The Tower, traditionally considered one of the harshest cards in the Major Arcana, has a key word that can be elusive. “Change” is heralded by many Tarot cards. The Fool, the Wheel of Fortune, Death… And the Six of Swords? Don’t they all signal change? So, it’s not just “change.”

Unexpected changes? Strangely enough, the Tower may not be unexpected at all! The situation, like an abscess, has been festering for a long time. This is the “end of the world” that has been anticipated, maybe even eagerly awaited! So, it’s not “unexpected.”

Liberation? Again, the Tower is not the exclusive bearer of this meaning. Judgment, the Sun, the Star… and a number of other cards also signify liberation.

It turns out that the key word is “crisis.” Or even “crash.” An explosion or a break following a period of tension. In a certain sense, it is a punishment for what came before. It brings about the expulsion of the Devil (the previous Arcana). The ancient name for the Tower is the House of God. This is worth pondering. This is the House of the Devil (as the card was called in medieval Italy), turning into a place of divine presence under the strike of a heavenly lightning bolt. The Tower signifies liberation from false aspirations that hinder development through the destruction of what a person believed in and strived for. It is the loss of a balance that was based on false foundations. The Tower acts as a healer in evolution, cleansing our lives from all that poisons them, destroying stagnant situations that hinder growth.

The Tower keywords:

– Falling Tower, Ruined Tower

– Babylonian Tower, Downfall

– House of God (“how dreadful is this place”)**

– Eye of God

– Heavenly Fire

– Flame

– The Thunderbolt

– Astral Compulsion

– Strike of Fate

– Shocking Transformation

– Number 16

– Letter Zayin

– Path 27 (from Hod to Netzach, from Glory to Victory)

– Mars, Pluto, Scorpio, Uranus, and Saturn (as a symbol of a bursting abscess), Chiron

– Occult Meaning of the Card: Destruction

The Tower shows that the walls we hid behind (or hid something within) are collapsing. One period of life is replaced by another, and this happens very rapidly.

In its simplest sense, the card symbolizes the end of the current situation under the influence of external forces, unexpectedly and very quickly.

The Tower rips you out of restrictive circumstances, disrupting the long-standing status quo. Sometimes this aligns perfectly with your expectations and desires, so the Tower is not always negative. Next to positive cards, it signifies the breakdown of existing evil, heralding the end of a dark period in life and relief from a heavy burden. It’s time to step into the future amid the rubble of the past.

It’s like a thunderbolt in a clear sky, a painful revelation undermining the very foundations we stood upon, causing a profound upheaval of former beliefs about life. Importantly, the “blow” is dealt by forces with which it’s pointless to try to contend. Another significant point is that there’s no sense in trying to restore what has perished in the Tower; it’s futile.

The Tower’s scale and significance change depending on its position in the spread and the situation. It can indicate both external destruction and internal turmoil.

For the future, it serves as a warning that what we’ve long considered stable and safe may suddenly become unstable. Fundamental changes are brewing, and the air smells of a storm. As an indicator of the past, it says that what was obsolete has fallen and will not be revived. Sometimes it concerns internal matters—entrenched beliefs or life principles—and sometimes the target is something more tangible, but in any case, the Tower destroys the structures and conventions we have outgrown. In fact, the old breaks down because the time has come; something new, more creative, alive, and vital is already maturing, while the old has outlived its time, and reviving it is a waste of time and energy. When the shock subsides, we find we have shed ballast.

Through the Tower, we clear away the debris, discard the old and unnecessary, and destroy obstacles. Sometimes it indicates we are in an extremely intense process of transformation, shaken and jolted, experiencing a breakthrough to something important, freeing up space for something new. We are consumed by an idea, feeling, or desire, breaking one thing to reach for another, experiencing upheaval and liberation. This is the attainment of an inner truth that has long been suppressed. This process is like a thunderbolt from a clear sky or a river breaking through a dam. It can be such a powerful and vivid experience that it’s nearly impossible to “collect” oneself and return to everyday routine (the proverbial “blowing one’s mind”).

