Learn the Tarot: The Tower Meaning
Learn the Major Arcana with That Oracle Guy Patrick. Together we’ll dive into the meanings, symbolism, and history behind each card — with affirmations, journaling prompts, and theme songs to help ground the lessons into your daily life. The Wisdom of the Major Arcana is yours to claim.
#16 The Tower, Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot Deck
Meeting The Tower:
The Fool had felt it all by now — devotion, transformation, even the sting of his own shadow. He believed he was awakening. He believed he had arrived.
Then the ground split.
Without warning, the sky cracked open with lightning, and before him, a tall stone tower shattered into flame. Two figures fell from its peak — once seated in pride, now cast into chaos. Bricks tumbled. Fire poured from the windows like a holy judgment.
The Fool gasped. “Why?” he asked, heart racing.
A voice, like thunder, answered: “Because it was never built to last.”
The Fool dropped to his knees, not from fear — but from recognition. He saw it now: the tower was not a punishment. It was a release. Everything he had constructed from illusion — the beliefs, the roles, the safe walls of ego — had to fall. Not to destroy him, but to free him.
And as the smoke cleared, he stood again — scorched, but alive.
The ruins around him were sacred. The truth was breaking through.
Keywords for The Tower:
Upheaval
Revelation
Destruction
Breakthrough
Ego collapse
Radical truth
Shock
Transformation
Associations:
The Element: Fire (purification, clarification, awakening)
The Planet: Mars (force, confrontation, movement, conflict)
Card Symbolism:
The Tower: Represents false constructs — beliefs, systems, relationships, or identities built on unstable ground.
Lightning Bolt: Symbolizes divine truth, sudden realization, or spiritual intervention. It destroys ego so the soul can emerge.
The Crown Being Blown Off: Indicates the fall of ego and the stripping away of false authority, pride, or control.
The Falling Figures: Show how we’re forced to surrender when truth comes too fast for comfort. These may represent our inner dualities (conscious/unconscious) cast into re-alignment.
Flames in the Windows: Represent cleansing fire, the necessary chaos before rebirth. The inner structure is being burned away.
Black Background: Indicates the unknown, unconscious, or void state. It reminds us that this collapse is happening in a sacred container.
Position of the Lightning: The bolt hits the top of the tower — breaking the illusion of divine control, forcing clarity from the highest point of the mind or structure.
Falling Headfirst: The figures fall headfirst — losing logic and rationality. This symbolizes the breakdown of mental control.
Roman Numeral XVI: 1 + 6 = 7, the number of spiritual insight and deep internal reflection. This reminds us that destruction is part of enlightenment, and breakdown is often the path to wisdom.
Upright Meaning:
The Tower is sudden upheaval—a powerful force, dismantling illusions and false securities. While a scary looking card, and definitely destabilizing, The Tower represents The Universe forcefully destroying foundations that no longer serve you — and haven’t served you for a long time.
This abrupt change, revelation, and dismantling of our long-held beliefs has come to liberate us. The Universe would never have destroyed this tower if it wasn’t harming you in the longterm.
Think of it like this: you wake up in the morning and the first thought you have is, “I hate my job. I hate that I have to wake up and go there. I hate the people there. This isn’t what I want. My manager is an asshole. They don’t even pay me well. Why do I have to do this?”
What isn’t meant to be in your life will continue to get harder, more intense — pushing you and your boundaries, hoping that you will make those necessary changes. But when you don’t make those changes for yourself, The Universe will do it for you, leaving you to pick up the pieces.
It hurts to pick up those pieces, yes — it can feel like a catastrophe. But false foundations, false beliefs, and false kings & queens were never meant to rule in the longterm.
Is it possible to shift your perspective from: Woe is me to The Universe supports my growth.
Easier said than done, I understand, but it will make more sense as you move through it.
Reversed Meaning:
Change can be scary, that’s completely understandable. But if you keep bending the knee for false foundations and harmful structures, you risk it all collapsing in while you’re at the base of the structure.
Perhaps you’ve gotten so used to the suffering that you don’t remember anything else? Do you really think that you can avoid changes in life? Change is a constant, and neither you nor these false kings and queens has the ability to stop those changes.
Confront your fears. Embrace the inevitable transformation. This way you can rebuild on a foundation of truth and authenticity. Growth comes from upheaval. Either that, or you can repeat the lesson until you get it right.
Journal Prompts for The Tower:
What structures in my life feel unstable or built from fear? What would happen if they fell?
Have I experienced a moment of crisis that later revealed a deeper truth? What did it teach me?
What am I resisting because I fear change? How is that resistance costing me my freedom?
If everything I believed about myself were challenged, what truth might remain standing?
Affirmations:
“I trust the collapse, knowing it clears the path to truth.”
“I release what no longer serves me, even if it must fall away suddenly.”
“My awakening may come through chaos, but it leads to my liberation.”
Theme Song:
Everything In Its Right Place by Radiohead, 2000
About The Author
Patrick is an evolutionary tarot reader specializing in deep, transformative tarot sessions that empower clients to gain clarity, break limiting patterns, and navigate life with confidence. As a lifelong believer that there are no coincidences, he knows firsthand the power of tarot and oracle cards as a north star for your personal growth.
Ready to experience a deeper tarot journey? Book a reading today or explore more articles and resources at: ThatOracleGuy.com
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