Without warning a sudden bolt of lightning strikes from a black sky, shattering the Tower, setting it ablaze, casting the occupants down to the rocks below. The Tower falls to ruin; a violent blast has destroyed this place of refuge, leaving the helpless victims exposed and unprotected and traumatized. It is a scene of utter devastation. It is a traumatic and upsetting ending, quite final. This certainly looks grim; even many Tarot Readers consider this a “bad” card. And yet…
What is the Tower, anyway? Or what was it, now that it’s been blasted into rubble? The answer to this question can help explain why this card isn’t “bad.”
A Tower is a refuge, a fortress, a place where you can be safe from the outer world. It may take sustained effort over years to build a strong Tower. It may consume much time and effort. It gives protection; it’s worth the effort to ensure that it will keep you safe and secure.
Sometimes, though, the Tower becomes too important. We may spend too much time hiding behind its thick walls, hidden from the world outside. What was once a refuge can become an addiction.
Any fortress can become a prison. Sometimes we build such a solid, impenetrable Tower that we can no longer leave. Not only does this Tower keep the world from getting in; it keeps us from getting out. When that happens, the Tower no longer serves our best interests. Our protection has become our prison.
We may have some vague idea that this has happened, or we may not. Many of us get so used to being in captivity that we no longer care to be free. We may realize that we are prisoners, but are too afraid to try to escape and face the world. Breaking free requires great effort, and we are not convinced that it’s worth it. Ultimately our prison becomes our whole world, and we no longer want to be free.
The Universe, though, might have other plans. It may not leave us to sit alone in our self-created prison. It may help us escape, despite our not wanting to escape. A bolt of lightning strikes and our Tower comes tumbling down.
This is a traumatic experience, to be sure. No one wants to go through that. Even if we were trying to break free, having it happen in this way is painful and upsetting; all the more so if we’ve been content to hide in our comfortable little cell. But this is a necessary ending, however difficult it may feel.
This image of the Tower gives a hint as to its importance to us. Note that the top of the Tower is a crown that is now being thrown down. We have made the Tower a sort of king over us. That unwholesome relationship needed to end. We were unwilling or unable to end that relationship ourselves, so we received some help.
Most of us are unlikely to consider this traumatic event as anything but an unmitigated disaster, at least at first. It hurts. We’ve lost our refuge, our safe place, the one place where we felt insulated from the harsh realities of the world. We’re exposed, vulnerable, often blinded by the light after spending so much time in darkness. It is overwhelming and frightening.
Over time, however, we may be able to put this event into perspective, to see that it was actually a blessing in disguise – a very good disguise, but a blessing nonetheless. It is this attitude that we may choose to cultivate.
The Tower comes right after the Devil in the Fool’s Journey. The Devil is about animal urges, self-induced bondage, addiction, deliberate ignorance. We may create a false Tower that will allow us to continue our unwholesome behavior, indulge our unwholesome appetites. If we are fortunate, we may be blasted out of this trap.
Keywords: Getting unstuck. Breakthrough. Rude awakening. Dark Night of the Spirit. Epiphany. Lesson in humility. Nemesis.