Another traditional meanings of the Tower include unexpected disruption and the collapse of a plans, at worst, complete failure, misfortune, and suffering. Catastrophic changes in the querent’s affairs, the destruction of a home, business, or marriage (depending on the question’s theme and surrounding cards), sometimes imprisonment. In a purely everyday sense, the Tower often signifies conflict, even scandal, but it’s a storm after which the air becomes cleaner.

In rare cases, the Tower predicts triumph, but even then, it’s more of a Pyrrhic victory, achieved at too great a cost. The Tower foretells unforeseen destruction, accidents, breakdowns, mishaps, and sometimes attacks. On a global scale, it reflects wars, natural disasters, explosions, terrorist attacks, revolutions, the collapse of regimes, and the destruction of the existing order. Plane crashes, shipwrecks.

Personal State

“Struck by Thunder.” Most likely, a person is in shock; completely taken aback by some news or event, and everything they had planned and hoped for has suddenly changed. Perhaps they are decisively trying to break free from something and act as a destroyer, but again, there is a reason for this.

The Tower is a stress test revealing all our weak spots. The collapse of erroneous beliefs under the pressure of reality, the downfall of values that provided us with confidence in the future and a sense of security (in emotional, professional, financial, or even spiritual spheres). The image of the Tower can represent structures by which a person tries to shield themselves from growth, the world, and the diversity of life.

In a certain sense, the XVI Arcana depicts a prison consisting of rigid, impermeable ideas that are elevated. Within its gloomy walls are locked unused forces, unrevealed emotions, and paralyzed energy. And now, reality, constrained by a limited worldview, is subjected to destruction. The towering Tower of beliefs unexpectedly wobbles and disintegrates along with the old worldview. Through the Tower, conditions for further growth are created. It is the pain that stands in the way of rebirth.

We all experience the Tower’s trial many times. Humans are imperfect, and their knowledge of the world is always partial. We all to some extent shield ourselves from the outside world to gain stability and peace. Disillusionment with our dreams, hopes, and rational constructions spares no one; the question is only how often positions are reviewed (here, openness and interaction with the external world, and forces that exceed one’s own “self” play the main

It is a special life wisdom to understand that the walls of your Tower are more enemies than friends. And yet the feeling of falling can be simply terrible. Sometimes it brings “righteous anger” and the fury of destruction and liberation.

Even obvious losses are valuable gifts from the Universe, and times of crisis and despair often become the most fruitful phases of growth. By honestly looking at yourself, you can truly free yourself and move forward.

By accepting the shock, you can move along your true path, and sooner or later, the Star of hope will shine for you. The alternative is to drag yourself through the mud as a passive victim, wondering where you are and how you got there.

A person of the Tower has an extremely restless nature, they are dynamic, self-confident, thrillingly unpredictable, and always ready to take risks people.

The Tower brings turmoil and confusion into the lives of those whom fate brings them into contact with, embodying living fate. Yet their spirit is unyielding, hard to break, and their life, full of sharp turns, serves them if not as a lesson, then as a tempering force.

The Tower of any gender often has a fiery temperament and an inability to maintain good relations with others.

Historically, the Tower corresponds to tyrants and dictators (who are eventually overthrown if they do not die before that). The Tower also encompasses megalomania and punishment for pride.

Anyone else would have had their nerves shattered ten times over, “but the rebel asks for a storm, as if there is peace in the storms.” You find yourself flying “like a hare” to an unknown destination, not even trying to guess how it will all end. With the Tower, the phrase “see Paris and die” ceases to be a literary figure of speech.

On a Deeper Level

At a deeper level, the Tower in a spiritual sense symbolizes the consequences of being “tempted by the devil,” even if one tries to deny it. The Sixteenth Arcana describes the destruction of the vibrations of the Fifteenth. The Tower represents something sent by God (a blow, punishment, revelation, or the shattering of illusions).

