TAROTThe Tower
Upright
Crisis, upheaval, destruction of old life through external events.
A crisis to existing beliefs or life, causing a need to rebuild and refocus
Sudden disruptive change.
Failure due to ego or over-ambition.
Intuition
The Minotaur represents hidden truths that lie at the foundations of the tower, creating shaky foundations or an insult to the Gods. The tower must fall because of it.
Notice the spirals on the Tower, symbol of life as a continuous journey of birth, life, death, re-birth. There will be a period of growth after the tower topples.
Reversed
Clinging on to an old life or situation that has ended, or a personal transformation through internal events.
A significant personal transformation caused by outdated thinking, distraction, ego, vanity or apathy.
An inability to move on after a significant event from the past that is blocking growth.
Astrologia
Ambitious, assertive and passionate with high emphasis on sexuality. Prone to being destructive, aggressive and making rash decisions through a self-centered path.
The Tower
The Devil represents the darker side of your nature gaining ascendancy, but the Tower represents another misfortune; an external event that will reveal any unstable structures and deceit, bringing it all toppling down.
The Tower is often seen as the worst card in the deck because irrespective of whether it appears upright or reversed, it represents major change that will always be difficult while it lasts because it usually has to happen because parts of your life are based on weak foundations.
Deceit, success that has taken you a long way forward but left you untrue to your core beliefs, a relationship that has become boring. All these are stifling growth out of you and complacency, ego or hubris have set in. One thing can bring the whole thing crashing down, and it is only a matter of time.
There is often no way to avoid it, and no way of even knowing from which direction the initiating event will come from. Only the very intuitive and quick have a chance to avert the destruction.
But the destruction of the tower represents change that will be for the better in the long term. Old ways have to come down forcefully because they are so strongly ingrained.
The tower represents change that will be for the better in the long term.
Sounds bad, but there is a new future with growth and renewal that comes after this destruction.
There are many archetypal myths that denote this situation, because for every tower that reaches upward, there is a cave that reaches down. And in the bottom of that cave there is a beast. And that beast represents a secret or sin that will bring the Tower down.
Asterius the Minotaur
We know The Minoan civilization was hit by a massive earthquake around 1700BC (during the Bronze Age). This was around the time the first Greek Civilization appeared (Mycenaean), so this is at the dawn of known large civilizations in the West.
This earthquake destroyed the first palace of Knossos at the end of a period known as the First Palatial Period. There’s three palatial periods in all, showing that the Minoans didn’t have much luck with natural disasters, and/or managed to anger a few gods with their ego and hubris (given that they were an important international and cosmopolitan trade hub in the Bronze Age, they had a lot to show off about).
The first palace of Knossos in Crete was massive, occupying around 20,000 square metres and existing on many levels, making it labyrinthine to say the least. As with many myths, the Minotaur’s story is probably a real event being retold through ancient eyes; the factual destruction of this palace may be the basis of the myth.
We have a Great king (King Minos) who tricks Poseidon by offering a great bull for sacrifice, but keeps it for himself, switching it for a lesser one. Worse, his wife falls in love with Minos’s new found bull. One thing leads to another and we end up with Asterius the Minotaur, a sin that is hidden in the centre of a labyrinth.
Of course, sins never stay put. They have to be fed as well as hidden. This particular sin is voracious and very particular, feeding on human flesh. The Minotaur was eventually slain by Theseus, but presumably that was not enough for Poseidon because as mentioned above, the Palace of Knossos seems to have fallen and been rebuilt not once but three times.
Description and Symbology
The card shows an ancient tower and at its base we see the entrance to a cave; the labyrinth.
On the tower we see spirals. These could denote a warning about the labyrinth, or could also be the more traditional meaning; the spiral of life, symbolizing birth-life-death-rebirth. It could also mean both because the Tower represents destruction in the short term, followed by growth into a new phase.
We see thunder and the planet Mars looms above. Two people fall from the tower; a man dressed in red and a woman dressed in gold, because most problems have their root in blood or money.
At the base of the tower we see the Minotaur. A symbol of a sin, mistake or event that is kept hidden at the base of the tower and that will bring the whole tower down because its foundations hide a growing and voracious beast of a problem.
Once the tower falls, the beast becomes negated and there is no longer anything to hide and nothing to constantly waste energy fixing. That energy can now be put to use more productively, and as the spirals suggest, life will move on.
Card Icon
The circle and arrow has several meanings. It can represent the shield and spear of Ares, God of War. It can represent the planet Mars. It can represent the male energy of the Minotaur. It could be as obvious as a tower with a cave at the bottom. Or it could be all of them.
The Tower
Represents the life you have created, the experiences you have built up, the things you have, but at its foundations may lie the mistakes and deceits that also came along the way. Such things cannot be fixed without also bringing down the tower first.
