Tarot card meanings › Major Arcana
The Tower Tarot Card Meaning
The Tower tarot card means sudden change, upheaval and a truth revealed. A sudden shake-up.
Upright
- Sudden change
- upheaval
- a truth revealed
Reversed
- A near miss
- fear of change
- a slow collapse
Yes or no
No
The Tower is card XVI of the 22 major arcana.
What the card shows
A tall tower on a rocky peak is struck by lightning. Its top, shaped like a crown, is blown off, flames pour from the windows, and two figures fall headfirst against a black sky.
This is the card as drawn by Pamela Colman Smith for the 1909 Rider-Waite-Smith deck, which is in the public domain.
Upright meaning
The Tower is read as a sudden upheaval. Something built on a weak footing comes down fast: a plan, a belief, a situation. It is uncomfortable, and it is also how the ground gets cleared for something sounder.
The Tower reversed
Reversed, it is read as a disaster narrowly avoided, a shake-up being put off, or a private upheaval nobody else sees.
Yes or no?
In a yes or no question, The Tower is usually read as a no, often in the sense of not now or not this way. Readers differ on some cards, so treat this as one common reading. You can ask a yes or no question and draw a card for it.
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More Major Arcana cards
The FoolThe MagicianThe High PriestessThe EmpressThe EmperorThe HierophantThe LoversThe ChariotStrengthThe HermitWheel of FortuneJusticeThe Hanged ManDeathTemperanceThe DevilThe StarThe MoonThe SunJudgementThe World
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