Major Arcana XVI – The Tower

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  • Planetary Ruler : ♂ Mars ♂
  • Zodiac Correspondence : Aries
  • Tree of Life Pathway : Hod – Netzach
  • Keys : Embracing Change | Initiation

The opportunity to disconnect from an existing structure or ordering principle – maybe systemic, maybe ideological. And while the catalyst for the fall or collapse comes externally, as in the lightning bolt, the transformation always occurs within. For the falling, perhaps the realisation that the top of the tower is no longer safe or suitably meets their needs, and that the ground offers the stability and safety we each require to build upon.

There’s a link to the Hanged Man here, except rather then meditating intentionally in the liminal space between stories, here we have taken the leap of faith towards the new story. So…who else is keen to jump ?

In the Tarot of the Sephirot the fall is not anthropomorphized. There is a reversal of the traditional vector of the card from decent and towards ascension – looking up the staircase. So, the tower is presented as threshold. Almost an initiatory structure, with the doorway through the gaping mouth at the top of the staircase open. What lies beyond that threshold is only possible to know upon it’s entrance.


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