Four Pillars Society Tarot: The Tower

Notes On: The Tower (Lessons Untold)

 

Artist’s Notes:
“Life is what happens to you when you’re making other plans” is a quote that has been attributed to many and I have found it to be quite true. We make plans and we live our lives according to what we believe we know about the way the universe works. Most of us have some clues but as the universe tends to be bigger and more complex than we believe, at least some of the assumptions we work with will prove to be false. What we believe one day to be a worthwhile investment of time, money and effort may turn out in time to be less worthwhile.  This has turned out to be true of relationships, investments, political and spiritual beliefs as well as jobs. We believe we build our lives of concrete, wood and metal when in reality what we build are houses of cards. The farther our assumptions veer from what our inner truth is, the higher we build, and the harder will be the devastation when the tower comes crashing down.
 
The Tower is a wake-up call from the universe that can show us exactly where our false assumptions have been. From the perspective of spiritual growth, it is one of the most positive cards that we can get. Wouldn’t we rather live our lives in accordance with our truest highest self (our true will) as opposed to what we believe we want at any given moment?
The question is after the collapse what do we do? Do we rebuild according to a more experienced view of reality or do we continue to make the same mistakes over and over only to face another collapse? Most of us tend to repeat the same cycles until we grow tired of having to clean up after our own messes. That is when most of us start rebuilding on more solid principles.
 
On a more personal note, the cards that comprise this tower are either decks that I have created myself or decks that were my go-to’s for readings for many decades before my first deck, components with which I have built (countless times) my own Tower, each time more stable and unassailable.
 
 
About the Archetype:
 
For many of us, our lives are akin to a house of cards. We build them up based on how we believe life to work, adding card to card higher and higher. Since at least some of our assumptions are mistaken, however, the houses (or towers) that compose our lives tend to be unstable. As we build higher and higher, the instability increases until finally there is an inevitable collapse. This may result in our relationships or jobs falling apart or some kind of loss. We have met the Tower force full on.
 
The Tower is a wake-up call from the universe that can show us exactly where our false assumptions have been. From the perspective of spiritual growth, it is one of the most positive cards that we can get. Wouldn’t we rather live our lives in accordance with our truest highest self (our true will) as opposed to what we believe we want at any given moment?
 
The question is after the collapse what do we do? Do we rebuild according to a more experienced view of reality or do we continue to make the same mistakes over and over only to face another collapse? Most of us tend to repeat the same cycles until we grow tired of having to clean up after our own messes.
 
 
Astrological Correspondence:
 
Mars is the planet that influences our passions. This passion can be creative or destructive. It can be incredibly sexual as Mars is the planet of sexual energy. It can also be martial as Mars is the planet of war. In an esoteric sense, the Mars energy involves the sacrifice of our spirit to incarnate into the physical as well as the desire to release that energy back into the higher planes. Mars has that tendency to push us to destroy that which is more illusory for that which is more real and vital. In the rulership of Aries, that creative pushing forward energy can be seen and in the rulership of Scorpio, that push towards the death of the personality and the rebirth into a more spiritual higher form. Mars also influences the vitality of the physical body particularly the bloodstream. Mars provides that passionate vital spark that energizes us to go after what we want most either in a way that will enliven us or as the moth towards the flame.
 
 
In a Reading:
 
When the Tower turns up in a reading, it normally indicates turmoil in the querent’s life. Usually, this comes when they have been living their life under a series of false assumptions, such as the stability of their job and/or relationships and life is handing them a wake-up call. It could mean that they have been approaching a particular problem in a certain way under the false assumption that it has been working only to find out that while it may have worked in the short term, in the long term things have proven disastrous. The good news is that this destructive force has given the querent the chance to find a new more reality-based approach that will work better. The card may also mean that the disaster has not happened yet but is approaching and it might be a good idea for the querent to take a look at how they are approaching things. Are they perceiving what is really going on or are they working on the assumption that all is well and ignoring the warning signs?
 
The Tower can also mean that the querent is receiving or is about to receive a call to wake up to a deeper reality than they have known up to this point. They may be on the brink of a peak experience or about to receive news that will make them see their lives in a totally different way. This may also feel destructive but sometimes you have to destroy in order to build.
 
 
 
When the Tower comes out reversed or badly aspected, it may mean either that the disaster that the Tower force has brought into their lives has not been a total one or that they have started rebuilding their lives back up under the same set of false assumptions on which they have built before. This is often seen in patterns of abusive relationships where the person finds the same type of partner who has abused them before, convinced that this time will be different. The reversed Tower can also mean that the querent keeps ‘shoring up’ the problem areas rather than facing what may be causing them in the first place, therefore, putting off the inevitable collapse. The reversed card also may mean that by proper action, the querent may be able to avoid disaster altogether if they act quickly and honestly.
 
 
— GAR
 
 
Fate’s Whisper:
 
“Every empire falls the same way it rises”
These words were spoken by the Spider of Fate when he cast his first judgement. When an empire rises through conflict it is determined that that leader will die fighting. While that isn’t always the case initially it has been recorded to end the same even if the last leader had no part in that rising. This wisdom taught the dragons that for their legacy to last they had to build slowly and firmly. However, the higher one climber the mightier the fall is when it happens.
 
The Tower is a card about lessons and self-control. The idea is that we as beings will make mistakes and when that happens how will you handle looking at the remains of what you once built? Will you make the same mistake again because your ego can’t accept it? Or will you adjust and make due and start building a sturdier tower?
 
–NF