The Tower

gsmthompson

Just an interesting observation that hit me in the face reading your posts yesterday- Don't the two characters falling out of the tower look somewhat like the King of Swords and Queen of Cups!

Next question- what were those two doing alone together in the tower!!?? Is that why the devil sent the bolt of lightening?
 

Genny

Just an interesting observation that hit me in the face reading your posts yesterday- Don't the two characters falling out of the tower look somewhat like the King of Swords and Queen of Cups!

Next question- what were those two doing alone together in the tower!!?? Is that why the devil sent the bolt of lightening?

Kinda..neat observation there. But what's the King doing without his crown? Could it mean something else too?..

For me, both KoS and QoC are masters..could it be that both of them are quarreling within the tower..to attain total power?

here's something i picked up at the mystic eye tarot website
"People Falling - from the tower of material security, after a brilliant glimpse of truth."

That truth could be something in the crown's meaning. The lightning, for me, is divine intervention in which stops you from attaining too much power.
 

caridwen

I always assumed they were the lovers...
 

Crowqueen

I wonder if other "Rider-Waite" clones have picked up on this "similarity"? The Sharman-Caselli, although it doesn't stick rigidly to the RWS, has the woman in blue and the man in red. I don't have a RWS-original deck, but on Tarot.com's illustrations of the RWS the colouring used is similar (although the man has blue leggings, the main colour seems to be his red cloak).

Could this be a clue to the elemental associations if not allusions to actual characters from the deck? I would take it similar to the title "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus": representations of gender and element stereotypes rather than actual people. Red is the grounding, base colour for male action, and blue is the colour of communication and feeling, a female attribute. It could be saying that, in effect, human folly does not stem from only one side, it can come from both, taking a holistic view rather than the view that one side is more, or less valuable or than the other?

tarot.com website said:
The demons of madness and despair are released from ancient hiding places, and nature conspires with human failings to destabilize a society.

"Madness" being the male "more haste, less speed" active idea and "despair" relating to "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" emotional aspect.
 

job

gsmthompson said:
Next question- what were those two doing alone together in the tower!!?? Is that why the devil sent the bolt of lightening?

Okay there's the tower of Babel of course.

But there is also a story in the Bible about a man who, while riding his horse, was 'hit' with a truth so pure that it literally knocked him off!
I can't remember who it was...

But the point is many would see it as a bad omen but a few would look at it as a good one and continue.

Remember that Thomas Edison had 10,000 failures before he finally succeeded.
 

brenmck

Interesting connection....

job said:
But there is also a story in the Bible about a man who, while riding his horse, was 'hit' with a truth so pure that it literally knocked him off!
I can't remember who it was...

That was Saul, on his way to Damascus to round up more Xtians to persecute. It was a bolt and a voice coming out of the sky, "Saul! Why do you persecute me?!"
It's said that he was deaf for some time. Saul became the Apostle Paul.

I've never made a connection between the Tower and that story, but it does work, in a very different way from the traditional meanings.
"Hit with a truth so pure...."

~B~
 

job

Thank you brenmck!

*********

"If we cannot grasp what is beyond our reach, then what is heaven for?"
Robert Browning

I've always wondered if he was refering to the tower of Babel!

(Sorry if I typed it wrong! (I'll also be sorry if Robert Browning didn't say it!!))

g'night! :)
 

gorgeousbutterfly

what a genius observation!!!!!

notes to self *never go out with king of swords* ( i'm queen of cups!)
 

gorgeousbutterfly

Also, there must be a significance in that the queen still has her crown on despite the heavy fall? wouldn't it come off from such a fall? nope its till on there. must mean somthing? especially if the king (or is he king?) does not have a crown?
 

gorgeousbutterfly

also the tower card follows after the devil card, in the devil cards we see adam and eve being bonded to each other by egoism. in the tower card they are being freed.