The Tower doesn’t “blow your mind” but rather “puts your mind right.” We receive a reminder from the Universe that we are not omnipotent (even if we have gained power), that the will of man, no matter how strong, is secondary and limited compared to the Will of God. The Tower warns not to think about yourself as the Lord God. What you are currently striving for does not contribute to evolution and is not part of God’s plans. Therefore, you will be set on the right path, and the constructions of your limited mind will be overturned.

The Sixteenth Arcana is a mystery of the overthrow of everything false and unviable. Symbolically, it depicts the fall of Lucifer, the Morning Star, cast down from heaven “like lightning” by the army of Archangel Michael. Sometimes it is also associated with the fall of man and his expulsion from paradise, although this structure hardly resembles paradise… Probably the closest to the Sixteenth Arcana is the famous myth of the Tower of Babel, a symbol of vanity, which the Lord did not allow the proud people to complete. Allegorically, something not quite real falls under the pressure of Divine intervention.

Therefore, the Tower warns: the task you have set yourself cannot help but destroy the one who solves it. And does it even make sense? What you are building at least ignores God’s laws, and may even violate them. It is essentially a fall from grace, so expulsion from paradise is inevitable. A Uranian strike will follow, putting an abrupt end to this endeavor. From this Uranian lightning, the sun of new truth may shine. Divine revelation instantly destroys all delusions.

Astrologically, the Tower strongly feels the influence of Mars (cosmic energy in its crude materialistic form), as well as planets like Pluto (“nowhere to hide”), Uranus, and Saturn (sudden destruction and renewal). The Tower can signify both the blind destruction of forms and the collapse of the obsolete.

Mars represents the moral principles of a person and dominating fate, providing physical strength, spiritual impulses, and hope for immortality.

In a mystical sense, the Tower corresponds to astral battles, magical wars, exorcism. The Tower also corresponds to the mystery of the Phoenix, rising renewed from the ashes. This is the ability to be reborn, to change radically after purifying crises (moving from the temptations of the Devil to the Star). The card often depicts golden light or another substance bursting out of the breach formed by the blow, symbolizing released potential forces.

In Masonic tradition, the Tower symbolizes the Jachin column and the primordial fire, “from which everything begins, and with which everything ends.” The stones of the Tower also symbolize the hardness and rigidity of the human soul, the inertia of consciousness. The images of figures falling from the Tower vary in different decks. Sometimes one is a king losing his crown in flight, and the other is a pauper in rags. This hints that no one can avoid purifying crises and reassessments in life. Omnipotent Fate is completely indifferent to what position a person holds in the hierarchy of this world. Sometimes it’s a man and a woman, then it’s more of an association with the fall of man and the punishment for yielding to the temptations of the previous Arcana.

The Tower also is associated with the “flaming sword” at the entrance to Eden. The expulsion here is reflected in the fact that a person falls into a lower world and brings upon himself the illusion of materiality. The Tower is the axis of the world, embodying spiritual evolution directed towards divine heights.

Esoterically, this Arcana also depicts the mystery of the interaction between thought (representation) and word.

The Tower has long been considered a card of admonition for those seeking occult knowledge. It says that by being tempted by the opportunity to rule this world instead of striving for wisdom and spiritual growth, you will lose everything you have gained. The reason is the misuse of power. Not in that you manifested it in principle, but in where you directed it. Walking the spiritual path, a person should not try to conquer THIS world. At this point in the quest, there is still a temptation to evaluate oneself in terms of this world – by the impression made on others, by earthly position and status. But if you trade spiritual growth for obvious material achievements, you will lose everything. YOU EITHER APPROPRIATED POWER YOU DID NOT HAVE, OR AIMED AT A GOAL YOU DID NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO.

It symbolizes the collapse of the self-confident intellect, encroaching on mastering Secret Knowledge.

Professional Upheavals

Shocking changes. A sudden decision to change jobs (or even professions). Being fired “like a bolt from the blue,” leaving with a bang, “slamming the door.” Quarrels, stress, the destruction of business relationships. A grand collapse. Sudden project closure. Company bankruptcy.

