The Tower: tarot card meaning
The Tower is card XVI of the Major Arcana, associated with the element of Fire. Drawn upright it speaks of upheaval, revelation, breakthrough; reversed, of avoidance, fear of change, delayed collapse.
Upright meaning
upheaval, revelation, breakthrough, sudden change
Lightning only breaks what was hollow -- a structure built on false ground falls so a truer one can rise; this is revelation more than ruin.
Reversed meaning
avoidance, fear of change, delayed collapse, resistance
The collapse is being put off and the denial adds to the strain -- facing the change on your own terms is kinder than waiting for the bolt.
Vedic and astrological correspondence
| Planet | Mars |
|---|---|
| Vedic graha | Mangal |
| Zodiac | Aries/Scorpio |
| Element | Fire |
In a three-card reading
In the past position The Tower describes the current that carried you to where you are; in the present position, what is most alive in the situation now; in the future position, the direction things tend toward if nothing changes. A reading weighs it against the other two cards rather than on its own.
Questions
What does The Tower mean upright?
Lightning only breaks what was hollow -- a structure built on false ground falls so a truer one can rise; this is revelation more than ruin.
What does The Tower mean reversed?
The collapse is being put off and the denial adds to the strain -- facing the change on your own terms is kinder than waiting for the bolt.