16. The Tower

I took it, and threw it on the GROUND.

Upright

Upheaval, downfall, a release.

Reversed

Cataclysm, but you’re stronger.

Element: Fire

When The Tower shows up, stuff is about to get really interesting. The people from The Tower are falling out of the upper window while lighting strikes the peak of the building and displaces its crown. No one on this card is happy about the situation, but one thing is for sure: stuff sure is happening.

The Tower is the card of upheaval. Life has done a table flip. Something you’ve been building may be completely crumbling a la Jenga tower, or your hubris might be coming back to bite you. Sometimes, when we fall from the metaphorical tower, it’s horrible and unexpected. Sometimes, it’s something that we know has been coming for a long time. And sometimes, the fall is good; sometimes it’s a release from a situation that was getting difficult in some way. The Tower isn’t necessarily bad and can represent a kind of catharsis. But in general, we think of The Tower as bringing massive and often unexpected changes, sometimes of our own making.

When reversed, The Tower notes that these changes won’t break you. This is a milder storm. The Tower reversed may also mean you are holding onto something or taking responsibility when you don’t have to. All things fall. Sometimes, we have to let them.