LexTalk

You know those days when life doesn’t just throw you a curveball?

It flips the entire table.

Knocks over your coffee.

Sets the curtains on fire.

And then casually looks at you like:

SO… WHAT’S THE PLAN NOW?!

Apparently, tarot has a card for that.

Welcome back to LexTalk Tarot: One Card at a Time!

We have officially reached Card #23 of 78, and today’s card might win the award for:

MOST DRAMATIC CARD ARTWORK SO FAR.

Because…

WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?!

There’s a tower.

It’s being struck by lightning.

The top of the building is literally flying off.

There’s fire coming out of the windows.

Two people are FALLING THROUGH THE AIR.

And the entire thing is happening against a completely black sky.

Subtle.

Very subtle.

Today we’re learning about…

THE TOWER — XVI

And if you’ve ever seen this card online, you might already know that The Tower has a bit of a reputation.

People are scared of it.

And I understand why!

If I knew absolutely nothing about tarot and someone handed me this card, my first reaction would probably be:

Well, this seems… concerning.

But one thing I’m learning throughout this series is that tarot cards are usually much more nuanced than:

Pretty card = GOOD.

Scary card = BAD.

The Tower isn’t necessarily saying:

DISASTER IS COMING!

It’s traditionally associated with things like:

Sudden change.

Upheaval.

Revelation.

Disruption.

Challenged beliefs.

Unexpected realizations.

And maybe most importantly…

What happens when something we believed was solid suddenly gets shaken?

Let’s explore.

Meet The Tower

Card: The Tower

Number: XVI — 16

Arcana: Major Arcana

Traditional Astrological Association: Mars

Core Themes: Sudden change, upheaval, revelation, disruption, challenged assumptions, uncertainty, and restructuring

The Tower is part of the Major Arcana, which often explores bigger life themes, turning points, lessons, and archetypal experiences.

And this card?

It’s definitely bringing a BIG lesson.

The Tower represents moments when something changes our understanding of what we thought we knew.

Maybe something unexpected happens.

Maybe new information comes to light.

Maybe a plan falls apart.

Maybe we realize that something we’ve believed for a long time isn’t actually true.

Maybe a situation we’ve been ignoring becomes impossible to ignore.

Or maybe something simply changes before we’re ready for it to change.

And THAT is uncomfortable.

Humans like certainty.

We like knowing what’s happening.

We like having a plan.

At least…

I DO.

But life doesn’t always cooperate with our plans.

And The Tower seems to say:

What do you do when the plan changes anyway?

Let’s Study The Tower

This card is another PERFECT example of why I’m enjoying learning tarot through the artwork.

Because honestly?

You don’t need to memorize:

Tower = disruption.

Just LOOK AT IT.

Everything in this picture is screaming:

SOMETHING JUST CHANGED.

But let’s slow down and examine what’s actually happening.

The Tower — What We Build

Obviously… we have to start with the giant building currently having the worst day of its architectural life.

The Tower stands high on a rocky mountain.

It looks strong.

Solid.

Established.

Permanent.

Until suddenly… it isn’t.

Symbolically, the tower can represent structures we’ve built or come to rely upon.

That doesn’t necessarily mean a literal building.

It could represent:

A belief

A plan

A routine

An identity

A relationship dynamic

A career path

An assumption

A way of understanding the world

We create structures because they help us feel secure.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

But sometimes we discover that something we believed was solid…

wasn’t quite as stable as we thought.

Tower = The structures, beliefs, and assumptions we depend on.

And today’s question becomes:

Is this structure still supporting me?

The Lightning — Sudden Revelation

Then we have the lightning.

And this thing isn’t politely tapping the building.

It is STRIKING IT.

Lightning happens suddenly.

There’s a flash.

And for one instant… everything is illuminated.

Which makes lightning such an interesting symbol for revelation.

Sometimes we learn something and suddenly see an entire situation differently.

Have you ever had one piece of information completely change your understanding of something?

You thought:

Ohhhhh.

And suddenly twenty other things made sense.

That feels very Tower.

Lightning = Sudden awareness, revelation, or disruption.

Sometimes clarity arrives gently.

And sometimes clarity kicks the door down.

The Falling Crown — When Something Gets Knocked Off Its Pedestal

At the top of The Tower sits a crown.

Well…

it DID sit there.

Because lightning just blasted it off.

Crowns traditionally symbolize:

Authority • Power • Status • Control

And seeing that crown knocked away can symbolize established authority or assumptions being challenged.

Something we believed was untouchable… is suddenly questionable.

Maybe we put a person on a pedestal.

Maybe we believed a particular path guaranteed success.

Maybe we thought:

THIS is how life is supposed to work.

And then something happens that challenges that belief.

