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XVI - the Tower
Zodiac: Mars (rules Aries - IV. the Emperor) Tree of life: The Axis Netzach - Hod Element: Fire (Hot and Dry - Choleric) Number: Number: 16 as 4 x 4: induration. But the cross sum is 7 The Tower is a symbol of endurance and its destruction, an allusion to sudden, maybe shocking realizations that crushes old views and persuasions, maybe the view of the whole world. The area of relative security starts wavering, our tower then falls and with it the walls around us that have become too narrow. It is rarely the evil, but rather the necessary development we meet when there is a change in the armor of destruction. So in the positive aspect, this most violent trump will mean that we proceed to learn that losing the old secure fortress of our beliefs will reward us with a major step forward. And a good step forward sometimes requires a kick in the .... Drive: Breaking up structures, destroying the old, getting rid of obsolete loads Light: Sudden realization of truth, the will to change old ways, to recreate life and start something new Shadow: Blind destruction ( source: www.corax.com/tarot/cards )
Quarrel. Combat. Danger. Ruin. Destruction of plans. Ambition. Courage. Sudden death. Escape from prison and all that it implies. This card is attributed to the Hebrew letter Pe, which means a mouth. The card, which admits of two interpretations in one, is a manifestation in its rudest form, of pure destruction, the destruction of the old-established Aeon by lightning, flames, and engines of war. The other interpretation is drawn from the cult of Shiva. At the top of the card appears the Eye of Shiva. According to this, the card represents perfection, the perfection of annihilation by emancipation from the prison of organised life. The dove and the serpent represent the feminine and masculine impulses. In the language of Schopenhauer, "The Will to Live and the Will to Die." Mars. Peh. Here is purification through fire, lightning, flames, war. The open mouth at the base of the card alludes to the Hebrew attribution Peh meaning a mouth, the eye is the Eye of Shiva. The card is designed on the form of a carbon crystal, the figures falling from the tower are made of carbon, the serpent on the right is the symbol of the active will to live, the dove on the left is passive resignation to death. ( source: Aleister Crowley's Thoth tarot deck booklet )
Uncle Al's extended commentaries on the Major Arcana Coming Soon! --- ( source: Aleister Crowley's Book of Thoth )
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