Tower as desire that's being fulfilled

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 28 Oct 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

nina	28 Oct 2002
Hello, Anybody have any thoughts on how one should interpret The Tower when it comes up in the "desire that's being fufilled" position? -Nina

RedWood	28 Oct 2002
The desire you want will be fulfilled..but either there is a change on the way..Or YOU have to make that change to get your desire.

Keslynn	28 Oct 2002
Hmmm. That's an interesting one. Well, in this case it would seem to me that the querent has been longing for change but has been too passive to initiate it him/herself. So the friction continues to build. Finally there is the much-needed blowup or something from the outside that causes a realization of the need to change. The outside event could also be something that would take the "blame" of having to act from the querent. Even though this blowup or outside event might be painful, it will serve to clear the air. However, had the querent been a little more assertive earlier then such a dramatic event might not have been necessary. I hope that helps. Please tell me if I'm completely off. Also, this sounds like an intriguing spread. Would you mind sharing it with us? :) Kes

Kiama	29 Oct 2002
Somtimes the Tower can represent freedom and liberation from sel-imposed bonds or difficulties... Or a new awareness, albeit htrouhg some seemingly undesirable means... Maybe the desire is for freedom? Kiama

Trogon	29 Oct 2002
Hi Nina... Keslynn, Redwood and Kiama all make good suggestions on this question. I would add that perhaps the person is hoping for some sort of "shake-up" in their lives. The addition of some excitement perhaps, such as in a relationship which has become somewhat boring or mundane. The other thought which occured to me was in the case of a person finding themselves in an undesireable situation from which they need to escape. But it is a situation where they feel trapped for one reason or another. In this case the act of removing themselves from the situation will be a serious upset to their lives. This might be the case with a person in a codependent or abusive relationship, or a person with an addiction - where they recognize they have the problem and want to end it, but there will be serious repurcussions to ending it. Hope this has been of some help...

Alex	29 Oct 2002
I wished for one (Tower) for 3 years back when I was married. Fortunately I got one. The Tower may also appear when the querent is having an extra-marital love affair and the tension between the guilt o hidding it and the desire to maintain the situation is quite unberable. The person lives trails of evidence behind and one wonders, why be so careless, rather than just telling the truth? The Tower can be a befreeing experience and sometimes people's defensive mechanisms are so strong as to prevent them to know that those changes in fact come from inside out (you would have The Tower here in the unconscious hopes/fears position) The Wheel can have a quite similar interpreation, but it does not look so scary. When you see the Wheel in this postion you tend to just say "you want a change". Yet the Wheel also signifies a change in fate that has resulted from unconscious motifs working silently inside us and outside in the world simultaneously, without us being aware of it. Some people are specialists in crisis management and they get a high from dramatic situations, and live one little "Tower" after another in order to give meaning to their meaningless lives. Alex. Quote: Originally posted by Trogon The other thought which occured to me was in the case of a person finding themselves in an undesireable situation from which they need to escape. But it is a situation where they feel trapped for one reason or another. In this case the act of removing themselves from the situation will be a serious upset to their lives. This might be the case with a person in a codependent or abusive relationship, or a person with an addiction - where they recognize they have the problem and want to end it, but there will be serious repurcussions to ending it.

nina	29 Oct 2002
Hello, The spread was the "sword" spread which I describe in another thread on this forum- much of what everyone said rang true, except the relationship part (this spread was for myself and I have been quite stubbornly single for the last two years). It just concerned me because in another spread about a week before in the "hidden desires" position, which the book said represents desires you are hiding from yourself, I got The Death Card. I always thought the tower somehow insinuated violence. I understand the desire for transformation, but I don't think anybody likes violence and upheaval. Now that I'm writing this, I'm going to put the whole "sword" spread I got on "your readings". Maybe the truth it's showing me is too close for me to see. Thanks everyone for taking time to respond. -Nina

anjocoxo	29 Oct 2002
I would probably ask the querent if that's what he/she really wants... maybe the desire will be fullfiled, but the querent will see later that perhaps that wasn't exactually what he/she really wants. glad to help

Alex	30 Oct 2002
Freud theorized that the duality of human nature sprang from two instincts: Eros and Thanatos. In his developmental model, Eros represents the life instinct sourcing from the libido, which stands for creativity and the sexual and life-preserving drives. Thanatos, also termed "The Death Wish", signals a desire to give up the struggle of life and return to quiescence and the grave. Eros is the drive toward attraction and reproduction; Thanatos, the drive toward repulsion and destruction. It basically covers all the instincts towards aggression, self-destruction, and cruelty. Freud saw the two instincts as being in a constant dynamic tension with each other. We belong to neither of Eros or Thanatos, and we are constatnly faced with the impossibility of fully satisfying either. So as to say, the Death Wish is an archetypal motif as much as the one represented by "The Lovers". There''s nothing so unusual to getting a Death card in unconscious hopes and fears cause that's exactly where Thanatos uses to live, in the unconscious, hidden, repressed and denied_yet_alive. So don't worry, you're not "abnormal", just human. Alex. Quote: Originally posted by nina It just concerned me because in another spread about a week before in the "hidden desires" position, which the book said represents desires you are hiding from yourself, I got The Death Card. I always thought the tower somehow insinuated violence. I understand the desire for transformation, but I don't think anybody likes violence and upheaval.

SlyR	04 Nov 2002
There's always the possibility that the Tower in that position could signify "masochism" or "fear of success."

The Tower as desire that's being fulfilled thread was originally posted on 28 Oct 2002 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.