Death and Tower Cards

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 28 Nov 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Alice23	28 Nov 2004
Hi everyone, another post for me again.....this time though its concerning the Tower card. This and the Death card have either came out in actual spreads recently or have flied out of the pack when shuffling....know these are cards signfiying a major change/shock and perhaps 'death of the old self' but would be interesting to know what people would think by both of these appearing together either in the spread or by 'flying' out of the pack seperately, i think i know what these concern in my life but would still be interesting for others viewpoint as well. Thanks! Alice x

dadsnook2000	28 Nov 2004
Death can be a recognition for a need to transform and move on. The Tower can be a signal of an imposed change or an event that will cause "change" to be necessary. These, then, are the "need" and the "cause" combination. It now depends upon the spread used, the positions of these cards, the other cards, and the question posed. Since you are still breathing and typing we can only assume that you'll find all of the resources to both deal with this and to come out of it either just fine or much better off. Good luck. Dave.

closrapexa	29 Nov 2004
When I first started studying Tarot my first book was by Terry Donaldsen (great book, btw) and he wrote something there that has kind of stayed fixed with me since then. He had a whole chapter on the "bad" cards- Death, The Tower and the Devil. What he wrote about them was that if life was a table that needed clearing, then the Devil means that we have to clear the table ourselves, Death means that some one else comes and clears it for us, and the Tower means that we have to make sure the table is standing on a firm base. Now, obviously I'm being simplistic here. As dadsnook2000 said, it depends on the reading and the person. When I find these cards in a spread, I actually find them refreshing, like a breath of new air. Death is my favoutrite card in almost any deck, especially the Thoth. Incidentally, I had Death in a reading done exactly one year ago, and, well, the past year has been quite a ride!!!

Thirteen	29 Nov 2004
closrapexa wrote: He had a whole chapter on the "bad" cards- Death, The Tower and the Devil. What he wrote about them was that if life was a table that needed clearing, then the Devil means that we have to clear the table ourselves, Death means that some one else comes and clears it for us, and the Tower means that we have to make sure the table is standing on a firm base. Now, obviously I'm being simplistic here. Simplistic can sometimes be the very best thing--especially with cards like these. What a great interpetation! And what a good idea to bunch those cards together into a chapter and really sit down and talk about them to newbies. I'll have to get this book. One of the most frequently asked questions on these cards is: "Can they predict a literal death or catastophe?" And the answer is, "Yes." But those cards don't predict that often. And unless what they're pointing to is very obvious, like an old sick relative in the hospital, you'll usually realize it after it happens, not when you read the cards. The majority of the time, however, these cards are predicting, as you said, a kind of end or shake up. The Tower often indicates the collapse of something false--a relationship built on lies, a situation you think you're happy in, then one day, lightening strikes, something dramatic happens and you realize, "It's all a lie!" You see the truth. It's devestating, a sudden and total end. Death is very like the Tower, in that it brings something to an end and, in doing so, takes you down to the bare bones. We are humbled by death, we grieve. But it is in that wintery time before the spring that we learn what really matters to us. Together, I would say that the Tower would indicate something large in your life collapsing and revealing itself to have never been true or stable. This will lead you to Death--a grief over what you, yourself have lost--your time, or what you thought you loved, etc. But both these cards, in the end, will lead you to being able to rebuild--rebuild on a strong, solid foundation what came down, and also, renew yourself as well. And what you make anew will be the stronger for this experience, rough as it might be.

The Death and Tower Cards thread was originally posted on 28 Nov 2004 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.