The Spiral
Near the base of the tower we see some brickwork has come off to reveal a more ancient inner part of the tower’s structure, and on it we see the ancient symbol of the spiral. This represents life as a constantly cyclical process, but on each turn you get closer to the goal.
The Fallers
A number of people are falling from the tower. It is not clear if they have jumped because the tower is about to fall, or because they were pushed. Either way, they are victims to the tower’s current situation. The closest man wears red, and the closest woman wears gold, symbolizing most problems are to do with blood or money.
Asterius
At the base of the tower we see a cave entrance and Asterius the Minotaur. Half-man, half-bull, he represents an unholy union that is a slight to the God Poseidon yet Asterius is innocent in his predicament. When the tower falls there will be more than one such innocent. Nevertheless the Minotaur is the sin at the foundation of the tower that will cause it to fall.
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
Sudden upheaval in a relationship creating toxicity and a need to rebuild or tear down and start over.
To survive the upheaval quick and decisive action is required.
Upheaval in a relationship coming from your side of the equation. Address any unresolved issues you have that may be causing the relationship to unravel, become toxic or simply unsatisfying.
A need to re-evaluate goals and career path in light of a sudden change. This will cause serious problems in the near future, but re-evaluation and growth in the long term.
The card suggests being ready for it. Save money. Take no risks.
A need to re-evaluate goals and career path because of unresolved issues within yourself: lack of belief in the current path, lack of progress or changing personal situation.
It may be time to instigate a change but be prepared for some pain in the short term.
Possible sudden illness or injury through an accident, or unaddressed negative emotions that are affecting health via stress or sense of unfairness.
Known illnesses or injuries may get worse. Check your wellbeing in both body and mind and be prepared for challenges in the short term, but the future looks better.
Deeply held beliefs will be shaken by a revelation or change. Be prepared for change or to have to let go of some core beliefs.
Address whether recent success has come at the expense of core beliefs.
Check whether ego and ambition have come at the expense of leaving behind something precious behind
Financial ruin is a possibility.
Check your plans for unrealistic expectations or a reliance on others. You may be let down at the foundations of your planning, causing them to crumble.
Check whether you are spending to further yourself or just give the impression of being a big-shot.
You may have built a tower of success but pride comes before a fall.
No, chaos and upheaval.
Uncertain; short term pain.
Reading the Card
The upright card
The upright Tower card represents a sudden upheaval that causes a major collapse in your life. Structures and relationships may be changed or disappear. It can easily be a difficult and challenging time especially because it can be unexpected.
Often the reasons for the collapse have been fermenting for some time. Life seems to be moving along but things have actually become stationary and immovable. Perhaps ego, lies and deceit have contributed to early success and are now hidden in the fabric of your tower and creating weakness. Or there might be an ongoing secret. There may also be weakness in the things that you are relying on for success: the job that you cannot lose or the help you have come to rely on.
Whatever they are, there is a weakness in the fabric of your life and it is waiting for a sudden event to bring it crashing down.
Rebuilding will be hard, but better in the long term. The issues that caused a weak tower are gone now that is has collapsed. You can move back into a phase of growth.
The reversal
The reversed Tower card is unusual in that it represents something similar to the upright card. Only the scope changes. In the upright card, the collapse involves things that will involve you personally: family, friends and job. In the reverse it affects the inner you.
There is something within you that will change: a belief, a set of values or a way of living. Stagnation has set in. This could be a relationship, a workplace or simply the beats of your life slowly becoming dull. The world will not change and there will be no lightning. The change will be in your head.
The world around you will not change, but you will. From your new view, you will see that you have to be the destroyer, upturning and removing parts if your life so it is fit for the future.
This may mean fixing relationships (or your role within them) or closing them down, moving to a better career or changing your circle to remove toxicity or other barriers to growth and happiness.
The core point here is that this will be something you will face in yourself, and is up to you to make the change. It is also an option to ignore the message, but that will almost certainly allow the issues to get worse. Remember, this is about the difference between a stable life that you don’t like, and a new life that is free of the things you don’t like that are holding you back. Not much of a choice if you think about it in this way!
Card Design Process
The Tower card is often one of the most feared, as it is always initially negative. The design intent was to create ‘an ugly card that stands out from the others’. Dark and with a mythological monster associated with the tower.
Most Tarot cards show the tower falling or being struck by lightning, but for this deck the aim was to show that there is a weakness or hidden sin within the tower itself, and this is the thing that really causes the tower to fall.
The lightning or earthquake is just the push the tower needs to initiate the final cycle of its life; closure. After that, the monster is negated, the angry Gods are satisfied and life can go on, this time with growth from more stable foundations.
Final Words
The grass is always greener on the other side, but if you ignore it and stay standing still for too long, the grass under your feet will always die. You just won’t see this until you are pushed into moving. The Tower card is the card that pushes.
