Grand Tarot Esoterico                        Marseille                               Oswald Wirth                                Rider-Waite

 

The Lightning-Struck Tower or the WTC-911 cacophony

 

[Position 2: Genius / Card: The Tower]

 

Main Interpretation: "Shake loose from what has been normal for you.”

 

When the Tower appears in this position, your Higher Power is setting the stage for a dramatic revelation or breakthrough that in one great moment will turn everything around for you. This card is often formatted as if it were a disaster, and it would be if you were identifying with the king and queen at the top of the tower. They are definitely dethroned and fallen, but slaves who are chained in the belly of the tower are set free and given their lives back. If humility is a quality of yours, this could be the best thing that ever happened for you. If pride is a problem, you will doubtless feel thrown down.

 

General Meaning: "In all of images of the Tower card, disaster is striking or has just struck. The demons of madness and despair are released from ancient hiding places, and nature conspires with human failings to destabilize the people. A possible subtitle for this card would be “The Act of God,” because the upheaval is collective, impersonal. Yet let us remember for whom these images were created — educated nobles and clergy — and you will realize just who will lose altitude fastest should the towers start to fall.

 

In that sense, the Lightning is a fitting karmic response to the guilt of those whose fortunes come from abuse of the land or its residents. A modern subtitle might be “Revolution from Below,” indicating such drastic social change that a poor person has renewed hope of better times. Although The Tower comes to us as a classic crash-and-burn experience, the process does topple the hierarchy of the old order, providing all who survive with a fresh start on equal footing.

 

Position Meaning: "The Genius position points to what is best about you, the contribution you are uniquely qualified to make.

 

                                OR

 

[Position 3: Near Future /  Card: The Tower }

Main Interpretation: "Imminent transformation will alter the balance of power within and around you.

With the Tower in this position, a definitive event is about to turn everything upside down. Fantasy will be separated from reality; the status quo will be challenged; everyone will be put on an equal footing. Institutional structures will be liberated and put into the hands of the people. If you align yourself with the forces of transformation, regeneration and healing, you have wonderful work in front of you, and will see gratifying results from this upset or challenge. If, on the other hand, you were trying to bolster the status quo, you will be more than disappointed.

 

 

Publisher Notes: "A tall tower with a crowned roof appears to have been struck violently by a tree rather than by lightning—the more common depiction in tarot packs. This card is variously called The Lightning Struck Tower, The House of God, The Hospital, Fire of Heaven, or The Tower of Babel. Two persons, presumably a man and woman, fall to the ground along with multi-colored, round drops of material that symbolize the descent of previous conditions and the breaking down of previous orders. The Tower symbolizes previous knowledge and beliefs and sometimes false premises. It is made of bricks and has three windows, one open window above two apparently closed windows that would limit the view of any occupants. The tower was struck severing only the top—signifying a clean break from the past. The tree is a symbol of a strong and dominating occurrence. The Tower represents a basic foundation of the past undergoing severe change. The falling figures represent head-first escape from the past and sudden immersion into events of the immediate future.

 

Divinatory meanings: Complete and sudden change. Breaking down of old beliefs. Abandonment of past relationships. Severing of a friendship. Changing of one’s opinion. Unexpected events. Disruption. Adversity. Calamity. Misery. Deception. Bankruptcy. Termination. Havoc. Breakdown. Downfall. Undoing. Ruin. Disruption. Loss of stability. A sudden event which destroys trust. Loss of money. Loss of security. Loss of love and affection. Setback. Terrible change.

 

Reversed meanings: Continued oppression. Following old ways. Living in a rut. Inability to affect any worthwhile change. Entrapped in an unhappy situation. Imprisoned.