March 27-April 2, 2023
The Tower
First, a note: Due to an urgent family matter, I am preparing to go out of town for a prolonged period, but I wanted to get this week’s card out to you before I go. Yep. Looks about right, doesn’t it?
If you’re looking for the astrology that will almost certainly resonate with this card, I always urge my readers to check in with Elisabeth Grace, an impeccable, brilliant Renaissance woman, and one of the best of the best astrologers in my opinion. Also, Lorna Bevan consistently blows my mind with her depth and insight, although it looks like she is taking this week off (but you will find an update in her paid subscription).
This post is excerpted in part from my book, which I really and truly am making slow but sure progress on. Except when there are urgent family matters at hand. Thanks for any and all good thoughts, y’all. ~ Beth
In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.
Warren Buffett
Let’s be clear. I am well aware that no one likes it much when I turn up in their readings. But that’s a pity, you see, because there are many times when no wimpy fluffy unicorn rainbow message will do. I am one of the most powerful change-agents in the Tarot, and sometimes that is exactly what is needed.
If you failed to remedy your Ten of Wands overwhelm last week, look out, because here I am. Arguably the least comfortable card in the deck, I am a Guardian that challenges you in the most stark, yet ultimately helpful ways.
Come Closer. Let Me Show You Who I Am.
Arthur Waite writes at length of what I am not, but is somewhat obtuse (even for him!) as to his direct interpretation. He does say, however, “…it is the ruin of the House of Life, when evil has prevailed therein, and above all that it is the rending of a House of Doctrine.”
Thank you, Uncle Arthur. Like me, he was not kidding around. This is a most explicit warning.
As you can immediately see, my imagery has many layers of meaning, including the obvious overthrow of someone in power. Note that a large, domed crown similar to the one The Emperor wears is toppling from the top of the rampart. And the woman in the blue dress falling towards the rocks is also crowned.
The black sky and the falling man and woman also link me to the previous image in the sequence of the Majors, The Devil. If this is a story, then my part is where the entrenched stagnation and corrosive apathy of the XV Triumph have been abruptly overturned.
Some have speculated that the tumbling couple is the same pair who are seen in happier times in the Four of Wands. Maybe. Which invites you to ask, “What happened to them? Where did they go so wrong?”
Could it be that they transformed from a happy couple in the countryside to elite royalty living in a fortress?
The lightning zig-zags from the heavens to the turret and culminates as an arrow pointing into its uncrowned center, implying intention and perhaps even a divine judgment.
This is reinforced by the presence of yods — those little yellow fire sparks in the air. Yod is the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and symbolizes a direct command from the Divine. Please note that in Pixie’s imagery of me, and nowhere else, there are twenty-two yods, the same as the number of Major Arcana cards.
And you may also be well aware of the interesting relationship between the 22 Major Arcana cards and the 22 paths of the sephiroth on the Qabala Tree of Life. Is it only coincidence that these paths on the Tree are often interpreted as a lightning bolt?
There is little doubt that I can be associated with the story of the Tower of Babel in the Judeo-Christian Bible. This tower was struck down by the God when He was angered by humanity’s arrogance. The result left mankind in a chaos of foreign languages.
My fork of lightning may also remind you of the bolt of insight that struck Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, as he sat beneath the bodhi tree. That flash turned his life upside down in a way that has benefited humanity for 2500 years.
The Inescapable Depths
Not everyone likes to reflect in any depth upon their lives, despite Socrates’ famous pronouncement that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”
So I am doing you a favor. As your loving Guardian, I will not let you run or hide, because it is necessary for you to stop and face the raw truth of who you are, what you REALLY feel, and what is happening all around you. Now.
I will not let you pass “Go” without having all that is false, oppressive, or toxic for you rudely exposed, if not completely blown open.
You may see old habits and injustices blasted open for a higher purpose. I come to rattle the cage, and announce that Mystery is about to bluntly and necessarily shatter somebody’s consensual reality.
I am the harbinger of the revolution that — while perhaps quietly, invisibly building for ages — suddenly explodes all around.
Yes, I am tough, love.
About Living in Tower Time
Many older Tarot readers have had a complex, even disturbing history with me. I interrupted and intruded on countless ordinary readings to offer my warning just before America’s 9/11 events in 2001.
As a result of that event, and the many others that are this very moment falling like dominoes, there are those who say that humanity is now living in “Tower Times.” I do not disagree.
But let me set the record straight about my fierce disposition. I come calling to urge you towards your greater awakening. To fulfill your highest potential, it is imperative you let go of whatever fortress you have built to shield yourself from some disagreeable part of reality.
For many hundreds of years, I have watched humanity. Brick by brick, the goal seems to have been to insulate oneself: with gated communities; the vast networks that feed obsession with celebrity, acquisition, and socioeconomic class; the exclusive cliques and clubs which so easily turn factions against one another.
I will come to warn you when you are in danger of being poisoned by the delusion of some superior separateness, whether it be wealth, privilege, country, or religion. All wrapped up in the malignant myth of exceptionalism.
I am the Guardian who will shake you awake from your toxic dream that there is one and only one chosen group or nation, especially favored by God(s). I come to raise the alarm when the system relies on exploitation of people and the Earth’s resources, turning a blind eye to peoples’ addictions and defeats.
Beware, for hubris and denial invite my lightning strike.
