The Tower Tarot Card is notorious for the rapid, dangerous unforeseen crises, and unexpected change, and sudden destruction.
The Tower is a symbol of ambition that is built on wrong ideas. The tower must fall in order to get rid of the old ways and make room for something new. It can show you things in an instant of truth or inspiration.
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The Tower Tarot Card Keywords: Upright & Reversed Meaning
The Tower Tarot Card Keywords
Upright Sudden Change, upheaval, Calamity, Chaos, Turmoil, Revelation, Awakening Reversed Delayed Disaster, Fear of Suffering & Pain, Personal, Transformation, Fear of Change, Averting disaster Yes or No Card No Numerology Number XVI (16) Element Fire Planet Mars Astrological Sign Aries Healing Crystals Obsidian, Prehnite
What does The Tower Card Mean?
The Tower card predicts enormous change, upheaval, destruction, and turmoil. The Tower symbolizes danger, catastrophe, devastation, and liberty. It involves unexpected transformation.
The Tower (XVI) Depiction
The Tower card has a picture of a tower built on a mountain top and being struck by lightning, set a blaze with fire coming out of the 3 small windows.
The crown being toppled over, above the billows of gray smoke, and 2 people escaping out of the windows, failing head first & arms stretched out amongst the 22 fireballs.
The Tower in the Major Arcana
The Tower (XVI) is the 16th trump card or Major Arcana card. It is a negative Arcanum in almost every situation. It is a sign of failed projects.
It can also warn about a great upcoming problem that will need to be dealt with.
In the Major Arcana, we have 22 lessons to accomplish to design our own path. A gray sky represents a tragedy. Sorrow, like death, is a universal experience. We will all face them at some point.
The Tower Upright Meaning
When The Tower card shows up in a Tarot reading, you can expect the unexpected: big changes, chaos, destruction, and upheaval.
It could be the death of a loved one, financial problems, health problems, a natural disaster, losing your job, or anything else that shakes you to your core and affects you spiritually, mentally, and physically.
You can’t get away from it. Change is here to break things, cause chaos, and destroy everything in its way (but trust me, it’s for your Highest Good).
Just when you think you’re safe and comfortable, a Tower moment comes along and throws you for a loop. The lies and illusions you’ve been telling yourself are shattered by a flash of clarity and insight, and the truth is now clear.
Your world may fall apart in ways you never thought possible when you realize that you’ve been building your life on shaky ground: false assumptions, half-truths, illusions, outright lies, and so on.
Everything you thought was true is now the opposite of what you thought. You are now asking yourself what is real and what isn’t, what you can trust and what you can’t.
This can be very hard to understand and make you feel lost, especially when your core beliefs are questioned. But as time goes on, you’ll realize that your old beliefs were based on wrong information and that your new beliefs are more in line with reality.
The best way to move forward is to let this structure fall apart on its own so you can start over and get back on track. And let’s be honest: if you draw a card like “The Tower,” you have no choice but to give in to destruction and chaos, no matter how painful or unwanted it is.
Change on this level is hard, but you have to trust that life is happening FOR you, not TO you and that everything is happening for a reason. This destruction will make room for new growth and help your soul grow.
You’ll be stronger, smarter, and more resilient after a Tower experience, and you’ll gain a new way of looking at life that you didn’t even know existed.
Even if you feel pain and anxiety during the process, these times are necessary for your spiritual growth and enlightenment. Truth and honesty will bring about a positive change.
Thankfully, people don’t always think of The Tower when they think of pain and trouble. This Tarot card can mean a spiritual awakening or revelation if you are very aware and in touch with your inner guidance system.
You might be able to see the cracks forming and do something about them before the whole building falls down. You might change a lot before you reach a point where you have no choice but to change.
The Tower card’s best side is that it gives you a chance to break away from old ways of thinking that have been holding you back.
People who are like the Tower card like to stir up trouble and break with tradition. Be careful about being too argumentative just to make trouble.
Vocal outliers are important to the way people talk to each other. But if you don’t use your rebelliousness to do something useful, it can make you stand out from the people around you. Taken to an extreme, it can mean relationships that are chaotic, dramatic, and don’t work.
The Tower Upright Card Keywords
Sudden Change, upheaval, Calamity, Chaos, Turmoil, Revelation, Awakening
What does The Tower Upright Mean for Love and Relationships?
The Tower tarot love meaning signifies major shifts. Fragile or deteriorating foundations will not last long and may collapse. Initially painful, they pave the way for new adventures.
