According to The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite, The Tower is described as the following:
Occult explanations attached to this card are meagre and mostly disconcerting. It is idle to indicate that it depicts min in all its aspects, because it bears this evidence on the surface. It is said further that it contains the first allusion to a material building, but I do not conceive that the Tower is more or less material than the pillars which we have met with in three previous cases. I see nothing to warrant Papus in supposing that it is literally the fall of Adam, but there is more in favour of his alternative--that it signifies the materialization of the spiritual word. The bibliographer Christian imagines that it is the downfall of the mind, seeking to penetrate the mystery of God. I agree rather with Grand Orient that it is the ruin of the House of We, when evil has prevailed therein, and above all that it is the rending of a House of Doctrine. I understand that the reference is, however, to a House of Falsehood. It illustrates also in the most comprehensive way the old truth that "except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it."
There is a sense in which the catastrophe is a reflection from the previous card, but not on the side of the symbolism which I have tried to indicate therein. It is more correctly a question of analogy; one is concerned with the fall into the material and animal state, while the other signifies destruction on the intellectual side. The Tower has been spoken of as the chastisement of pride and the intellect overwhelmed in the attempt to penetrate the Mystery of God; but in neither case do these explanations account for the two persons who are the living sufferers. The one is the literal word made void and the other its false interpretation. In yet a deeper sense, it may signify also the end of a dispensation, but there is no possibility here for the consideration of this involved question.
The Tower is undoubtedly an intense card. We see the characters flinging themselves from a great height as lightning strikes, the Tower burns, and the crown falls. This card is clearly linked to ideas of destruction.
This destruction could be one of two kinds: either related to the “material” or the “intellectual”. In truth, however, these two concepts go hand in hand. Prioritizing the material over the intellectual can lead to mental suffering, and both a Tower made of stone and a Tower made of thoughts deteriorate in similar ways.
Exterminating Your Intellectual Termites
It is not an accident that the symbol of the Tower is an architectural one. The straight column of stonework should bring to mind thoughts of sturdiness and steadfastness—of building something that can stand on its own and stand tall. Once we realize that the Tower is in jeopardy, we experience the contrast between believing in something’s structural integrity and then seeing it crumble.
It is any builder or architect’s nightmare to create a structure and have it fall apart, whether it is from some sudden change like lightning striking or something more insidious like the slowly progressing damage from hungry termites.
The lightning strike is a more dramatic event. It creates sudden, obvious change.
The termites work more subtly. It could be years before you realize they have been destroying what you have built.
If we think about the Tower less as a physical structure and more like the structure of the mind, we can compare the lightning strike to a sudden trauma, and the termites to a consistent pattern of negative thinking.
The trauma might be a major event that leaves undeniable effects, while the negative thinking is a creeping thing, slowly destroying our sense of self before we know it. Termites may be small, but the damage they do can be momentous.
It can take a lifetime of work to think more positively about ourselves, but we can start with awareness. Today, be mindful of your inner voice and the way it speaks to you. Try your best to catch yourself when your inner monologue strays to the unsupportive or the cruel.
Your inner monologue doesn’t have to be incredibly negative for monitoring it to make a difference. Even turning one small, less-than-pleasant thought around can impact your day, help you build a habit, and set you on a path toward a more mindful life.
If you catch a negative thought, pause. Take a deep breath, and then reframe the thought. For instance, if you think, “I suck at this,” you could just as easily think, “This would be a great thing to work on.” Turn the termites into tidbits you can take with you through your day.
Take the extra energy you would spend concerning yourself with material things today and put it toward getting in touch with your own mind.
We Cannot Build Without a Foundation
There will come times in our lives when we are inevitably focused on material things. This can be especially true around certain times—like around the holidays when we are giving and receiving gifts, or when we are moving or building a house.
We might feel more comfortable letting material things take precedence in our minds at these times because we figure that it is just a passing thing that deserves our attention, and that we can simply bring our focus back to mindfulness once it’s over.
But we cannot build the external life we want if we do not first make our internal foundation strong. Stay mindful today to keep your Tower steady.
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