Falling Crown = Challenging something we once considered unquestionable.

And honestly?

Sometimes that’s painful.

But sometimes it’s also how we grow.

The Flames — Transformation Through Disruption

There is fire bursting from the windows.

Because apparently lightning wasn’t dramatic enough.

Fire throughout symbolism can represent:

Destruction • Energy • Purification • Transformation

And that’s what makes fire complicated.

Fire can destroy.

But fire can also clear.

Transform.

Create space.

The Tower isn’t necessarily telling us:

Everything that falls apart was supposed to fall apart.

I actually don’t like that idea.

Sometimes painful things happen that we absolutely would have preferred NOT to experience.

We don’t need to turn every difficult moment into:

Everything happens for a reason!

Sometimes things just hurt.

Sometimes things are unfair.

Sometimes we’d gladly choose the version where they DIDN’T happen.

And that’s okay.

The lesson doesn’t have to be:

I’m grateful this happened.

Sometimes the lesson is simply:

This happened. Now how do I take care of myself and decide what comes next?

The Falling Figures — Losing Control

Two people are falling from The Tower.

And this is probably the most unsettling part of the card.

They’re not calmly walking down the stairs.

They’re not packing their belongings.

They’re FALLING.

This imagery can represent:

Loss of control • Vulnerability • Sudden change • Being unprepared

And I think this is one of the most human parts of The Tower.

Because we can’t control everything.

We can plan.

Prepare.

Research.

Organize.

Make lists.

Create backup plans.

And color-code the backup plans.

But eventually… something will happen that we didn’t anticipate.

And that can be scary.

Falling Figures = The vulnerability of facing something we didn’t control.

Maybe The Tower isn’t asking us to become comfortable with chaos.

Maybe it’s reminding us that our ability to cope doesn’t disappear just because our ability to control something does.

The Black Sky — Uncertainty

The background of this card is almost completely black.

There isn’t a beautiful sunrise showing us what’s coming next.

There’s no obvious destination.

We can’t see beyond the immediate chaos.

And isn’t THAT usually the hardest part?

Not knowing.

When something changes unexpectedly, our brains immediately want answers.

What happens now?

Will this work out?

What should I do?

What if I make the wrong choice?

What if things get worse?

What if…

What if…

What if…

The Tower doesn’t necessarily give us the ending.

We’re seeing the moment of disruption.

Black Sky = Uncertainty and not knowing what comes next.

And maybe that’s part of today’s lesson too.

We don’t always need to know the entire next chapter while we’re still processing the page we’re currently on.

The Falling Sparks

There are small flame-like shapes falling around The Tower.

In some esoteric interpretations, these are described as yods, symbols sometimes associated with divine energy or revelation.

As a beginner, I’m not going to pretend I’ve suddenly become an expert in centuries of occult symbolism.

But I DO think they’re interesting.

Because visually, they make the entire scene feel charged.

Something significant is happening.

Something has shifted.

Something can no longer continue exactly as it did before.

Falling Sparks = A moment of intense change or realization.

The Tower Upright Meaning

When The Tower appears upright, common themes include:

Sudden Change • Upheaval • Revelation • Disruption • Challenged Beliefs • Breaking Patterns • Unexpected Realizations

And I think the word unexpected is important.

The Tower often represents moments that disrupt our sense of certainty.

Maybe something changes.

Maybe information comes out.

Maybe a plan doesn’t work.

Maybe you realize:

I don’t actually want this anymore.

Maybe something you’ve tolerated suddenly becomes intolerable.

Maybe your perspective changes.

The Tower doesn’t automatically mean something terrible is about to happen.

Tarot isn’t a weather forecast for disaster.

Instead, this card can invite us to examine how we respond when something challenges what we thought we knew.

Upright Message:

Sometimes the most important thing we learn is that what we believed was solid wasn’t quite what we thought.

The Tower Reversed Meaning

You know our LexTalk rule by now!

REVERSED DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN BAD.

Common reversed Tower themes can include:

Resistance to Change • Internal Upheaval • Avoidance • Fear of Disruption • Gradual Realization • Reassessment

Sometimes The Tower reversed can represent knowing something needs to change… but REALLY not wanting to deal with it.

And honestly?

Relatable.

Maybe we know a conversation needs to happen.

Maybe we know something isn’t working.

Maybe we recognize a pattern.

Maybe we’ve noticed the metaphorical crack in the wall.

But we’re standing there with duct tape like:

Nope.

Everything is fine.

Other times, The Tower reversed can represent a quieter internal realization.

The outside world might not be dramatically changing.

But something inside YOU is.

Your beliefs.

Priorities.

Perspective.

Understanding.