Maybe you stayed because you were proud of being a good partner or parent, even if you were miserable. While difficult, realize that they will pass.
If you are single, it may not be a relationship that is failing, but rather your perception and knowledge of what love means to you. What love-beliefs aren’t helping you? These must be modified so you can build a personal awareness of your relationship demands.
What does The Tower Upright Mean for Work and Career?
Career-related stress can be high right now; the Tower can represent a sudden job loss or the acquisition of a new position that causes confusion owing to increased responsibility.
A new boss or a colleague’s death could cause workplace disasters. It’s vital to remember that while things may be irritating now, they may lead to a better long-term future, such as a better job or a more serene workplace.
What does The Tower Upright Mean for Finances?
You should start saving money right now. The Tower in its worst case scenario speaks of disaster, and in finances it is no different.
Unexpected events may cause a rapid loss of resources. These events can serve as wake-up calls; build a resilient support structure, and prioritize your priorities.
The Tower Reversed Meaning
The Tower Reversed means that you are going through a big change and upheaval in your life. This is different from what happens in The Tower Upright, where change is often caused by things outside of you and may even feel like it’s being forced on you.
Instead, when you play The Tower Reversed, you start the change and question your most important beliefs, values, goals, and meanings. As you find a new spiritual path, you may have a spiritual awakening.
You might change what you think and believe about important things and realize that you can’t support older models anymore. Or, in more serious cases, you might have an existential crisis in which you really start to wonder what your life is all about.
Even though this can be a scary time, trust the process and know that everything is working out for the best. You are making change and transformation happen so that you can step into a new and better version of yourself.
The Tower Reversed can sometimes mean that you are resisting change and putting off the destruction and upheaval that you need to go through.
You might not want to believe that things are changing. Or you might be holding on to old beliefs even though you know they aren’t useful or good for you anymore.
You have to go through this hard time, even though you don’t want to, in order to learn a valuable lesson and move forward in your life. And know that if you keep fighting this change, it will keep coming into your life more and more.
The Tower card brings about growth and change that can’t be stopped. It won’t go away no matter how much you try to hide or deny it, and it will only get louder as things could get worse.
Pay attention to your intuition, the Tower can make the change coming into your life less of a shock. You might know ahead of time or have a gut feeling that something big is about to happen, and you can make plans to avoid the destruction that is coming.
People who are represented by the Tower are usually stable and lucky. They could make a mistake by being too careful. They are great friends because they are usually there to help when things get hard.
The Tower Reversed Card Keywords
Delayed Disaster, Fear of Suffering & Pain, Personal, Transformation, Fear of Change, Averting disaster
What does The Tower Reversed Mean for Love and Relationships?
Change is difficult to accept, yet it will happen regardless of our resistance. If you detect any issues in your relationship brewing, now is the time to address them. This may prevent larger issues later.
Are you resentful? What have you been hiding because you don’t want to argue about it? These small difficulties can grow into major issues that threaten a happy relationship. This card might also indicate that you are ready to end a bad relationship.
What does The Tower Reversed Mean for Work and Career?
You may have experienced difficult or tough conditions at work. Like for example redundancies, and you may have been one of the lucky few to have kept your job.
This may be a relief, or it may hinder your career contentment. The Tower is sometimes the card that we all need to shake us out of our rut and inspire us to abandon our boring jobs. This may be the chance you need to see what else is out there, and test what you are made for and capable of achieving.
What does The Tower Reversed Mean for Finances?
If you’ve managed to avoid financial catastrophe, take some time to relax. The Tower advises you to understand that this is necessary for you to move on.
To avoid bankruptcy, for example, you may find it easier and healthier to accept your circumstances and file for bankruptcy. If you bought a house you couldn’t afford and your mortgage payments are driving you underwater, you should sell. Otherwise, you may have to struggle indefinitely to avoid another calamity. Consider what will help you right now, and be brave.
The Tower Card & Numerology
The Tower Tarot Card XVI is number 16, and 1+6 in Numerology equals = 7. The Chariot Tarot card also holds the number 7.
Number 7 is a powerful number of faith and victory and divine guidance in The Chariot, however, the Tower Card represents failure and loss.
The fact that this card’s number is 7 indicates and represents destruction suggests that something must fall for something else to rise. The 22 flames represent the 22 Major Arcana, and also the 22 lessons which need to be learned.
The Tower Yes or No in a Reading
In case you’re wondering, the answer is no. The Tower tarot card cautions you not to start a new business, branch out at work, or step up your relationship.
