The Tower, Part II: The Major Arcana and The Hero’s Journey

Continued from previous post….

Peh or pey, the Hebrew letter attributed to The Tower, means mouth and by extension speech or communication. Our ability (or inability) to communicate is what precipitates many of the Tower moments of our lives. We are experts at talking our way into all kinds of trouble. Tower moments are also the way the Universe communicates with us, telling us that what we are doing no longer feeds our souls and it’s time to do something different.

The Tower’s planet is Mars, god of assertiveness and force. There is nothing subtle about this card.

This card is what happens when we listen to The Devil (previous key). When we become obsessed with the physical world, or as the Taoists say, The 10,000 Things, we lose sight of what truly matters in our lives. Since we are creatures of solid, stable earth, we avoid change like the plague and will fight desperately to keep things as they are, even when they no longer serve out needs. The Tower is the Universe’s not so gentle way of refocusing our attention on the important stuff.

When The Tower appears in a spread, the reader should go immediately into damage control mode. The meaning of the card will be obvious

and very disturbing to the querent: a severe, unpleasant and life changing something is about to happen or has happened. The reader’s job is to look at the surrounding cards and assess what that thing might be, why it happened, and what the querent can do about it. For example:
 Court cards associated with The Tower might indicate social or family meltdowns.
 If there are lots of pentacles it’s probably a money or health issue.
 If there are lots of cups it’s probably about relationships and emotions.
 If there are lots of wands and swords it’s probably about communication.
 If there are pentacles in the past and they are all fortunate and the future looks good, The Tower card in the present may indicate a short downturn in health or finances and then recovery.
 Lots of reversed or difficult pentacles in the past positions might indicate poor money or health choices.
 If reversed or difficult swords and/or wands appear in past positions, poor communication, aggressive behavior, or enemies are the cause.
 If three or more other major arcana cards appear with The Tower then this is an important life lesson for the querent and will probably reoccur in one form or another until she figures it out.
 If The Tower is in the way out of difficulty position, the querent’s best option is to embrace the experience and try to land on his feet at the end.
 If The Tower appears in a head or heart position the querent is extremely troubled about an issue or is working through a revelation that has totally changed his way of thinking/feeling about the world. Depending on the rest of the spread, the reader might recommend counseling.

A Tower moment can be as physical as an automobile accident or as emotional as an argument that ruins a relationship. It can be a well-hidden land mine that explodes when the querent discovers that a part of his life is based on a lie. Something is always damaged or changed beyond repair. More often than not, after the dust settles and the tears are dried, if we have dealt with the problem correctly the situation is improved, or an important life lesson has been learned.

But there doesn’t always have to be a lesson attached. Sometimes shit just happens. I can’t believe that everyone in an earthquake benefits spiritually from the experience.

Tower moments can occur in all stages of the hero’s journey. They can be precipitating events that force the plot in a certain direction or a devastating revelation that brings on the hero’s central ordeal. They can be exciting conclusions or main events.

The original Star Wars movie has at least two Tower moments. The first one is the call to action stage of the journey. Storm troopers invade the planet Tatooine, killing Luke Skywalker’s only family, and destroying their home. Without this precipitating event, Luke would probably never have fulfilled his destiny.

The second is the climax of the journey, Luke’s destruction of the Death Star, symbol of the cruelty and tyranny of the empire that he vowed to destroy.

In Titanic, the tower moment is the main event of the movie. The Titanic symbolized the arrogance of technology and the evils of the class system. It is what brought Rose and Jack together and it is what ended their star-crossed romance.

The Tower is the crescendo, the drama trauma, and frequently the centerpiece of most stories. It adds excitement, force, and direction.

May all your Tower moments be short, relatively painless, and instructive.