the tower's promise

I want to revisit the Tower and the video of the channeling I did of the card back on May 19th. You can also check out the original post where I talk about how I channel and the vision that came through of the deep reprioritizing and re-encoding that is happening as we move through this card. I have been pulling The Tower a lot this week in my own ritual and spiritual work and I am getting the sense that another big shift is coming. I invite you all to watch this video again and start/continue to sit with the tough realities of living in an America that has repeatedly, vehemently, and arrogantly chosen to not face its shadow. With 5 planets retrograde, we are revisiting these shadows, and the lessons we were facing at the start of the pandemic - put simply, unsustainable economies and social structures maintained and enforced at the cost of human life and emotional well-being.  In addition to the violent backlash to revolutionary protests in support of Black abolition happening now, states and cities are re-opening even as covid-19 cases rise,  all seen as the price of returning to “normalcy”.

The Tower asks us to be wary of this yearning for bygone days of willful ignorance. Indeed, The Tower is a shock to the system that shows us the fallacy of choosing blindness; the upheaval comes even to those most entrenched institutions and belief systems - note the crowns on the top of the structure and the head of one of the falling figures.

This card is also about the fallacy of separation - consider how the Tower is isolated, on a rocky and ominous foundation in a pitch black sky. Trying to align to any illusions of being “above” facing these harsh realities brings the same fate.

But all is not lost in the Tower - this change comes because it is for the sake of clearing away what it is not serving and allows for us to build anew. The upheaval is Divine in its nature; the yellow falling flames illustrated are Yods - the first letter of the Hebrew name of God: YHVH. You can also find Yods on the Wheel of Fortune, the Moon, and the Aces of cups, swords, and wands.

So within periods of darkness (The Tower and The Moon) there are opportunities for new beginnings (Ace of Swords, Cups, and Wands). Divine is with us through it all (The Wheel of Fortune). And Divine is us. We animate Divinity. We bring it to life. And this is the source of the immense power we are capable of when we are in these moments of uncertainty. We create the change, we our responsible for its arrival, so we have to trust ourselves enough to dream of more. But before we can begin to articulate and realize our dreams, The Tower helps us see with shocking or resonant clarity what deeply ingrained beliefs and institutions need fixing. What are we gripping on to that is holding back from wholeness?   ​

These are serious paths we are on. We are healing intergenerational traumas. We are unraveling very old conditioning and programming that is not eager to be undone. It will fight like hell to continue its existence. Consider what it feels like to grapple with a challenging thought or behavior that is well ingrained - how hard it can feel to make a different choice, how much you fight it, even one that you know would be nourishing to you. We are seeing this amplified on a personal level and on a collective scale. So we have to build trust and deep intimacy with our souls, so that it feels safe to be with ourselves as we walk down these roads. We have to teach our inner light that we won’t abandon ourselves in the mist.   In this we are learning how to stand in our own power in spite of what is happening around us - to hold our vibration of peace even as we are flung from the seat of our comfort. 

How is this change showing up for you in your life? How are you choosing presence during these challenging times? Where are you looking for support as you move through this? You are invited to share here in the comments or journal to reflect.