Emperor and Tower

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 20 Mar 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

daryam	20 Mar 2005
Hi there! I just started reading tarot recently, so I am not a proffessional yet.I would appreciate any feedback.I did a love apread for myself , it was a 7-card linear spread showing the future developments with my boyfriend and I've got an Emperor followed by the Tower as cards 4 and 5.Can somebody help me with this. Does Tower represent death and Emperor my father? What connection would this have to my love life then. Could it represent a conflict with a father, or a crash of male influence meaning my boyfriend!thanks!!

MercyMe	20 Mar 2005
Maybe if you could tell us which position means what? That will help a lot. Then I'll be happy to give it a go. :) ~Mercy

judylea1	20 Mar 2005
You should indicate every card in sequence and what type of spread you did. all the cards are important in relation to each other.

daryam	20 Mar 2005
I do not know what position each card has, I just found this spread on the internet and it said overall future developments regarding a question, my question was:" What will happen between me and my boyfriend ( in our relationship)in the nex 6 months?Hope this helps!thanks

judylea1	20 Mar 2005
Yes, but what are the other 5 cards, and what is the sequence if you can remember.

daryam	20 Mar 2005
I don't remember all the cards, but the first one was Knight of Swords, then Ace of Cups, don't remember the third one, fourth was an Emperor,then a Tower,sorry do not remember the rest, but the last cards were positive-something like harmony and reward.

daryam	20 Mar 2005
Sorry for a confusion, but as i said I am just learning. I also got a Tower as a tenth card(result) in Celtic Cross spreasd about my relationships and once three of swords, so I guess there is a break up coming up.

rainwolf	20 Mar 2005
Well, attributing tower to death is very extreme and probably incorrect. It would indicate change, and in which direction would depend on the surrounding cards. The cards you mentioned didnt look bad, in fact it sounded good-the tower looked like the relationship would be exciting, if not trying at times. Maybe you are focusing on the "bad" cards too much and look at the spread as a whole. And make a journal :) Good luck with ur relationship!

daryam	20 Mar 2005
thank you very much Rainwolf!I do have a journal, but somehow forgot to document this one.

judylea1	20 Mar 2005
Seems like the tower can relate to other events, not necessarily break-up of the relationship itself. Maybe you should expect big changes in general.

rainwolf	21 Mar 2005
Changes can be great though, i know that is all i look forward to sometimes...like in school: you hope the class will change because the teacher dies })

caridwen	21 Mar 2005
The Tower can also indicate pent up anger, energy etc coming apart at the seams. It doesn't indicate change as the Death card does but a kind of explosion. Like the plates on a fault rubbing against each other until they stick and cause an earthquake. We all dislike a fear change so cling to what we know even when it's bad or wrong for us. In this respect the Tower is both a force for good but unsettling card. The change can be either internal, external or both, depending on the circumstances. If you particularly want to concentrate on the Tower/Emperor combination, The Emperor can refer to rigid thinking, bossiness, it's a very 'masculine' card of leadership and authority. These two cards could indicate a change in relationship patterns, where the dominant partner has their place usurped. As such their 'place' or 'position' will come tumbling down around them as they scratch their head and wonder what happened. A more balanced partnership may replace the traditional submissive/dominant one. Thus the Tower could signify a change for the better, although a little uncomfortable for the Emperor figure. That's just an example, to give a more thorough reading one would have to see all the cards in the spread.:)

Fudugazi	21 Mar 2005
Caridwen - very perceptive thoughts these are indeed. I've also found the Tower to mean release of pent up energy (which can be very disturbng - for the querent or for someone else! - we musn't forget that the disruption of the Tower could mean the querent is a force for disruption/destruction). Paired with the Emperor, your interpretation makes sense. When I saw the Emperor, I didn't think "father" (but then I rarely do - except when it clearly refers to a father), rather, that someone in the relationship has the authority traditionally owned by a father. If this authority is abusive (which it needn't be, btw), or resented by the other, or the inequalities between partners are too great, then sooner or later things will burst open! And that's where interesting things can happen - the trick is not to be scared by such change (a difficult quality to acquire...). I recently bought the Housewives' Tarot, as a fun deck for parties - the Tower there is funny, but actually very well thought-out - you see a housewife smiling, ensconced in a jelly mold which you can see is on its way to collapse...

daryam	21 Mar 2005
Wow guys! Great thoughts!liked the one abou a dead teacher! thanks

The Emperor and Tower thread was originally posted on 20 Mar 2005 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.