pmsumner

What a shame...I often see it in a much better light when I read for other people, it can be a really uplifting thing. Here's my working definition, so you can see what I mean:


"XVI The Tower
The Tower is a high, golden-domed grey building on a mountain. The skies are black and lightening strikes the dome off, bursting into flames with drops of fire raining all around. From the windows, two people are falling - one is dressed like a king and one as a peasant.

I call this a "Well, DUH!" when I draw a card which has such an obvious surface meaning - The Tower's primary interpretation is sudden change. However, like all of the cards and specifically the Major Arcana, The Tower has many more meanings under the surface. It just depends on how you look at it, like an optical illusion. Some interpreters call this a card of sudden destruction and disaster, for obvious reasons - but some others see the striking off of the roof as a liberation from prison, or even as a bolt of spiritual enlightenment freeing us from a mind constrained by the physical/mundane.

In this last interpretation the lightening represents insight into the problem, and it may be that in your thinking about your problem you will suddenly come to understand your motivations and from that be able to make a decision. It may also signify breakthroughs in situations where emotions have been bottled up or blocks being removed. Examine relationships carefully in this context."

Obviously that has to be tweaked depending on the querent and the surrounding cards, but that's the base I usually work from...Pollack's interpretation is even more positive than mine, she mentions that the falling flames look like the Hebrew character Yod, which being the first letter of God's name, mean that His grace is falling upon you. That's all a bit Christian ceremonial magick for my taste but I see what she's getting at.