From Destruction, Awakening

As the Tower and edifices fall, inner treasures are revealed.

Welcome to this edition of Liminal Walker Musings!

If you are a new subscriber, a special WELCOME! Today we are returning to the exploration of the major arcana of the tarot. To see prior posts, they can be found in the “Tarot Journeys” section of my substack site. This post we are exploring the Archetype of the Tower. That of destruction and liberation, turmoil and awakening.

Love to you all!

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The Tower

The Tower card seems terribly foreboding. Lightning strikes from the skies above, setting whatever structure is below ablaze. Everything is thrown into complete disarray; a sudden and unexpected havoc is present. Not a very desirable card in a tarot reading, and definitely not what we want to experience in our life. However, we inevitably at some point will encounter devastation.

What does this card really mean? At the most basic level, it’s a resent button. A fresh start that moves us in a new direction that wasn’t available before. The hard part is it’s made possible by having some aspect of our life totally turned upside down. But this does not need to be harbinger of awful news. It’s a wakeup call! Phenomenon like the Tower happens when we have been ignoring the more subtle signs, the gentle nudges and the pointing fingers guiding us into a new direction. Turning a deaf ear only works in the short term. If we don’t take the hint, eventually we will experience upheaval. When we have built our life on a rocky foundation of pretense, or a substructure that has impairments we refuse to acknowledge, collapses will occur. We might see this in the physical frameworks we have built or in other facets like our plans, reputation and dreams. Impacting our relationships, careers, finances, health and homes.

Of course, incidences also happen beyond our control like natural disasters. Is it fate, karma, destiny, wrong place/wrong time? Is it fair or not? The most important consideration is how will we rise from this devastation? This might mean moving on or it’s an opportunity to rebuild and start anew. The Tower energies are the labor pains for profound growth. A bridge to greater clarity, an alchemy for metamorphosis.

Similarities and Differences compared to the Death Card

The last tarot card I wrote about was "Death". These cards seem similar because they both reflect big changes in our lives, showing us the way into a deeper transformation. Here are some differences:

Transformation

The Wounded Healer

I have had my own Tower times. Illness, loss and addiction. I wrote about this in my post The Wounded Healer. Here is an excerpt:

“What I have discovered is there is no ultimate supreme healing.
Life is untamable, impermanent.
It’s from those messy bits that something amazing and beautiful emerges.
The wound is a sacred doorway into love and our humanity.”

These challenging circumstances are hard and can even be grueling. Hard to stay present in the pain when all I want is to feel anything but the ache. Yet, there is a benevolent grace flowing through it all even in the moments where I can’t recognize it. These tower times may expose my wounds, traumas and fears, but this is not about burying them again, or regarding them as something to fix. For healing to ensue, accepting and having compassion for myself is the elixir needed. Alchemizing the ache into medicine.

Metamorphosis

The fire seen in the Tower card is an element that both destroys and purifies, but also inspires, igniting passion and creativity. This card looks tragic on the surface, but underneath it is about transformation, the phoenix arising from the ashes! Reminding us there is a lot happening behind the scenes that we may never fully know or fathom. The inquiry is, can we trust what is unfolding despite the presence of difficult and challenging events? Can we let down this need for certainty and be vulnerable with the moment?

Usually, the crumbling structures represented in the Tower card come down because they are built on faulty thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and concepts. Conditionings we may have received from our family and society. Shields built years ago with pure intentions for safety and protection. Yet, over time these guards have become outdated, solidified into the armor we wear, the cages we live in. A dismantling is needed, edifices broken down so stuck energy can be released.

This is not about you being destroyed, it is about the removal of the ways we oppress and restrict ourselves. A clearing away of the layers to uncover the treasure hidden beneath them.

Rumi tells us:
“Tear down this house.
A hundred thousand new houses can be built
from the transparent yellow gemstone buried underneath it.”

I find this timely that

Jenna Newell Hiott

talked about the “Gem” in her recent post, The Archetype and The Tarot: The Gem and The Empress. How important it is to unveil our genuine worth and unique goodness. Let the abrupt dismantling be the revealing of our innate beauty. Letting this illumine the world. Imagine if we were to all do this together, not with ego or trying to out shine anyone else, but to be the way showers for those who are still stuck.

Kali

Kali is an aspect of the Divine Feminine, a Hindu Goddess of the universal void, cosmic womb and deep abyss. She is a natural force in this world. Liminal, non-linear, wild, instinctive and unpredictable. As a protectress she is a sacred badass! Surprisingly, she very compassionate and loving. Her qualities can also be found in other Goddesses too, like Hecate, Morrigan, Sekhmet, Baba Yaga, Black Tara and Ereshkigal.

This Dark Mother supports us in breaking through our unconscious and riveted patterns that cause suffering. This is not about denying or rising above our pains but being willing to be present with them. Kali, with one hand wreaks havoc and with another she holds space. Helping us to become aware of our dysfunctions, to sort through our feelings and thoughts. How else can these patterns be broken? With another hand she feeds herself, devouring our pains and rigid ego structures as symbolized by the skulls, demons and blood. With her last hand she shares her love with the upmost generosity.

Alena Fairchild says,
“Kali does not create pain, but she does unveil it.”

Kali is a liberator, serving our higher selves. At times she is the one causing the destruction, for nothing can get us to meet our entrenched patterns like divine intervention. She is not here to destroy our ego, but to have us see the problems we create by employing manipulation, being dishonest, and living inauthentically. She will do whatever it takes to get our attention. When outer forces arrive, like natural disasters, karma, or vampiric energies, she comes as protectress. Supporting us in creating healthy boundaries and as guardian to the pure of heart.

Final Thoughts…

May this upheaval of our current times be an awakening to the deeper truths
and inner gems of what we all are together!

May this usher in a deeper sense of our innate interconnection
and interdependence with all of life!

Questions for you:

• How have you moved through these Tower times that have shown up in your life?

• What is your relationship with pain?

• What inner gift or gem have you been hiding?

Would love to know your thoughts and feelings. Let’s have a conversation…

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