Every card In the tarot has its own symbology and meaning. A single card holds deep insights for the seeker if they are open and have patience for the ‘story’ to reveal itself. However, the magic of tarot lies in the relationships of the cards when they are drawn in combination. Drawing pairs is the ideal way to broaden your reading experience and gain more understanding. So I’m going to continue with my exploration of pairs of the Majors with the Tower and the World combination.
The Tower is, I’d say, one of the ‘dark’ cards. One that every reader hopes will not show up in a reading. Its message of ‘your life is going to shatter into pieces’ is terrifying. Your status quo will end. Yet that could be a good thing. When it is combined with the World card, the message is far more positive and, indeed, to be welcomed. Let’s dig in. I’ll start with a general overview of each card.
Overview of The Tower Card 16
In a traditional style deck, the Tower shows a burning tower, from which two people are falling. Presumably to their death on the ghastly, craggy rocks below. It seems that all is lost.
The meaning of the card is that they are the architects of their own destruction. By continuing in the habits portrayed in The Devil 15, the Universe has forced the crashing down of their life and their refusal to make changes. Meaning if someone is too lazy, entrenched, or unable to break through self-damaging behaviour, then ultimately it will be done for them. It’s not pretty.
Yet, it’s not all bad. It’s a wake-up call, for sure, but in the experience of loss, there is a sense that the worst has happened and the only way is up and out.
Overview of The World Card 21
The World card depicts a female figure dancing through a floral wreath. In the corners of the card are illustrations representing the four fixed signs of the zodiac, or the four elements of the tarot.
The positioning of the four symbols is in perfect four-square balance indicating stability, unity, and balance. A place where we’d all like to be.
As the Tower symbolizes all that destruction and chaos, the World means the opposite. All is coming together; the seeker is in the right place at the right time. A life cycle is ending and there’s a happy pause until the next begins.
The World, therefore, may symbolize a goal, but it is a temporary one, a staging post. The key concept of the card is ‘transition’. Pretty soon, the seeker will be off on their next life adventure and will start over as the gauche but ready-to-learn Fool.
The Combination of The Tower and The World in a Reading
When you draw the two cards together then, the message is uplifting and inspiring. There will be a shattering but eventually, you will pick up the pieces and emerge stronger than ever. The challenging experience will form the foundation for a profound slice of life-enriching wisdom.
We’ve all seen people who take a negative event and determine that some good must come from it. The cancer survivor who pours their energy into a campaign for earlier screening and the woman who nursed her mother through dementia, working to improve the lives of other carers.
The prospect of the Tower’s manifestation is, of course, worrying, but a Tower event may not be all death and destruction but something far more mundane. There may well be a period of chaos and confusion, but eventually, a little like a pattern in a kaleidoscope, the World shows the pieces fall into place giving new clarity; a new dawn after the dark.
Hypothetical Case Studies
We all like examples to help us understand. I could have used several events in my own life but I really don’t want to go back to those so I’ve invented three.
Amanda’s Career Shift
Amanda had worked in a high-powered corporate position for several years. On the top floor of a tower block, in fact. One evening of rare relaxation, her friend persuaded her to draw a couple of tarot cards ‘for fun’. Except the cards didn’t look much like fun when the Tower and the World showed up. The friend wasn’t terribly experienced with the cards so Amanda decided to delve in and research them
A week after the reading, Amanda’s company laid her off. This was totally unexpected and threw her into a state of anger, confusion, and panic. Yet she realized she’d been cruising over the last couple of years. There was no challenge left other than the irritating day-to-day issues that made irritation and frustration well up in her, causing chronic stress and related physical ailments like indigestion and sleep problems. She'd somehow managed to convince herself that this made her job exciting.
Amanda immediately understood that the Tower card was accurate. She had been unwilling to make the change that was long overdue, so the forces of the universe had made the change happen anyway.
Amanda had always been a creative person but her artistry and eagerness to try new things had been subdued and ignored for many years. Taking inspiration from the World card, she decided to take a short break before embarking on a period of research to see how she might start her own business in a more creative and fulfilling field.
Ethan's Relationship Turmoil
Ethan was in a long-term relationship when he drew the Tower and the World in a reading. Knowing things hadn’t been quite right between him and his girlfriend for a while, he knew exactly what the cards meant but still was reluctant to make the necessary break. He thought that a little relationship work could put it all right.
Then he discovered that his girlfriend had cheated on him with his best friend. His life fell apart. Everything he’d seen as a fundamental element in the structure of his life was not so at all. He was floundering, unable to make decisions, undermined by the pain of the double betrayal. He remembered the reading and dug the two cards out and stared at them for hours.
He eventually worked out that he needed to accept that the cheating was actually a good thing. Had he invested even more time and energy into the two relationships, it would have been worse.
All of a sudden, he felt a sense of lightness and freedom that he hadn’t experienced in years. He realized he was grateful to his ex and his friend for showing him a new path. He came to understand that he was a whole person with infinite resources and when he found love again it would be on mutually rewarding terms. Meanwhile, he was going to have some fun.
Ava's Spiritual Awakening
Ava was a renowned sceptic. She, rightly, prided herself on having a logical and scientific mind. She didn’t believe in anything unless she could see it for herself. She certainly didn’t believe or agree with such nonsense as tarot readings.
However, one day she read an article that described the structure of the tarot in a way she found intriguing and fascinating. It was almost scientific, the way the writer had explained a possible connection between tarot and the quantum universe. She immediately ordered herself a deck of tarot cards in order to explore further.
One day, she pulled out her deck and drew the Tower and the World. She knew the interpretations of the cards already (she was a fast learner) but scoffed as she looked at the cards. Of course, nothing would happen to her to make her question her life choices.
The following day, Ava slipped and fell. She broke her leg so badly, she needed emergency surgery. It forced her to ask for help from family and friends. For the first time in her life, she wasn’t in complete control. She remembered the two cards and it struck her that her scepticism may have been misplaced. Now she knew what it was like to have her life turned upside down, even if it was just a temporary inconvenience. The Tower event led straight to the pause represented by the World.
A pause that might prove to be the most rewarding in Ava’s life.
She began to journal, questioning her own beliefs. She studied metaphysics and the spiritual aspects of life, the universe, and everything. She read books she never would have considered previously. She accepted that she would never have the definitive, logical answer to life. Her mind was open. She was ready to learn.
Finding the Balance in the Tower and the World Cards
There is a perfect balance of energy between the two cards. When they appear together there HAS to be a challenge followed by a renewal, completion, or achievement. Destruction leads to creation. Chaos gives way to order. A seeming end leading to a new beginning. When you see these two cards together be reminded that life is a cycle of beginnings, endings, and transitions.
It will help you to question existing beliefs, encourages you to look at the broader perspective, and understand that everything changes; sometimes for worse and often for good.
Final Word
Look for the positive among the rubble when the Tower lays waste to a certain situation. When you see the happy ending of the World, be prepared to allow yourself to be the Fool and to embrace the cyclical nature of life all over again.
Further Reading
- The Book of Tarot: A Guide for Modern Mystics by Danielle Noel: This book offers a fresh take on Tarot and its spiritual implications. It’s also very well illustrated. I can highly recommend it.
- A more traditional book, which I foolishly lent to someone who never gave it back is Tarot: Plain and Simple by Anthony Louis: Great for beginners and intermediates alike, Anthony Louis delivers a straightforward perspective on the cards.
Originally published by the author at the HubPages network.
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