Clean Your House of Life
If you refuse to let go of the fears, attitudes, habits, and relationships that thwart your growth (your first warning may arrive via The Devil card), I come to warn you that the Universe will make you do so. If you cannot or will not get yourself unstuck, you will get pushed. Perhaps pushed very hard indeed.
It is time to look carefully at your life and your priorities. What needs to go? What patches have you been applying when you really need to completely abandon ship?
What have you been holding onto for too long? What in your world has become so rancid that to perpetuate its presence threatens your soul’s purpose? What wounds need to be lanced in order for them to be healed?
Be prepared for an important illusion to be abruptly shattered. Perhaps you, yourself, will be the catalyst that shakes up a stale status quo to its foundations. Could this be at your job or in some important relationship? Whose expectations of you have been stifling your higher nature? Consider me your permission slip for radical liberation.
Get ready, at the very least, for startling, important change, including literal upheaval, such as those accompanying the climate crisis and other Earth changes.
No matter how much the powers that be would rather see everything burn down before budging, I bring the cleansing overthrow of inertia and paralysis. When people are not willing to change cooperatively and intelligently, they must change painfully or dramatically.
Yet, as every card in the Tarot affirms, as does the Major Arcana journey itself, you can trust that my purpose is necessary. Love is in charge of this multiverse. All is working to the Good.
And so am I.
Wow! I’ve been feeling and sensing massive disruptions for months and greater chaos yet to come. Working within my self-energy and staying ground with Mother Earth helps me to ride these immense waves of much needed change. May we all be in our Truth and Light. Sending Gratitude and Love to you, Beth. 💖
Yes indeed, Maggie. Grounding, grounding, grounding. Being with Nature. Thank you for your good wishes. I am really going to need them this week. 💚
Beth Owl will send you some positive energy. I hope all resolves favorably for you, and thank you for blessing us with your weekly cards, even during times of crisis. Please take care.
Soaking up every good drop like parched Earth in a Spring shower. Thank you with all my heart. 💚
May you feel and realize that we walk abreast, with one another in these times.
We have the ancients behind us.
We have each other by our side.
Please know that your wisdom sharing is received with gratitude and open heart.
May your generosity return to you one thousand fold in these times.
Know that I hold you in my heart.
May all beings be well, be at peace, know love.
Be well.❤️🔥
Oh beloved Janet. I am printing your message and will carry it near me through this journey. Thank you so much.
❤️🔥✨🫶🏼
Can’t help but think of the Tower card as yet another school shooting now occurs in Tennessee. Hopefully the crowned King will finally be convicted.
Sending you strength and grace on your trip. Family matters can really take there toll. Love and peace Beth ~
I was in a complete emotional upheaval last night. The previous week got unpleasantly tense and unhappy, and I broke down on Sunday. This morning, I began piecing my self-worth back together, repeating self-love mantras, and putting things in perspective. I hope you all weather the storm, sending love & blessings!
Thanks for the post. Blessings on your journey. I can’t wait to but your book. Your contribution link (in email) for PayPal does not work for me:(.
Hi Betsy, sorry about that. You can donate by visiting this page:
https://www.owlsdaughter.com/support-my-work/
as i said about this card in a poem i wrote about the major arcana, “if not evolution, revolution”…we can evolve willingly, or be dragged kicking and screaming forward.
and then there are the tower moments in all of our lives, unavoidable because natural. times when all we know or have been is changed because of a death or other loss or transformation. only right action and love can carry us through those times.
i will be thinking of you and your father. sending love and strength.
Beth, sending healing and sustaining energy with you as you travel to keep a vigil with your family. Thank you for all the wisdom you offer here, week after week, and in your classes. I will take the questions posed by the Tower to my journal this week.
Yes spirit pushed me over so hard that I fell and broke my leg giving me 6 weeks bed rest to contemplate the next phase of my life journey 😊
Wishing you healing, solace, and blessings. Your posts are brilliant, and we all look forward to them each week. I marvel at your depth of interpretation and boosting of spirits so consistently.
So again thank you for your originality and wonderfully crafted work. You have sent me messages of blessings and solace when I felt so alone and it meant so much to me.
I don’t have foreknowledge of disruptions, but I think the Tower can break up rigid structures for cleansing and replenishment. There have been so many toxic developments foisted upon us and I think the collective is gasping for real solutions and shifts that honor all life.
thank you
and sending you healing Goddess energies…
Oh, my dearest ones! You know I’d far and away prefer if I could answer each and every one of you personally. Especially as your messages are so thoughtful and true balm for my spirit.
But I am dashing around the house, throwing things in the car, and preparing to head out. Yet, I could not help but pause a moment just to write this for each of you, who have been such a blessing in my life, especially now…
Thank you.
You have no idea how fortifying your support, your love, your healing, and kindness are. It means the world to me knowing you have my back in your wise, beautiful ways.
Each message is good, good medicine, and I know I am going to need it.
I send you my gratitude always, all ways.
– Beth
Thanks for the timely message. Sending you love as you navigate family maters.
Be in love and peace, Beth. We’re all with you. I’ve walked this path you’re embarking on – let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Love,
Niamh
My thoughts are with you Beth and I hope all will be well. I feel that energy of change and have been seeing it take shape in others’ lives around me and nervously wondering how that will impact me in the future that is fast approaching. I had this card as my birthday card for July 2021 and it definitely reshaped my world but in a good way.