Ludy Lescot The Tower XVI

Aerin

At first sight this looked like quite a "traditional" Tower card to me. Two royals are throwing themselves off (she looks as if she is flying...) while the castle gets struck by lightning.

The building looks very much like the one in the Moon, and the woman's face is so white. She looks peaceful rather than terrified?
 

Hemera

Yes, she looks like she is flying and the LWB talks about making a leap of faith and being reborn. Hmm.
Something that looks like a wedding ring is flying in the air between the man and the woman. But it could also be his crown?
 

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Aerin

I thought it was the crown...
 

RunningWild

I, too, thought it was a ring and now I'll have to examine it more closely.

When I first saw the card and thought about what the Tower represents: abrupt change in situations or thoughts or even an insight into something (a revelation, a flash of insight of some sort) and then read the LWB about taking a leap of faith it made perfect sense. It's some sort of abrupt change of scenery whether physical or mental.

I can apply the concept to reading Tarot, when I tend to over intellectualize a card or second guess myself no matter that my first thought upon seeing it a flash of 'x' doing or being something was first. Taking a leap of faith that my intuition has value would, for me, be a massive change in the way I see the world.

I hope that this isn't too far fetched.
 

Aerin

I really like that idea RunningWild.
 

MaineGirl117

The image on the Tower is quite different from other depictions of the Tower in that she doesn’t look at all disturbed to be thrown from great heights. In fact it looks more like she’s about to execute a perfect swan dive off the structure itself.

Given her white complexion, I want to say our dear leading lady is already dead. What fear should she have then at plunging to the ground if she cannot die. In other words, she has immortality on her side if the bite from her lover in the Lovers cards manifested into death to receive everlasting life on the ‘dark’ side.

Her and her beau look like they were just about to get married when lightening struck and cast them from the Tower. She wears no veil and in one reference I’ve noticed the mention of this card coming below the High Priestess in the sequence, illustrating the veil of illusion being stripped from us by the ‘grace of God’. Any substance to this idea seen in this card? The clothing worn by the man shows both red and blue; the same reference mentioned these colors in relation to the Magician and the High Priestess, but are usually worn (in other cards) by two separate characters. Here they are combined into one person, though our Magician and High Priestess do not wear these colors. Do you think this color selection is then merely coincidental? The reference, by the way, is 78 Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack.

The crown falling away from the man is an interesting insight. I originally thought it was a ring too, but looking now I think it is his crown. Often times the crown is seen on the tower and is cast off from the bolt of lightening. Here it falls away from the man, a personal revelation? enlightenment on a profound level? The energy of *truth* striking with full force and literally blowing the crown off this poor guys head?

If we have considered the Chakras within the other cards, could this card then be representing the Crown Chakra - where we question the meaning of life, receive inspiration, a sudden moment of understanding? Flashes of insight or feelings of intuition could then be associated with this card and the 7th chakra. This chakra is also called the "thousand-petaled" chakra in reference to the lotus flower - which we saw in the High Priestess, no? I think it was also mentioned in the HP thread that the lotus flower must root itself in the dark and mud of a swamp (dark physical world) in order to blossom on the surface (light spiritual world). If the series of cards through the Majors as per the LWB show her going into the darkness to find her truth or understanding of her dark side, perhaps this is the turning point where she can make the first step to go back to the light?

I like your interpretation RunningWild, it would make a lot of sense here.
 

Hemera

Oh I like this..The lady is already dead -to this world at least..Hmm. And the Crown chakra thing is most interesting,too. More stuff for my notebook, thanks!
 

RunningWild

Tying things together

Since no story is ever just one isolated incident after another, I wonder if by this card we now see one catastrophic event in the life of our Ludy that was the culmination of the previous cards of the Major Arcana. LOL I may have to start an entirely new thread on The Story now.


Just a thought: What if this is about being in love with the *idea* of marriage? Not in love itself.

Lulled into this journey by the Pied Piper (The Fool), followed by the "hype" (The Magician), the exciting unknown of marriage (The High Priestess), familial expectations (The Empress & The Emperor)...so on and so forth.

I can't do it right now, but I'll try to get it done some time today and begin a new thread on my theory.
 

MaineGirl117

I agree with you RunningWild! The first five cards of the Majors appear to be setting up the story which begins (for the most part) with the Lovers where she makes the 'choice' to enter into the dark side. I haven't posted on the Chariot thread yet, but I think this is her in the process of dying - like the cart is 'ferrying' her to the dark side. I'm glad somebody else sees this! Looking forward to your thread.

Edit: My thoughts on the story line is that's she's looking for her soulmate - whether that is within herself by uniting both her light and shadow self, or by finding another to be the complimentary half. The World card and the LWB implies something along these lines which got me thinking about the story in the first place.
 

Hemera

I´m really looking forward to the storyline thread! I´m still not sure I see the story though... But there is the element of choice in many of the cards and in a deeper level it could be about this uniting her dark and light selves business..
The Temperance is one that puzzles me in this deck. There´s the choice and it´s not the calm card of many of the other RWS type decks.