Reversed Message:

What am I avoiding because I don’t want to deal with the discomfort of change?

Why Are We So Afraid of Change?

This card has me thinking about something.

Humans are weird.

We can be completely unhappy with something…

and STILL be terrified to change it.

Because familiar discomfort sometimes feels safer than unfamiliar possibility.

At least we KNOW the familiar thing.

We understand it.

We’ve adapted to it.

We know what to expect.

Change introduces:

What if?

And suddenly our brains generate approximately 900 worst-case scenarios.

But sometimes change isn’t asking:

Are you comfortable?

It’s asking:

Is this still working?

And those are very different questions.

What If the Foundation Was the Problem?

Here’s another interesting way I’m thinking about The Tower.

Imagine building something on a weak foundation.

You can decorate it.

Paint it.

Buy beautiful furniture.

Hang curtains.

Put plants everywhere.

Make it look PERFECT.

But if the foundation isn’t stable…

eventually there’s a problem.

And when the problem finally appears, it can feel sudden.

But maybe the weakness existed long before we noticed it.

That could apply to:

A habit.

A relationship dynamic.

A business strategy.

A belief.

A boundary.

A routine.

A goal.

Maybe The Tower sometimes asks:

Am I trying to repair the surface when the foundation is what actually needs attention?

OOOOOF.

Okay, tarot.

The Tower in Love & Relationships

Okay.

Let’s address this immediately.

If The Tower appears in a relationship reading…

IT DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN YOU’RE BREAKING UP.

Please do not pull The Tower and immediately text your partner:

WE NEED TO TALK. TAROT SAID SO.

No.

The Tower can invite reflection around changes in relationship dynamics.

The Tower Upright in Love

Common themes may include:

Unexpected Changes • Difficult Conversations • Challenged Assumptions • Emotional Upheaval • Recognizing Patterns

Maybe something changes.

Maybe a conversation reveals something important.

Maybe expectations need adjusting.

Maybe a pattern that isn’t working becomes obvious.

Maybe you’re learning something new about yourself or your partner.

That doesn’t automatically mean the relationship ends.

Sometimes relationships evolve because people evolve.

Love Reflection:

Am I seeing this relationship as it actually exists—or only as I’ve always understood it?

That’s a BIG question.

The Tower Reversed in Love

Reversed themes might include:

Avoiding Difficult Conversations • Resisting Change • Internal Realizations • Fear of Disruption

Sometimes we don’t address something because we don’t want to “rock the boat.”

But avoiding a conversation doesn’t necessarily make the issue disappear.

Sometimes it just means everyone gets really good at walking around the elephant sitting in the living room.

The Tower reversed might ask:

What conversation am I avoiding because I’m afraid of what might change if I have it?

The Tower in Career

Career Tower energy sounds scary.

But again…

DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB BECAUSE YOU PULLED A TAROT CARD.

Common career themes can include:

Unexpected Changes • Organizational Shifts • Challenged Plans • New Information • Reassessment

Maybe a project changes direction.

Maybe management changes.

Maybe responsibilities shift.

Maybe a strategy that used to work stops working.

Maybe YOU change.

Maybe the career path you once desperately wanted…

doesn’t fit anymore.

And that’s allowed.

We’re allowed to evolve.

When the Plan Stops Working

This might be one of the most useful career lessons from The Tower.

Sometimes we become so emotionally attached to a PLAN that we forget the plan was supposed to serve the GOAL.

If the strategy isn’t working… changing the strategy isn’t failure.

If the path changes… that doesn’t mean the destination was meaningless.

If you learn something new… you’re allowed to adjust.

Changing your approach because you have better information isn’t quitting.

It’s adapting.

The Tower Reversed in Career

Reversed career themes may include:

Resistance • Avoiding Warning Signs • Fear of Professional Change • Gradual Restructuring

Maybe something needs adjusting… and you’re hoping it’ll magically fix itself.

We’ve all done that.

The Tower reversed might ask:

What part of my professional life am I maintaining simply because it’s familiar?

That’s a GOOD journal question.

The Tower & Money

Okay.

IMPORTANT.

The Tower does NOT mean:

YOU’RE ABOUT TO LOSE ALL YOUR MONEY!!!

Tarot should not be used to predict financial disasters.

But symbolically, The Tower can inspire some actually practical reflection around financial resilience.

Do I have a budget?

Do I know where my money is going?

Could I handle an unexpected expense?

Are there subscriptions I forgot existed?

Am I relying on something financially that isn’t particularly stable?

Do I have a backup plan?

Basically…

The Tower isn’t saying:

PANIC.

It’s saying:

Preparedness can make unexpected situations less overwhelming.

And THAT is useful.

Life Doesn’t Always Ask Permission

This might be the biggest lesson I’m taking from The Tower.

