Gilded Tarot - Tower

PAMUYA

These are my thoughts on this card: what are yours?

The Tower

When looking into the Tower card I see shock, upheaval, crisis, and chaos. This is one card anyone would recoil at, but one that sometimes must be faced on our life’s journey.

What is the Tower? Material and psychological walls we have built up around ourselves. Our tower of illusion, fantasy and repression, it’s our psychic prison. This is our material concept of who we think we are, the walls we have put up to protect ourselves and our egos.

The lightning is an outside force which strikes down these walls, releasing our locked up energy all at once. The truth comes to us at once, giving us insight that shakes us to our core. It’s a flash of enlightenment, which may replace a limited view on life. These insights can be emotionally painful, but are opportunities for growth and freedom. Ignorance is not bliss, causing stagnation on our spiritual growth.

When the lightning strikes it can be a release, an emotional out burst, letting things go, getting angry, being humbled, a blow to the ego, losing a job or your fortune, a revelation, exposing truths, divorce, death, accident, insight, exposing hidden illusions…the list goes on and on. The lightning represents a full release holding nothing back, the fire clears (burns) out the old so a rebirth can begin. The struggles and insights of the Tower helps us to become stronger and wiser.

The Star follows the Tower which will be needed for your rebirth: peace, calm and hope.

Direct: Major changes, seeing everything in a flash, being humbled, blow to ego, divorce, crisis erupting, chaos, anger, sudden message, ending a friendship, bankruptcy, downfall, overthrowing false ides, ill health, accident

Reversed: Slight subtle changes, changes delayed, coming out on top of a chaotic situation. Following old ways, in a rut, imprisonment, resisting change, depression, not releasing everything/holding back.
 

rhombchick

I agree with what you have written and just wanted to add:

The person in this card doesnt seem, to me, to be falling, like people are usually represented in the tower card. Rather he seems to be balancing on that brick wall/foundation that surrounds the tower. Or even in the process of doing a cartwheel, which further affirms to me that yeah, while the tower behind him, something that he thought was permanent and there forever, is collapsing and he has been left naked, alone and possibly homeless, it's not the end. He isn't going to die... it's not the end of the world or the end of him as long as he keeps his balance and keeps going, he will pull through it. Look at the way his toes are pointed and his muscles are straining, does this look like someone who is just falling through empty space? He almost seems energised by the toppling of the tower, as if, it wasn't something completely unexpected. Something he knew or suspected was wrong but he had denied for as long as he could. Now instead of just falling down, he is doing cartwheels, happy that the truth has been revealed. Is that half a smile I see on his face?

Any thoughts?
 

Aurelious

Yea, I've never quite got the "he is going to die" feeling from looking at the Gilded Tower. I love the Tower as it is a card which especially calls to me.

To me, the tower is indeed what has already been spoken, the release of illusion, deception, mirages. Nothing good can come of a foundation based upon lies, tricks and dishonesty. Sure it may hurt and you feel like you are tumbling helplessly through the sky, distraught and in shambles. But once you get up from the fall, you see the Star, a message of hope and a peaceful, quieting serenity within you. Thou hast seen the error of his/her ways and now seeks to rebuild that tower, but ensure the foundation is sturdy and he/she is in control of it.

When I see it, I know big changes are coming. And any change is hard. But as humans, we are the most adaptable of species on this planet, so we'll definately live and prosper regardless our surroundings. We just need a little time to readjust and plan our lives.

Also, I too would be smiling if I were freefalling out of a xx-story tower. If I am going to die, I'm going to enjoy it! Maybe that is the message...take happiness in all things, regardless how scary or resentful it may be.
 

Jamil

Also, there's the sky behind the tower. Stars are still visible above the clouds, maybe reminding that the cycles and beauty of the universe are still there, unchanging, above whatever clouds may come: that even if there's a storm, it's just weather, after all.

The clouds themselves have a paler outline, possibly a literal silver lining.