You’ll need to survive the Tower’s impending tsunami before making positive changes.
But don’t worry. What rises must fall. Difficult situations won’t endure forever. After the storm passes, you will reconstruct your life.
What does The Tower Card Mean for Love in a Reading?
Your love life is going to undergo a drastic change.
The transformation will be dramatic. It may be good.
But whatever occurs will surprise you. The best you can do is accept it and cope with it.
Don’t expect heartbreak and loneliness. It may, but whatever happens, it will be for the best. This is a necessary step to establishing a genuine relationship.
What does The Tower Card Mean for Health and Spirituality in a Reading?
This is a bad card for your health. Your health may be under attack and it’s time to confront the situation. Investigate and look deeper than what the doctors are saying to find the root cause.
If you’re not sure about a result, obtain a second opinion and go with your gut. If it doesn’t feel right, it is.
Be very cautious when dropping weight or using drugs.
Getting healthy takes time and effort. Don’t be fooled otherwise.
The Tower is also known as “the Liberator.” It frees you from your past, your dreams, expectations, and desires. You are being given the chance to start afresh. What a chance!
Even though this card foretells unwelcome change, it is eventually beneficial. Your perspective is about to change dramatically. Be open to all ideas and opportunities.
Changing your life. And you will be grateful.
What does The Tower Card Mean for your Career in a Reading?
The Tower might represent a hostile takeover or unwanted commercial meddling. Outside forces are attacking, giving you sorrow and distress, and possibly destroying everything you’ve created.
There is also some trickery here.
But remember, this massive change is for the better. You’ll have to rethink your job and your role in it.
What does The Tower Card Mean for Finances in a Reading?
The Tower is a financial flop. Right now, be as frugal as you can. You can’t control or forecast the next huge change.
Don’t despair, this shift is for the best. But not in the way you expected. This is not the time to make large investments, redistributions, or commitments. If you are in a business or personal relationship, you must completely comprehend your joint financials. There may be something sly going on, and the betrayal may come as a surprise.
Protect yourself by refusing to sign any paper you don’t completely comprehend and by asking questions until you are 100% certain of the answer. Don’t be bullied by someone who “knows better”. Nobody is born knowing about money. This is a skill that may be learned with study and focus.
What does Drawing The Tower Card in a Reading Mean?
Drawing the Tower indicates that the lessons of your past failures have yet to be learned. You might have to deal with the consequences of your mistakes and pay a heavy price if you fail to learn something from them.
The presence of the Tower Tarot Card in a spread is much more terrifying than that of death or the devil. This card signifies great destruction approaching in your life, which can leave you feeling obliterated.
All you can do is buckle down, duck for cover, and wait it out. Then, once it’s over, you can focus on rebuilding and evolving into an even better person than you were before.
What does The Tower Card Represent in a Reading?
The tower being Struck by lightning and on fire with people jumping out of the windows depicts a scene of chaos and damage.
The lightning represents a sudden burst of energy and insight that leads to a breakthrough or revelation. It comes in through the top of the building and knocks off the crown, which is a metaphor for how energy from the universe flows down through the crown chakra.
The Tower can be a symbol of conflict, disagreement, and destruction. In this context, it is a symbol of unpleasant events: bankruptcy, accident, breakup, failure, physical or psychological weakness…!
You thus need to be extremely careful whenever this card is drawn. It heralds the arrival of unexpected events that will be hard to cope with. Any aspect of life might be affected: Love, Work, Health, Money, Luck… leading to troubled times.
The Tower can also be a sign of disagreement within your family, or in your relationships with your friends, colleagues, or anyone you are in frequent contact with.
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To Conclude The Tower Tarot Card is known for:
Change, conflict, catastrophe. The overthrow of existing ways of life, old notions upset. Disruption will bring enlightenment in its wake.
Selfish ambition is about to come to naught bankruptcy. The gain of freedom of body or mind at great cost. False accusations, false imprisonment, oppression.
Questions to Ask Yourself when Drawing The Star Card
- Do you feel a shift in consciousness?
- Do you have a new outlook?
- What lessons can you learn from your egocentric thoughts?
- Are you having negative thoughts and emotions?
- Is pride or regret holding you back?
To fully understand the meanings and dynamics of The Tower Tarot Card, it is advised to get a tarot reading from an expert Tarot reader with, Oranum, Keen, or Kasamba.
Get an Expert Tarot Card Reading with:
Psychic Spirituality & Relationships Writer , Julianne has a bachelor’s in communication, she has also practiced numerology & the psychic arts for many years.