can we learn from The Tower? How can we cope with the changes it creates?
Do you know the story of Wayne Dyer? Wayne Dyer held deep hatred for his father for years. He suffered because of his hate. (When we hate someone, we hold poison in our hands and drink it ourselves. If we love ourselves deeply, we understand that in order to heal, we need to let go of the hate.)
It was only upon standing at his father’s grave and finally forgiving him that Dyer was finally liberated. In that moment, the Tower occurred and his life was changed for the better.
I wish for you that if the Tower comes into your life, you can flow through it as optimally as possible. I hope for you that just like Wayne, you find richness from the darkest moments.
Remember that The Tower can also be good for us by creating positive change. At the beginning it can feel hard, but there may be gold inside the pain.
