Towering Influences

The Tower card in tarot is one that usually provokes a quick response in a reading, much as the Devil and Death do.

Think about what towers represent in general. People built them for protection, so that they could see their enemies coming from far away and also afford archers an advantage at striking at those enemies. They also build them for the glorious views they would afford, so sometimes you might say that they were vanity constructions, just like trying to build a big house as an extravagant demonstration of affluence. That same principle would apply to companies that try to build the tallest buildings so that they can dominate the skyline.

We know that it is simply a fact that lightning strikes high points on the landscape during a storm. In this way, tarot imagery showing a tower getting struck by lightning is simply factual. It is about sudden, shocking, unpredictable change.

So when the Tower appears in our spreads, we have to ask ourselves what is relevant to us now? Have we allowed vanity to have to great a part in our lives? Have we been so busy erecting defenses that we need to come back down to earth and open up and be playful and openhearted? Do we need to be pushed into a new adventure or a new chapter of our life because we have become too complacent? Do we have to venture out and try something new in order to expand our horizons and life experiences? Maybe the mother bird is coming to push the babies out of the nest so that they learn to fly. It is also true that the year after wildfires ravage an area, all kinds of new growth bursts through the ashes. Many people who became successful in business had failures that preceeded their success. Sometimes we need to challenge our limits and then learn from our failures in order to rise again.

Sudden layoffs, mergers or plant closings can cause us to explore other ways of making a living which may even offer us more happiness, after the rough part is over. Sudden health challenges, such as heart attacks, cancer, illness or injury can jolt us into adapting healthier lifestyles that lift our quality of life.

Sudden change can help to focus the mind on what is important and encourage us to make wiser use of our time and energy. The Tower signals an awakening. It may be rough. It may shock us. And in the end, it may have been the only way those new gateways, and opportunities would have been opened to us. Towers can open our eyes, both when we are standing at the top, and when we are left on the ground below.