The Tower

The Tower is the 16th card in the Major Arcana portion of tarot. Often regarded as a chilling warning to a catastrophic event, The Tower is a menacing presence during a reading and often gives a vibe of fear.

The Tower is typically depicted as a tower as the central graphic during the assault of a thunderstorm. Often, there is damage to the tower and there may be plumes of fire from areas of the tower damaged by the lightning. There are often people falling from the tower or those rest slain at the foot of the structure.

In an upright reading, the lighting can depict destruction in one’s life while the fire can depict transformation and purification in the endurance of a trial one is underway. The falling people can represent the fall of the ego, financial ruin or the punishment of pridefulness. In the case of a crown present in the card, it can further represent the loss of power and position. One should take heed when drawing this card and pay close attention to its meaning!

In reverse, it can apply the resistance to change and avoiding necessary destruction in order to evolve. It may suggest inner turmoil or a crisis that is being ignored or suppressed. Denial of reality is another common theme of this reading.

Key Traits: Destruction, loss of ego, fall from grace, purification of one’s self.

Key Traits (reversed): Resistance to change, denial of reality, inner turmoil, loss.