Upright Keywords:
Paradigm Shift, Destruction, Chaos, Change, Revelation, Trauma, Enlightenment, Awakening
Reversed Keywords:
Fear of Change, Avoidance, Delay, Clinging to the Past
Upright Meaning
The Tower reflects complete destruction. Walls are getting torn down and revelations have turned everything upside down. It represents massive change and a paradigm shift. This is a sudden change and will be earth-shattering. Beliefs are getting dismantled and you will be shaken to your core.
Something is collapsing in your life and you cannot control it. Everything needs to be questioned right now and like the Moon, the Tower asks us to seek out the truth.
There is no denying that this is going to be a difficult period of your life. You will need to face things that you have been avoiding, there is no way you can still pretend to be oblivious. You will feel vulnerable and feel as if you have no control of your life for a while. Things you believed in are being shattered and there is confusion.
However, the Tower needed to come down. The lightning strike was necessary for your path and the walls had to be torn down. Building a life on unstable foundations is not a way to true happiness. When the dust settles and the chaos has calmed, the Tower welcomes a time of enlightenment and growth.
Change is a necessity of life. Without change, we cannot progress. It can be hard at first, but soon we will understand the importance of this change. Old views and ways of living have got to be let go of in order to manifest the future that you need. The Tower is giving you the release that you need and illuminating the truth.
With the destruction of the tower, you are able to understand truly where you are in your life and where you need to be going. The Tower gives you a fresh start and a time to mold yourself into the person you really are.
Reversed Meaning
The Tower card will often be reversed in a reading when you are resisting the change that is necessary for your life. You are holding on to your past life, shutting your eyes, and ignoring the chaos and change that is surrounding you.
With the reversed Tower, much of the upright meaning is the same, but it is how you are dealing with things that is different. You are not living the pain and destruction, and therefore not allowing the enlightenment to occur.
The Tower is a painful card. It is all about a collapse of ideas and ideals. There is a challenge to your beliefs and a shift in reality. But, we know that this change is needed in order for you to grow and develop. There is no use clinging to lies that will only drag you down.
But, the reversed Tower suggests that you are clinging to these lies! You are living in your own imaginary world and not accepting the changes in your life.
This is making the destruction worse and will significantly harm you in the long run. Ignorance is bliss right now, but there is no way you can grow spiritually and emotionally if you keep ignoring the truth.
Remember, the Tower has to fall in order for a new one to be built.