Tarot anxiety, the Tower card & inspiration from Flo-Rida

As a professional tarot reader the main reason I hear people give for not wanting a reading is this “what if you see something BAD happening?” While I get the fear (I really do), ask yourself if you’ve lead a life so far where nothing bad has ever happened? If this describes you, feel free to stop reading now. However, if you’ve on occasion had bad things happen in your life by all means continue on.

First of all let me start with the fact that in my opinion there are no good or bad cards but there are blessings and sometimes warnings that come with readings. On that note, I’m finding a lot of adverse reactions to the Tower card, so I thought I’d offer up some quick thoughts on the Tower in order to generate discussion and to ease any general tarot anxieties you might have.

Can I also note that the Tower is coming up quite frequently in my readings in general these days? Can you not already feel the energy of the Tower all around? Welcome to 2017, in the words of the great modern philosopher Flo-Rida, "…it’s goin’ down for real!"

Also, as an intuitive reader, a card can come up that has a traditional meaning but I can see the specific meaning THIS card has for YOU at the time it is pulled. Don’t get me wrong, the Tower is never going to be indicative of skipping through pink daisies on your rainbow unicorn down the yellow brick road where the yellow is actually real live GOLD! But, it doesn’t have to always mean death, destruction, terror, etc., either.

I work with several decks and the imagery is a bit different on each one so let’s start with a traditional Rider Waite deck Tower card.

It’s a tower on fire after being struck by lightning with a couple of people falling to their death. Like I said, NOTHING to fear here! LOL! This is probably why I don’t work very much with the Rider Waite deck which is kinda the Debbie Downer of tarot decks.

Traditionally the Tower means complete and utter death and destruction of the old so that something new and beautiful can be built instead. Maybe that tower was full of termites or black mold, YOU don’t know?! Maybe it had been a TB ward back in the day and every time you go in there you can’t stop coughing.

Bottom line, if the Tower appears then something in your life is going to come to an end and usually because it NEEDS to go, like bad exes, jobs you hate, family or friends that suck up all your time and energy, etc. The message of the Tower I believe can also be “you CHOSE not to do something about this so here ya’ go! This is now coming to an end in a way that you really don’t like because you didn’t proactively handle your shiznit.”

The Thoth deck

Ok, the Thoth can be a bit dark as well but the imagery is astounding so I love it. Also, it gives me a lot to read off of. This one came up in a reading and I saw that this person was all knowing and all seeing when it comes to the chaos of their situation (the eye in the sky). And, that once all of the changes take place he would have the choice to take the olive branch from that peaceful dove in the upper right corner or remain defensive like the snake/dragon on the left.

I also saw that he would be tempted to run back into that “house of safety” but that if you look closely there’s fire in there too, so don’t do it.

In other words, there’s no looking back on this one and remaining defensive or fighting against change was only going to make it all the more uncomfortable for him.

I said to him "use that eye in the sky to decide what YOU want and soar away with that peaceful dove leaving haters to hate in your wake. This is over, there’s nothing left for you here." He was considering several career paths and he felt this was confirming his foreboding that staying put in his current job was no longer an option for him.

The Housewives deck

You gotta just have a good old fashioned chuckle at ANY of the cards in this deck, I love it! Here we have Polyanna Prissy all gussied up in her jello mold dress. I saw this one for this client as YES, some things this year are coming to an end. Remember the Tower is usually a card of finality. Things are going to completely disintegrate. You can build a new tower where the old tower went down but the old tower like the parrot on Monte Python IS NO MORE!

In other words, even if it's the complete disintegration of an important relationship maybe the same relationship with the same person will be built stronger on the clean foundation left behind from the tumbled tower.

She agreed she had doubts about some important parts of her life. I found with this card she was also doing a lot of “pining for what was” & she confirmed this was so. I was able to tell her to stop looking back at “what was” because the here and now needs more of her attention.

This was the first card I pulled for her in her reading (poor thing!) as no one likes to see this one right off the bat! But, a few cards later we saw her emerging, stronger (the Moon), more serene (Daughter of Cups), with more strength (the Empress) and grace (King of cups). Ok, so I use an 80’s New Wave deck and the King of Cups is Robert Smith and WHO doesn’t want to be Robert Smith when they grow up? If I get to be Robert Smith in any way at all then just BRING ON the Tower! See, now the Tower ain’t so bad after all! (if you have one of those super quick detective minds just know I usually use 3 decks in each reading)

The 80’s New Wave Deck

This is a picture of Johnny Marr guitarist and co-songwriter of The Smiths. I like to integrate the energy of the musician into my 80’s New Wave readings so here goes. EVERY time I think of the Smiths immediately I start hearing the song “Every day is like Sunday, every day is silent an grey, come, come Armageddon…” If you have NO idea what I’m talking about, slap yourself and go to youtube IMMEDIATELY to check this song out!

So, we have Johnny up against a tall European cliff with lightning striking behind him while he pensively contemplates his life. I saw this for a clinet as something had happened recently and suddenly (the client confirmed this was true) and that it left her feeling like she was between a rock and a hard place. Also, she felt like she was on the edge of a high cliff with the options of jumping into the cold dark ocean or being struck by lightning (true, true true).

I saw that she was saddened by all of this and wondering “what’s it all for”. Again, later in the reading I was able to see that she needed to get help with her health (personal trainer, dietician or counseling) and also she would need help with her finances.

Essentially, she was really struggling in these two areas and I was able to explain that she just simply is someone who needs guidance in these areas as do I and to stop being ashamed and get some HELP! If Oprah needs help with her health with all that money and her own personal big ‘ol organic farm HOW are normal people expected to stay out of Mcdonald’s??? But, I digress.

Long story short, I think the government should release a PSA pamphlet called ‘So, the Tower came up in your tarot reading, what now?’. Or, at least make it a Lifetime movie special?

And, most importantly here’s the real delio! The Tower happens in your life whether you get a “reading” or not, can I get an Amen up in here? Why I think readings are helpful is they can guide you on how to handle the situation or how to brace yourself for the situation.

In one reading I was able to tell someone not to make any splurge purchases in the next few months because something was coming up that would require them to travel. She said she was concerned for the health of a loved one 3,000 miles away. So yeah, last minute plane tickets for 3,000 miles away ain’t cheap but having that money available to be by your ailing loved one’s side might lessen the overall stress of the situation.

A big part of life is making choices. What are you choosing that doesn’t serve you? Where is your refusal to make a choice harming you? When the Tower strikes and it WILL strike at some point, where will you go from there? Would you like help answering these questions? Contact me today for a reading.

Also, if you DO get the Tower in your spread just screen shot this 80’s New Wave tarot deck’s Strength card because always always always remember that Grace Jones has your back!