The Tower HAS to be tragic and negative?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 06 Jun 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Indigo_lady	06 Jun 2003
I just did a CC on the state of my life right now and I got the Tower as the final outcome... and I have the biggest grin on my face... Actually, it started with Death as the first card and I got amazingly happy. See, my life is quite stagnant right now, to say the least. So when I saw the Death card I actually got excited thinking some change is going to come in to the picture and take me away from this lethargy So as a final outcome I saw the Tower, and first of all I took it as destroying certain ideas and concepts of how things should be. You know Mars coming in and tearing down some walls (part of my stagnation is my reluctancy to accept people telling me how things should be and what is best and how I won't be able to manage or cope with certain situations - funny thought because when I was shuffling I wasn't really thinking of that) In any case, I didn't post this to talk about my arguments with the practical universe (aka everyone around me) but to ask about the nature of the Tower I've read in many places that the Tower is a card that scared most of the readers, that brings truths to surface and signifies painfull moments for the querents. I know of course that it's followed my emotional growth, greater understanding .. etc etc etc (hopefully at least you will learn smth from it) But does it always need to be so negative and scary, tragic, as they paint it?????

Umbrae	06 Jun 2003
I've always thought The Tower was a wonderful card! Why do they paint it as "Always Bad?" Cuz they were taught it was...and simply repeat what has gone before, unable to think for themselves... Sounds like your life is about to get fun!

Indigo_lady	06 Jun 2003
I know they say "be careful what you wish for" but right now I know I don't want things to be like this... I want to feel my blood stream and my brain cells working again ;)

Sobeknofret	06 Jun 2003
New beginnings and a chance to start over again is the way I see that card. In order to build something new, something else has to go down to provide the space for it. Firemaiden posted a thread a few days ago about the Tower, and asked does it necessarily have to fall entirely-- in many of the Marseille style decks, only the top is coming off, not the whole tower coming down. Someone, I can't remember who, said that she/he saw it as the release of tension, especially sexual tension, which makes more sense to me than most other explanations I've heard. I suppose it can be emotionally painful to be stripped bare like that, but when we carry baggage from the past into the future, build the hopes of the future on the unsteady foundations of the past, it's even more painful than stripping everything bare and starting over. I personally encourage people that I read for to see the Tower as having a positive meaning, although in most decks it causes a freak out if the querent hasn't seen it before. What could be better than getting a second chance? Gods know, we get few enough of them... Edited to say: here's the thread by Firemaiden http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14485 --Sobe :)

Astraea	06 Jun 2003
The Tower is a multifaceted card and not by any means a "doom and gloom" card, in my tarot vocabulary. I once received the Tower as the outcome card in a Celtic Cross reading about a friendship. The relationship in question did not break apart, but underwent a simultaneous expansion/deepening, via a solidification of its foundation; what was "blown away" were non-essentials and erroneous assumptions. This card can represent a breath of fresh air, a blast of ozone into a vacuum.

Trogon	06 Jun 2003
Howdy Indigo_Lady, Well... you're right... then again... you're not... :D My feeling on it is that, just like with all the other cards, there are positive as well as not-so-positive aspects - sometimes even "negative" aspects. I'd say that since you got a very positive feeling of positive change from this card, that is definitely the interpretation you should go with. If I had gotten cards leading up to The Tower, which indicated a need for, or desire for, a Tower type of shake-up in a person's life... well... that's how I would interpret it as well. In a nutshell... go with your gut feeling on it.

HudsonGray	06 Jun 2003
I've found that while the Tower is ALWAYS something you have to adjust for in your life, it's not anywhere near always bad. Could be it confirms you're moving & have to go through all the physical loading & unloading then finding new grocery stores, churches, etc. Something you'll be going out of your way to get back to normal on. Could be your friend wants a relationship with you & everything shifts because of that. Could be the car needs some work done SOON! Get it checked! Could be a lot of things, I don't automatically figure they'll be bad. Just that they'll affect me enough that I've got to make some changes or decisions regarding them. The Tower isn't something just glossing by.

Logiatrix	06 Jun 2003
Hi, Indigo! For me, the Tower represents an EPIPHANY or an AWAKENING of some sort. It is a sudden and drastic card, but isn't necessarily negative. It can be as spiritual and awesome as one of those "ah-ha" moments you only share with God and Self, or it can be as destructive and awful as "hitting bottom" in an addictive cycle. Ultimately, these are both positive aspects of the Greater Journey. As a reader, I recall plenty of readings where the Tower was good for the client to see. One example is a reading I did where the Tower came up crossed by the Hanged Man; I saw the querent approaching a complete paradigm shift, most likely involving a breakthrough in forgiveness (6 cups in near future)--not at all negative! Basically, it is an undeniably Divine wack-on-the-back-of-the head. Not always good, not always bad. ALWAYS impossible (and inadvisable) to ignore.

