Tarot and Astrology are linked like hot dogs and relish. The two can’t really be separated when reading an astrology chart or Tarot cards.
In both systems of whole-being-analysis, there are some parts that are scary to people who don’t really know the story of the card or planet.
In astrology, Pluto, Saturn, and Mars often get a bad rap. Each planet has both an uncomfortable, i.e. scary expression, and an empowering one.
Astrology and Tarot—The Scary Cards and Planets part 1: The Blasted Tower
Tarot and Astrology are linked like hot dogs and relish. The two can’t really be separated when reading an astrology chart or Tarot cards.
In both systems of whole-being-analysis, there are some parts that are scary to people who don’t really know the story of the card or planet.
In astrology, Pluto, Saturn, and Mars often get a bad rap. Each planet has both an uncomfortable, i.e. scary expression, and an empowering one. These planets, like all the planets, are double-edged swords. Pluto can tear down, but only to clear the way for rebuilding in a better way. Saturn, is both a roadblock and a builder of stability and security. Mars can rip through our lives and blast us out of our comfort zone, but always to our highest good. It can break things, burn things, and explode things (when aligned with Uranus), but there is always a positive message underlying—often one we don’t want to hear.
tower tarot card
In Tarot, there are some cards in the deck that seem to always strike fear in those who don’t understand the symbolism. The Blasted Tower is one of them. Ruled by Mars, and by association, Aries, it shows a man (King) and a woman (Queen) falling out of a tall tower that has been blasted by lightening.
The tower is an “Ivory Tower,” a symbol of our closed ended, coveted belief system or behavior based on a belief system. When the Tower shows up, it means that we have resisted change that is for our highest good. When we resist too long, the universe, fate, destiny, God, or whatever you choose to call it, will intervene and blast you out of your complacence, spurring you on to your path of highest good.
Like Mars transiting or Sun or strongly aspecting other indications in our chart, this change is almost always painful and/or scary. We are not prepared for the sudden change in our Ivory Tower. We are thrown out of our security place. Like a baby bird being pushed out of the nest, we are unsure and insecure about the change. Also like the baby bird, we learn to fly, grow up, and move on.
This card often shows up in a spread when someone is laid off or fired from a job, the unexpected ending of a marriage or relationship, failing in a business that has held on too long, an unexpected pregnancy, or being ejected from any spot of complacency. In Mundane astrology and Tarot, the Tower can represent global changes like earthquakes, forest fires, lightening strikes, and the like.
The cards around it, as with the planets around Mars, indicate the nature of the change. In a natal chart, the position of Mars will show our destined “Tower” moments. If The Tower is paired with the Emperor, for example, it could show issues with authority or government. The High Priestess with the Tower shows a tendency to avoid or ignore issues of self-awareness or spirituality. This will cause a crisis in your life. With the Star card, you’d better follow your intuition or life will nearly always go wrong. These are generalizations, of course, and you have to look at the interweaving of all the planets and cards to get the full story.
When I do a chart, I sometimes lay out the Tarot cards in a circle in the order of the planets and take a look. It helps to integrate the findings and get a deeper understanding of the issues in a person’s life.
If this was helpful, I’d love to hear about it. Also, how do you read Mars in a chart or The Tarot in a Tarot Spread?
Namaste,
Anita
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