Suddenly it becomes clear that the plans are unrealistic, beyond human capabilities, and therefore doomed to fail. Fiasco. Situations where a person feels that all their efforts have been in vain, and the meaning of life has also disappeared.

Loss of prestige and influence, career collapse. Catastrophe as a result of abuse of power. Risky ventures, unreliable business, unstable enterprises. Professionally, the Tower mainly involves military personnel and athletes. It can also indicate professions related to clearing space, destroying the old (which can include psychotherapy).

Housing and Financial Implications

The Tower can literally point to a specific house or building, as well as the dangers emanating from them. Fire, destruction, robbery. A sudden decision to change residence.

Financial structures built like a house of cards. A dubious business foundation, where if the past comes to light. Bankruptcy, financial collapse, economic crisis. Need, poverty, deprivation, destitution.

Emotional and Relational Situation

The Tower brings both destruction and liberation. Whether you feel more “destruction” or more “liberation” is another question. Sometimes the Tower represents simply a conflict, and sometimes an unbridled sexual impulse, and sometimes one turns into the other… but in any case, it is an explosion and the release of long-suppressed and repressed feelings.

If you held back something, restrained, tolerated, kept silent, waited for, then the Tower is the hour of explosion. Restraints break, reins snap, patience bursts, in short, the margin of safety ends, sometimes quite treacherously.

The previous nature of the relationship can also provide a clue. If the situation felt like a dead end, and the relationship resembled a prison to the person, the Tower is “breaking the door and getting out.” Tower is experienced positively, much like a person doomed to life imprisonment experiences the unexpected destruction of the prison during an earthquake – he escapes to freedom without feeling any nostalgia for the debris.

The Tower sometimes could mean the collapse of former relationships that seemed stable and unchanging, or a very severe test of love or friendship, after which one’s opinion of close ones changes.

The ancient words “destruction as a result of incorrect judgments and abuse of free will” are absolutely accurate, and one can feel to what extent this is true only by going through all the vicissitudes of the Tower. Another of its meanings is a “cleansing storm.” And another – “ashes.” Which one is closer to the truth in this case remains to be seen.

Marriage crisis, divorce. With the Tower, there are often “revelations” – long-hidden truths burst forth, a sudden understanding of the true nature of events arises. This could be the realization of one’s own dissatisfaction with marriage, the fact of infidelity, and other unexpected blows. With the Tower, secrets are revealed and illusions are shattered.

A sudden loss of a spouse that knocks the ground from under one’s feet. Sudden widowhood, the death of a spouse, and a person in the overwhelming realization of his vulnerability was left with a small child in his arms, having to build a completely new life.

The card partly indicates tyranny and oppression (the context of the reading is important), the situation can also be dangerous, threatening, fraught with violence.

The Tower carries considerable sexual energy. The lightning sometimes takes the form of the zodiac sign Scorpio, and the tower itself is considered a phallic symbol. The Tower symbolizes the powerful orgasmic force of emotions that have long been restrained but finally gained freedom.

Therefore, sometimes with the Tower, there is sudden love that jumped out at us, and struck us both at once! Like lightning strikes, like a Finnish knife strikes!

The upright card is associated with erection and ejaculation (reversed, accordingly, with problems in this area; there is also an opinion that it can indicate the secret birth of a child).

With the Tower, spontaneous, very passionate, unexpected sex for the person is possible, and sometimes even violent. Sometimes it involves a passion that considerably destroys the lives of those seized by it. “Everything happened” – but to open their eyes and look around after this atomic explosion is simply scary for them…

For a lonely person living with a sense of complete stagnation and tired of loneliness, the Tower is an optimistic card. It says that something will happen! Boring and calm existence will end, and it will be possible to escape from the dungeon of numbness.

