XVI THE TOWER

Alternative Names: The House of God, Fate, The Lightning

Number: XVI
Numerology Link: VII, The Chariot
Astrological Sign or Planet: Mars
Element: Fire
Hebrew Letter: Peh (Pei)
Symbol: Mouth
Meaning: Chaos
Tree of Life Pathway: Seventeenth, between Hod and Netzach
Chakra: Crown and base, for heaven and earth
Key Meanings: Destruction and enlightenment
UNDERSTANDING THE TOWER
The Tower is aflame, struck by lightning that has thrown two figures to the
ground. A crown, once atop the Tower, is blasted in to the darkness as nature
asserts her power over Earth. In early French tarots, the card is named la Maison
Dieu, the House of God, calling to mind the burning of the Tower of Babel as
divine retribution for our sins, a story told in the rabbinic text the Midrash.
Genesis offers an alternative story: The Tower and city were abandoned, not
burned, when God made the Babylonians speak in incomprehensible languages.
As with the other supposedly dark cards in the major arcana—Death and the
Devil—there is always a way forward, provided we can accept a force that is
higher than us and adapt to a new way of living and relating to each other. If
we’ve been cossetting ourselves away in ivory towers, it’s time to come back
down to earth.
The Tower marks a point of awakening. In the major arcana sequence, it falls
after the Devil. If the Devil is pride, ego, and arrogance, then the Tower is a fall
from grace. It is a necessary stage of breakdown and rebuilding so our horizons
can expand. We must look for a new place to be, physically or spiritually, and
engage with new concepts and people if we are to progress to card XVII, The
Star, which offers hope and the chance to follow a dream.
The Devil’s number, XVI, comprises the mystical number 7 doubled (see VII,
The Chariot, page 58). Also, in numerology, XVI reduces to VII (1 + 6 = 7), or
the Chariot, which is powered by the charioteer’s determination. With the Tower,
our willpower has no effect. Only the will of God determines the outcome. In
this sense, the Tower, along with the Wheel of Fortune (see page 70), is a card of
fate.

THE TOWER’S ASTROLOGY

The Tower’s planet is Mars, fiery and masculine, forceful and warlike. Although
Mars’s energy can bring destruction, with this comes a release, a breakthrough.

THE TOWER AND KABBALA

The kabbalistic letter of the Tower is Peh, which means mouth, and also
expression, words, and speech, perhaps relating to the Babyloneans’ speaking in
different tongues. Another meaning of Peh is chaos—the impact of the falling
Tower.
On the Tree of Life, the Tower is placed on the twenty-seventh pathway
between the spheres of Hod and Netzach, or the logical mind and the forces of
nature. Whatever we think, we are always subject to higher forces.

UPRIGHT MEANING
The Tower hits us with sudden change: the collapse of an ideal, a dream, an
organization, or a relationship. This is inevitable and is due to forces beyond
your control. The Tower can represent shattered ego, so you may feel vulnerable
and confused. Yet you can only surrender to the power of the Tower and work on
accepting the huge shift in awareness it offers—although the benefits may not be
obvious just yet.
The upside of the Tower is its message of release. The walls come tumbling
down, but in the moment of destruction, everything is illuminated. You can see
inside the Tower and look at how you built it—how you lived in your
psychological tower and what it protected you from. Now, you can experience a
flash of deep insight. With the Tower gone, you can begin to sense how the
future might evolve. What you build next can have more foundation.
Some readers find the Tower an apt descriptor of migraines, with the buildup
of pressure and intense pain. The Tower’s lightning bolt has also been likened to
sexual tension and earth-shattering release.
Here are some other possibilities the Tower may signify:

Home: The Tower can illustrate an abrupt change to your circumstances. A

property you hoped to move into does not materialize, or you encounter
delays to building projects, for example.
Relationships: A secret comes to light, which may be shocking. It is time to
let go of past patterns of relating. Equally, you may experience an intense
physical or spiritual attraction, which has a profound impact on your orderly
existence.
Career and money: Restructuring in businesses, possible redundancies that
may mean a move to alternative premises—the Tower signifies change. A
person in a position of power makes tough decisions, and a leader may be
ousted from their post.
REVERSED MEANING
When the Tower is reversed, you may find yourself taking responsibility even
when you are blameless. It can also show you have held on to a career, project,
or relationship that is not strong enough to stand the test of time. If you have
clung to the past to protect yourself from reality, your fears may materialize. The
Tower’s collapse is inevitable, so do not feel responsible for forces outside your
control. Its impact is sudden and dramatic, and soon you will know exactly
where you stand.

