The Tower as an Action Card

Yarnzipan

So I was doing a reading and oddly enough, the Tower came up in the position that, in that spread, was for the action you can take for the greatest good. The way my intuition shot me was a little weird: it felt like the card was putting me not in the position of the tower or the people falling off of it so much as the lightning, destroying something established that while it might cause some heartache, ultimately was causing more harm than good. Given it was such a weird take, I was wondering on other people's thoughts, or even other people's feelings about similar situations with other 'unpleasant' cards.
 

Barleywine

I had this situation in a reading for a young lady last week who was considering what to do about her relationship with her boyfriend. The Tower was in the "action" position, but reversed. The boyfriend (Page of Swords) was in the outcome position, and also reversed. It looked like he was either distracted, wasn't paying enough attention to her, or wasn't capable of being whom she wanted him to be. I told her the Tower rx was suggesting that she not give in to the urge to just "burn down the house" and start over. That option was clearly on her mind, and she had been wrestling with it; I told her the reversal could reflect her inner struggle for liberation, and that it would be best to settle things in her own mind and not act impulsively. I also mentioned that the Tower can show a sudden realization or epiphany (symbolized by the lightning bolt), and that - if her relationship had recently taken a turn for the worse - she could be feeling a relentless (but also reckless) compulsion to do something about it, while the reversal cautioned that it might not be the wisest course of action. The 3 of Wands came between the two cards, which I consider a card of patient anticipation, so I told her that and the Tower rx both lobbied against overreacting.
 

Thirteen

This is actually a pretty cool interpretation. I hadn't considered that for the Tower before. Thanks Yarnzipan and Barleywine. It certainly makes a great deal of sense in that position to "burn it all down" and start over.
 

MarkMcElroy

Shake it Up

Yep, agree with the others. Do you know the old 1980’s song by the Cars, “Shake it Up?”

Sounds like that’s what the Tower might be calling for here. :-D
 

Barleywine

Yep, agree with the others. Do you know the old 1980’s song by the Cars, “Shake it Up?”

Sounds like that’s what the Tower might be calling for here. :-D

Good analogy, Mark. Maybe the reversal would make it more like Bob Marley's gentler "Stir It Up." :)

Good to see you. Haven't noticed you on here in a while.
 

AnemoneRosie

You know that saying that's sometimes attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt "be the change that you want to see in the world. Live the life you imagine" by chance? That's the Tower as an action card. Don't wait for others to instigate the change - you might not like the results, as they will shape the new in their own image! Instead, seize the moment and create the change yourself. That way you will have direct influence on what the outcome looks like.
 

Yarnzipan

Yep, agree with the others. Do you know the old 1980’s song by the Cars, “Shake it Up?”

Sounds like that’s what the Tower might be calling for here. :-D

You know that saying that's sometimes attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt "be the change that you want to see in the world. Live the life you imagine" by chance? That's the Tower as an action card. Don't wait for others to instigate the change - you might not like the results, as they will shape the new in their own image! Instead, seize the moment and create the change yourself. That way you will have direct influence on what the outcome looks like.

Okay, it's good to hear I wasn't completely in left field all by myself! And I find the Eleanor Roosevelt quote you chose there interesting since the Eight of Cups was also in the reading not too far off. The figure in the card had his back to the Tower by the spread's positioning, which felt like someone burning a bridge behind them, or very firmly giving up on that old way of being and moving forward to something better and more fitting without looking back.