skytwig	06 Jun 2003
I too would be thrilled to see Death and Tower together! dynamic change, movement forward, growth that necessitates the change! I liken both of them to the snake shedding the too-small skin....:)

Indigo_lady	07 Jun 2003
Everything sounds amazingly interesting, thank you all ! plus, it's very nice to find out that others agree with your that you're not a self destructive masochist ;) I've been studying tarot for a couple of months now. Lately I have been awakening my intuition and learning to trust it, not follow blindly traditional interpretations it's nice to have some reassurance ;) hopefully there's a lot of what you just described skytwig

Alissa	07 Jun 2003
Indigo, I don't think the Tower is patently negative in the *least*, and wrote about my own unique experience when the Tower came up as a daily draw earlier this year in the following thread ... http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12876 While my first instinct was also "uh oh," I found the event that occured profoundly changed me in a very positive way. Remember to ground yourself and your actions and intentions, in every way you can, in love and compassion (and prayer/meditation helps a lot too). That will hold the Tower's base strong, despite the surge of power you're about to receive. Many blessings!

punkangelgcm437	09 Jun 2003
What an eye opening thread. Now, before I read this thread completely, I would have said "Well...the Tower is probably the worst card you can get"...but now, after reading everyone's replies...maybe it's not so bad afterall. If I can see almost all others cards having both positive and negative sides to them...why can't I see the Tower that way too? The Lovers card has both pos and neg sides. Positive-love, trust, friendship, relationship...good stuff right? But eventually, everyone knows that the Lovers card will eventually be reversed and we'll expirence lack of trust, no more love, separation. SO, The Tower has a positive side too. Now that I look, it is a 'second chance' to change what you screwed up the first time. Rarely in life do we get those second chances. So, now hearing skytwigs response, I wanna get the Tower. The chance to change what I screwed up on this path. Hmm. Interesting. Eye-opening. Really making me think. ~Much Love~ ~Punk Angel~

sagitarian	09 Jun 2003
All cards do have a negative and positive side to them, and a million shades of gray as well. As for the tower specifically, I think it tunes in with that feeling inside us of extreme change. That alone scares many people. To me the tower (in it's most simpilist forms) represents a breaking down of either a way things are in a life right now, or concepts of life. The tower can come up when a woman is reading herself for a newborn baby. This makes total sense in that she has to break down (or prepare a room) for the baby's coming, as well as adapting to a new different way of life. But this is a good thing, but it can be scary (like when you find out your pregnant with your first child). What is scary is the unknown of what's going to happen, and yes, that can be exciting too as new parents usually are. They are a bit scared, but excited. Of course, this card can come up in negative ways as well. But to answer the basic question here, absolutely not, in that the tower is not necessarily negative. It represents the fearsome factor there of not knowing what to expect after the way of life, or life concepts have been broken down. As an outcome card, it's saying be prepared for some intense and fast changes in life. The tower usually (in my experience) represents this change in life as being a fast change, or at least, fast to the querent. But if your life (as you described) is stagnant, then maybe it is time to break down some of your life concepts, or way of life and rebuild completely different structures. In order to put up a new building in place of the old, you have to break down the old. I'm glad that so many others here see this card as a good card as well. All the more fearsome cards out there (10 of swords, death, the tower, and the devil) more often then not are either cards of warning, or cards of good changes going on to further your own personal growth in life (or that of the querents).

Belladonna	09 Jun 2003
Basically the tower is telling you that the walls are coming down. The foundation it sat on, the walls that made it weren't so solid or everlasting after all. I think people have a tendency to view this card with apprehension when they don't want things to change. There is often fear of change. If suddenly everything is not how you thought it was, if you are without structure in your life (temporarily), or protection (from what?), then you may be left feeling vulnerable. On the other hand, maybe you are ready for a change! Maybe the structure of your life, the opinions or beliefs that it was based on are outmoded and you are bursting out of them like a butterfly emerging from her cocoon. Does the butterfly mourn her cocoon? I think not. She's ready to fly!

Indigo_lady	21 Jun 2003
Because of totally different and unrelated circumstances the last couple of days I've had to re-asses all the different friend groups I've made throuht my life and it's not like I've rediscovered reasons to love them more if you know what I mean... maybe I suddenly opened my eyes and began to see many hidden motives and attitudes in their actions Well.. not really hidden.. more like me not wanting to see them before Funny how life changes in front of you in the blink of an eye Not sad though.. just feeling a tad lonely, but it will all be for the best ;)

allibee	22 Jun 2003
Yes it can change that quickly, Indigo_Lady, but try not to be sad. Remember that you are not lonely, you have just made space in your life for a whole new set of friendships and experiences to come. That's something to look forward to. A.

The The Tower HAS to be tragic and negative? thread was originally posted on 06 Jun 2003 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.