ITS WISDOM MESSAGE

Surrender.

THE TOWER’S SYMBOLS

In the Rider-Waite tarot, the Tower appears with these magical symbols. Some of
them reappear in other major arcana cards, so learn to recognize them and you’ll
soon find you can apply your knowledge throughout the deck.

The tower: Illustrating society, protection, and the ego, a lone tower can also
symbolize the past.
See the symbol of the watchtowers on card XVIII, The Moon.
The falling figures: The figures symbolize humanity at the mercy of God and
the power of nature. They also represent the fallout that disaster can bring—
emotional, physical, and financial.
Fire: Fire is the element associated with Mars, both the planet and the Roman
god of war. It symbolizes change, rebirth, and purification.
See this symbol as a negative aspect in card XV, The Devil, on his torch,
and as a positive symbol of growth on card XIX, The Sun.
The golden droplets: On the Rider-Waite card, the flames emit golden
droplets in the form of the Hebrew letter J, meaning fire. There are twenty-
two, the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet and the number of major
arcana cards in a traditional tarot deck.
See this symbol on card XVIII, The Moon.
Lightning bolt: The lightning bolt is a symbol of enlightenment and
purification, revealing what has been hidden. In a flash, we are spiritually
awakened and cleansed of negative karma.
The falling crown: The crown is a symbol of power and sovereignty. The
falling crown shows that worldly power no longer holds—nature is a far
greater force. We are not in control or protected by our ego anymore.
 THE HISTORICAL TOWER: PUNISHMENT
AND PURIFICATION
Throughout the years of tarot history, the Tower has always been burning,
although with minor variations. The Visconti-Sforza cards of the
Renaissance era show a cross at the bottom of the Tower, a symbol of
resurrection after chaos. This may reference attacks on the Catholic faith
by heretics, which were common in the fifteenth century. The Tower, a
symbol of the power of the Church, is not struck down by God—the
flames appear to have been created by the intense heat from two suns,
symbols of diverse political forces. On our Rider-Waite card, the burning
Tower links with Midrash’s account of the fall of the Tower of Babel. It
may also be a depiction of God’s punishment of the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah, which were burned to the ground in retribution for the people’s
sins.
The lightning bolt is a magical symbol in many myths and belief
systems: A flash of lightning from Zeus impregnated Semele, Princess of
Thebes, with her son, Dionysus, the god of wine—thus the lightning bolt is
a nod to the shift in consciousness that the Tower brings. Buddhism has its
own sacred lightning bolt, a djore (Tibet) or vajra (India), a symbol for the
purification of the mind, which, in a flash, releases the negative karma with
which we are born.

THE TOWER’S REFLECTIONS

We can see aspects of the Tower in these minor arcana cards:

The Seven of Swords, for loss

The Three of Swords, for sorrow and pain
The Five of Cups, for loss and upset
The Eight of Cups, for emotional upheaval
The Ten of Wands, for overwhelm and burdens
TRY A READING WITH THE TOWER: LETTING GO
Take the Tower from your deck and lay it before you. Now shuffle the remaining
cards and cut the deck or fan out the cards facedown. Choose six cards with your
left hand and place them around the Tower, as shown. You could ask, “What will
be released?” or “Is my present position in my career/relationship/home secure?”

Card 1: The foundation: the past

Card 2: Emotional reasons for your tower
Card 3: The financial benefits of your tower
Card 4: What needs to be released
Card 5: Emotional outcome
Card 6: Practical outcome
 XVII THE STAR

Alternative Names: Hope, The Stars

Number: XVII
Numerology Link: VIII, Strength
Astrological Sign or Planet: Aquarius the Water Carrier
Element: Air
Hebrew Letter: Tzaddi
Symbol: The fishhook
Meaning: Hope
Tree of Life Pathway: Eighteenth, between Yesod and Netzach
Chakra: Higher heart, for universal love
Key Meanings: Hope, guidance, inspiration, and creativity