The Warrior King
Not death in the same way we view the "Death" card but I meant change. Death AND Tower are both about change, which you elaborate in below. However, Mars is co-ruled by Scorpio too, so perhaps The Tower can be represented by either/or depending on surrounding cards?
It's Mars. Which means an astrologer would do well to give it both scorpio/aries at the same time, not one or other other...IF the astrologer isn't giving Scorpio the planet Pluto. Astrology can get sticky
Probably easier to just stick to it being Mars.
And yes, of course it's about change. But so is the Wheel, and the Universe. These are all cards of change. That doesn't mean they all belong to Scorpio. Mars is the type of change that the Tower embodies. Scorpio is the type of change that the Death card embodies. Just as Jupiter is the type of change that the Wheel card embodies, and Saturn is the type of change that the Universe card embodies. Yes?
Though the meaning also depends on the card reader themselves, does it not?
It depends on a lot of things. The question asked, the sitter behind the question, the position of the card in the spread, and, yes, on the reader. But while we'll grant that the Tower looks like an ending, and implies that something is over, there has to be a difference between what the Tower is about and what Death is about otherwise why have the two cards? Why not just Death or just the Tower?
A good tarot reader must see the differences as well as the similarities between cards. And believe me, there are a lot of similarities in meaning between a lot of these cards. But the differences are essential in order to know why you got
that particular card in answer to the question rather than the other. And in the case of the Tower vs. Death, one of those differences may be that the thing is not as "dead" as you think. Something that falls down may be broken rather than dead. Another difference is that the Tower doesn't say how you'll feel after it falls down--you might find yourself delighted to see that building gone as it finally allows you to see the sky. The Death card, on the other hand, not only emphasizes an end--no question--but that you'll feel empty and lost afterwards; there will be a mourning period before you find something new to fill the void. So we must be careful not to simply say to a sitter "something is going to end" when we see the Tower, as we would if we got the Death card. They are similar, but not the same.
Sure he's about leadership, but he's also set in his ways. He's an old man who likes dictating and being at the top
Old? Was Alexander the Great old? (Now there was a perfect, baby-faced Aries-type!) Was Napoleon old? (Another baby-faced Aries-type) There's nothing that says the Emperor must be old...nor that if he is old, that he's old in spirit.
Aries is always classified as the "baby" of the zodiac, so why attribute him to the Emperor of all cards?
Because an Emperor--ill-dignified--is exactly like a baby. Like Ivan the Terrible. They throw tantrums, they scream and cry and demand. They are doted upon and spoilt. They are given anything they want when they want it--and no one in the house can tell them "no." That is how the Emperor is like a baby. But right-side up, he's like the Aries that is the leader of the Zodiac, filled with energy and daring, filled with charisma that makes people follow him, shout his name, do what he asks them to do, and create an Empire for him to rule over. He is, like the best "infants," irresistible
The "infant" energy of Aries motivates people into action. The shrewd, determined, but often dour and cautious Capricorn can't do that. Capricorn is like the infamous, American Civil War General George McClellan who was so cautious that he wouldn't take his army into battle or attack--President Lincoln famously said of him, "If he's not using the army, may I use it?" Aries is General Grant, who charges in full-throddle, ready to use all he's got, every drop of energy to win. And he does.
That is the important thing to remember about the Emperor, why he's pictured wearing armor, with an eagle and sometimes weapons. He created his Empire through conquest, by proving himself indomitable. His Empire might be stable now--as stable as his very solid throne...but he's still a warrior underneath. He doesn't rule by being cautious or careful or slow like Capricorn. He commands his Empire as he commanded armies. With supreme confidence, a brilliant battle plan, and aggression. Hence, Aries.