The Tower card could represent a period when a person decides to do what they have never done before, following the principle: now or never. Those who married the wrong person leave; singles fall in love and tie the knot; women who have never had children use their last chance to conceive a child, and those who have worked in a boring job for years quit and walk to the Himalayas. For the sake of happiness and growth, all standard things must go, so that what has long been dormant in the depths of our being can awaken.

Health Situations

Diseases like “a bolt from the blue”:

• Fractures, injuries accompanied by acute pain.
• Accidents, wounds.
• Burns.
• Shock.
• Sometimes, the Tower represents sudden healings, where the illness is “expelled” and “driven out,” but this usually shakes the body to its core.
• Surgical operations.
• Radiation and chemotherapy.

Symptoms of the body cleansing itself from toxins:

• High fever.
• Vomiting.
• Various skin rashes.
• Hemorrhages, abscesses, suppurations.
• Appendicitis attack, cyst rupture.

Cardiovascular incidents:

• Heart attack.
• Myocardial infarction.
• Stroke.

Age crisis:

• Nervous breakdown, severe frustration.
• Panic attacks.
• Mental disorders, more psychopathic than neurotic in nature:
• State of affect.
• Undermined health (e.g., due to radiation exposure).
• In exceptional cases – death (catastrophe, accident).

Reversed Tower

There is an opinion that the reversed position softens the impact of the Tower: what is built will not be destroyed to the ground. It becomes less ominous and catastrophic. This may mean chaos that is not as intense, but it will last longer. Or it might just be a postponement of change that will still have to be faced. It can also be a misfortune narrowly avoided at the last moment. However, even in the reversed position, the Tower usually brings anxiety and pain.

In the reversed position, the card indicates a strong dependence on existing circumstances that cannot be changed at the moment – opportunities are limited, individuality is oppressed.

A person follows their own footsteps on the same path, living in an old rut, ripening for a fundamental development crisis, ignoring warning signals, and clinging to the status quo. They delay necessary changes, softening a situation ready to explode.

Sometimes, in the reversed Tower, a person stubbornly denies a crisis, friction in relationships, or even ongoing violence, as if it doesn’t exist.

The card also advises against rushing to break old relationships and ties; it is better to resolve the matter peacefully, avoiding scandals and conflicts. Traditionally, it is considered to have a narrow meaning: tyranny, oppression, bondage. Deception. Shame. Oppression, persecution, harassment.

In the French tradition, the reversed Tower symbolizes imprisonment, as it is believed that Napoleon drew this card on the day of his departure to the island of Saint Helena.

The Tower in Combination with Other Cards

• With the Fool – Danger due to inattention or carelessness.
• With the Magician – Consequences for permissiveness.
• With the Empress – Selfishness and risk of being left alone; danger of bankruptcy.
• With the Emperor – The need to defend one’s interests and to protect one’s achievements with difficulty.
• With the Hierophant – Spiritual searches have gone astray; crisis of faith, possibly involvement in a cult or falling under the influence of a self-proclaimed “guru.”
• With the Lovers – The need to quickly make an important decision.
• With the Chariot – A dire warning of an accident or mishap during travel. If no travel is foreseen, then cards of control, victory, and triumph in struggle.
• With the Hermit – Loneliness due to unjustifiably high self-esteem.
• With the Wheel of Fortune – Major and unexpected changes in life.
• With Strength – Extremely strong and not particularly friendly people will appear in your surroundings.
• With Death – “Rapid impact of powerful forces.” Accidents, injuries, painful incidents. Traditionally, this combination is a harbinger of imminent catastrophe, in both a literal and figurative sense.
• With Temperance – Weakens the impact of the Tower.
• With the Star – No matter the upheavals, there is no need to grieve, everything will be for the best. The tranquility and peace of the Star calm the storm of the Tower.
• With the Sun – Health problems, depression. This combination is also considered a warning not to take loans or invest money. Another meaning is a bright illumination or revelation.
• With the Six of Wands – Approval, pride, success.
• With the Five of Pentacles – Very tough times, especially financially.
• With the Nine of Pentacles – A heap of problems (according to Huguenheim).