And the sky is lightening towards the horizon, and while it could be either dawn or sunset, it seems likely that it's the new day the comes no matter how bad the night.
 

Mystic Nurse

I see the tower as both sunset and sunrise. One thing is ending-sunset. New things are on the horizon-sunrise. Clearing skies and the silver lining. Things will get rough before they get better. But they will get better.

The falling/jumping man is nude which sort of represents rebirth to me. Leaving all the old and unpleasant behind. Taking what he possesses in knowledge with him.

Sorry. KNow this is an old thread, but I finally have an outlet for my thoughts on my beloved gilded deck.
 

INFINITE LIGHT

NO ONE GETS THE TOWER CARD MORE THAN ME! :(
Here me out, besides traditional meaning I have a little bit more.


In universal and raider waite tarot or however it's spelled the death card is actually TRAVELING to the tower in the major arcana. (Notice the position of the sun in relationship to the two cards and how the sun is literally over two towers in the distance in the death card over the bishop/presit's head)

In this deck, this is not occuring.

In this deck there is not a man and a women falling with clothes on

but just a naker man.



As such the altered meaning I receive is this:

The build up of lies, delusion, illusion, deceit, self deceit, foolishness, self-foolishness, and overall negativity, disharmony, lack of balance, or whatever negative word you want to use for things in your life has reached critical mass and is struck down by lightning.

I believe that the lightning is the personification of the outside influence that no longer accepts this tower in their reality.

If I lie to much to to many people they will get together and oust me or confront me.

As such the lies are the tower and the oust or confontation is the lightning.


But sometimes the tower and the lightning can be brought about by you! Sometimes the lightning represents THE THING THAT HAPPENS THAT MAKES WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THAT IS ALREADY OUT OF HARMONY APPARENT AND NO LONGER FUNCTIONAL.


For me I have had no control over myself for so longer it has build up in the tower. My psychic powers are manifesting stronger than ever before and becasue I don't have any control over myself I don't have control over them.

In the end the tower is my entire way of thinking, beliefs, and actions towards self. The lightning is then the level of dysfunction I experience within my energy body that shows that I am severly out of harmony.

Then outside of me it is the things that go wrong because of this.


The man is naked as such all that he has besides he at the core of himself is what has lost as he falls to the ground.

There is no female falling.
Personally, I like to think that the 9 of swords is the women of the tower being told that the tower will soon fall but her not making it out in time representing that the female passive aspect of you died with the tower meaning that you can no longer passively sit back and hope for change.

as such it could be said that aggressive action and persuit is what is made out and to survive you must aggressively proactively change your world.
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Reverse Tower

Reverse Tower for me means that I think that I am going up when I really am following.

Sometimes you think what you are doing is really helping when it is really hurting and so the reverse tower rears it's ugly head.


When you are in darkness it reaches a point where you polarize with the darkness or negativity or illusion to the point whre you think ILLUSION IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO and the more you go into illusion THE GREATER YOU THINK YOU'RE BECOMING.

The reverse tower for me has ALWAYS meant this. it has always meant that I thought I was going up but in reality I was just building a tower that would be shot down with lightning.



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Positive Tower

I have never had a conventional "positive" tower.

But it can be said that you are now getting an opportunity to rebuild yourself anew or change that aspect of yourself is "positive"
 

Hanna

Hi there,
I agree, I never saw the tower as a positive card. I just got it as my reading outcome and can't associate anything positive with it. Death seems to transform but the tower is just very chaotic.
 

spuffy87

I agree. I've never been able to see anything positive associate with this card. It seems like a necessary change, however there seems way too much going on to really comprehend. It always makes me cringe.
 

Gemini68

This card, along with the 10 of swords, is my least favorite card. The death card doesn't bother me ...see it as a "welcome" in some strange way. I see this card as the Death Card, magnified. Both involve changes... The Tower, abrupt tho ...many areas affected...utter chaos for a period of time. However, it is thru "towers" that maximum growth usually occurs. I still don't like this card tho..|..