The Tower Tarot Card - Major Arcana Meaning • AstralGossip

The Tower is the sixteenth card of the Major Arcana in occult Tarot decks. It symbolizes the past that undergoes destruction and changes. There is a fall, but there is also a release. Discover the meaning of The Tower Tarot card, the indications it gives when it comes upright, reversed or combined with other cards and its possible application to the various facets of life and everyday issues.

The Major Arcana number tells you what stage you are in for a particular situation or problem. Ask the Tarot your question and interpret the Arcana according to its number and its position in the deck. These cards follow a storyline that tells of the spiritual travels taken from the innocent wonder of The Fool to the oneness and fulfillment of The World. In other words, these cards tell the story of humanity's spiritual evolution into enlightenment and individuation - when his life experiences are complete, he returns to zero, The Fool. Despite the divinatory meaning of the cards, think of the Tarot as a journey. If you look at the cards that come out in this way, with each question you ask, it becomes easier to intuitively interpret the cards and see their messages as a life story.

Index

The Tower Tarot Card Description

Major Arcana XVI
Zodiacal Affinity - Mars
Keywords - Revelation, unexpected events, exterior rupture, abrupt change, exterior influence, challenges, fall, calamity, unexpected, renewal.
Key Expressions - Collapse of what is old to give way to what is new, no fortification is impenetrable, learning to make adjustments quickly, unexpected and dramatic turnaround, misreading a situation, unexpected challenges that require an immediate response, outer chaos.
Advice - Face the storm; welcome the novelty with pleasure.
Reversed Meaning - The Tower may disorient you, but bitterness and guilt are useless. It's time to recover.

The Illustration

The Tower is also known as "La-Maison-Diev", "La Foudre" or "La Fouldre". The illustration shows a tower struck by a celestial ray. Two people are thrown to the ground in a violent and unexpected way. The roof of the tower, in the shape of a crown decorated with four battlements, is about to collapse from the force of the lightning that struck it.

This card represents the destruction caused by something external to the person's will but, at the same time, it has a liberating meaning. After the demolition, the losses, the pain and the shock, there is room to rebuild something new. The figures that are projected by the tower do not die, they rest on the ground with outstretched hands, freeing themselves from the tower that imprisoned them.

The Symbology

This card is, at its base, negative, although the final message is one of hope. After all, a value system may be on the verge of collapse, beliefs, way of life, relationships and convictions may be questioned and put to the test, but out of this apparent chaos, a new balance and a touch of freedom will emerge.

The Tower represents the strength that each person builds around them and, at the same time, the refusal to see and admit reality, facts. It is like a "bubble", a dome that you have built around you and where you feel absolutely safe. But, The Tower reminds us that everything material is ephemeral. Only the strength of the spirit prevails over all things.

When this card appears in a reading, it means that change is about to happen and that it is motivated by external factors. It's no use resisting: the person's life will really change. However, despite the initial turmoil, this change could prove extremely positive. What was old and worn out disappears, leaving free space for the construction of a new reality, new feelings and different life experiences.

Symbolically, the divine ray tears with a situation that did not suit the person but that he refused to see, in his world of false illusions. It is fate that makes her take action, that leads her to change what is wrong and build a reality that makes her happy. New emotions and feelings will arise and this will be an opportunity to build a new inner world.

This involuntary and abrupt change, imposed by some external event or person, will eventually demand a quick response, an immediate adaptation and acceptance of new challenges, instead of denial. In the end, the person will have acquired new experiences and the ability to rebuild their emotional, professional or financial life. But, this process of destruction / reconstruction can also mean a spiritual development, the passage to a more enlightened phase.

This card is related to The Chariot, the card that foretells a resolution and a new path. In Kabbalah, The Tower corresponds to path number 27 on the Tree of Life: the victory over splendor.

The Tower Tarot Card Meaning

Upright Tower Meaning

Upright Love Meaning - Breakup, weak relationships ending, foundational shift in view of love.
Upright Career Meaning - Sudden job loss, workplace disruption, workplace chaos.
Upright Finances Meaning - Financial loss, wake up call regarding finances.

When The Tower appears in a Tarot reading, it means difficulties and obstacles. The path will not be easy but, in the end, the consultant will come out strengthened. This card opens doors that the person would probably prefer to keep closed. In a way, it predicts difficulties that cannot be avoided but that will become an opportunity to create a new reality, emotional, physical or spiritual.

It is the case of job loss, a business that had everything to go well but that does not materialize, a loved one who leaves for no apparent reason or a relationship that ends abruptly and unexpectedly.

After the fall, the person may feel confused and disoriented. She will need time to analyze and correct the situation. Perhaps it is necessary to chart a new course. At the end of this experience, she will be completely free to decide what to do and start again, certain that will not make the same mistakes again. Bad luck is often followed by good opportunities.

Another Tarot card speaks of this cycle of life: The Wheel of Fortune. After the storm comes the calm, in a cycle that repeats itself endlessly. On the financial front, the message is clear: savings, restraint and moderation in spending and investments.

Reversed Tower Meaning

Reversed Love Meaning - Making adjustments in love, leaving a weak relationship.
Reversed Career Meaning - Surviving layoffs, avoiding taking risks in career.
Reversed Finances Meaning - Surviving financial disaster, repeating financial troubles.

When it comes out reversed, the indications in this card can be a bit disturbing - negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, distraction, apathy, nullity, vanity. The person may be the target of a false accusation, be subject to an abusive relationship, or even feel isolated from the rest of the world. Reversed, this card indicates the need to make a decision. It advises the person to be objective and to do what has to be done.

The consultant cannot continue in denial nor should be afraid to assume his limitations. It also means that a less positive facet of personality may be revealing, such as tyranny. The nature of this expression can be complemented by reading other Tarot cards.

The Tower Combinations with Other Tarot Cards

The presence of The Tower in a reading combined with other cards is generally not good. When The Moon appears, it indicates the possibility of achieving goals and encourages the person to think again about their plans and goals. With The Sun, you can suggest the breakup of a relationship, which will end up being a positive event for the person making the consultation. After all, it could be an abusive relationship that the person was involved in but was unable to control or end. When it comes out together with The Fool, The Tower, it indicates the need to be flexible in order to adapt quickly to the changes that arise, regardless of the area of life where they occur.

The Major Arcana Tarot

The Major Arcana, or Great Mysteries, are seen as symbols of great issues, moments or people. Each card represents a human archetype, evoking the most varied feelings, moral positions and behaviors.

Reading, Meanings and Interpretation of the Tarot Major Arcana

Tarot is used as a tool for self-discovery and self-knowledge. In this sense, more than guessing the future, it serves to read and interpret all the elements of our life: it describes the current moment, clarifies the motives, desires and intentions, pointing out the path and the energies present in our life.

The possible readings for each Tarot card are practically infinite. There is no unique interpretation for each card, for each layout of cards or for each reading method. Tarot is based on intuition. Each person who reads the message of a card, or a set of cards, intuitively unravels the meaning of the card's message and how it connects with their own reality and circumstances of life.

The word "arcana" comes from Latin and means "secret" and, in the Tarot, the Major Arcana are considered universal, symbolic and figurative: they are considered symbolic of great issues, moments or people. They are archetypes, that is, they represent the most diverse feelings, moral positions and human behaviors. When they appear in a reading, it indicates an important event or decision, whether practical, spiritual, or emotional. They also establish correspondence with the astrological signs and planets.