We make plans.

Beautiful plans.

Detailed plans.

Color-coded plans.

And sometimes?

Life simply does something else.

Someone changes their mind.

A job changes.

A relationship changes.

A trip gets canceled.

Something breaks.

An opportunity disappears.

Another opportunity appears.

We learn something.

We lose something.

We realize something.

We change.

And suddenly the future looks different than it did yesterday.

That’s uncomfortable.

But it doesn’t automatically mean the new future is worse.

It just means:

We don’t know yet.

And maybe we don’t have to decide what the entire experience means immediately.

Not Everything Happens “For a Reason”

I want to pause here because this matters.

People LOVE saying:

Everything happens for a reason.

And sometimes that thought brings people comfort.

If it comforts you?

Beautiful.

But I don’t think we should force that idea onto every painful experience.

Sometimes terrible things happen.

Sometimes people hurt us.

Sometimes things are unfair.

Sometimes we lose things we desperately wanted to keep.

Sometimes we would absolutely choose the alternate timeline where the painful thing DIDN’T happen.

And that’s okay.

You don’t have to be grateful for trauma.

You don’t have to turn every painful experience into a beautiful lesson.

You don’t have to immediately find the silver lining.

The Tower doesn’t have to mean:

This happened because you needed it!

Maybe instead it can mean:

Something changed.

You’re allowed to feel however you feel about it.

And when you’re ready, you can decide what comes next.

I like that interpretation much more.

Rebuilding Doesn’t Mean Recreating

Here’s another thought.

If a tower falls… why would we automatically rebuild the exact same tower?

Maybe we rebuild differently.

Maybe we use stronger materials.

Maybe we choose another location.

Maybe we decide we don’t even WANT a tower anymore.

And metaphorically?

Maybe that’s what happens after some major changes.

We don’t always return to who we were before.

Sometimes we build differently because now we know something we didn’t know before.

Rebuilding doesn’t have to mean recreating the past.

It can mean deciding what deserves to come with us into the future.

Today’s LexTalk Tarot Journal Prompt

Grab your tarot journal!

Today’s main reflection question:

What belief, expectation, routine, or structure in my life might need to change—and what makes that change uncomfortable?

And another one:

When something doesn’t go according to plan, do I immediately see it as failure—or can I allow myself time to reassess?

A few more:

What change am I currently resisting?

What assumption have I recently questioned?

Where am I maintaining something simply because it’s familiar?

What part of my life feels less stable than I pretend it is?

What truth would be uncomfortable to acknowledge?

Where could I create a stronger foundation?

What helps me feel grounded when life feels uncertain?

And finally:

If I had to rebuild something differently today, what would I change?

That’s the one I’m sitting with.

The Tarot Deck I’m Learning With

The Tower is another card that makes me appreciate learning tarot through traditional imagery.

Because instead of memorizing:

Tower = Sudden change.

I can actually LOOK at the card.

Tower = Established structures

Lightning = Sudden revelation

Falling Crown = Challenged authority or assumptions

Fire = Disruption and transformation

Falling Figures = Vulnerability and loss of control

Dark Sky = Uncertainty

Sparks = Intensity and revelation

And suddenly…

the meaning makes sense.

Throughout LexTalk Tarot, I’m using a physical Rider-Waite-Smith style tarot deck because studying the traditional artwork is helping me understand these cards instead of simply memorizing definitions.

If you’d like to learn alongside me using the same style of deck, you can [check out the tarot deck I’m using here — paid link].

You absolutely don’t need my exact deck to follow along. I’m simply sharing the deck I’m personally using throughout this journey.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Learning Tarot With a Journal

I’m also keeping track of these cards, their symbols, reflection questions, and my beginner memory tricks in a tarot journal.

Because I’m discovering that writing:

“Building gets struck by lightning = something you thought was solid just got SHAKEN.”

is significantly easier for my brain to remember than a giant textbook definition.

If you’re learning alongside me, any notebook works perfectly.

But if you’d like a dedicated place for tarot meanings, symbolism, personal interpretations, and reflection prompts, you can [check out the tarot journal I recommend here — paid link].

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

How I’m Remembering The Tower

Beginner tarot friends…

Don’t memorize this entire blog.

Here’s today’s cheat sheet:

THE TOWER — XVI

Core Meaning: Sudden change, disruption, and revelation

Upright: Upheaval, revelation, sudden change, challenged beliefs, disruption

Reversed: Resistance to change, avoidance, internal upheaval, gradual realization

Tower: Established structures and beliefs

Lightning: Sudden revelation

Crown: Authority or assumptions being challenged

Flames: Disruption and transformation

Falling Figures: Vulnerability and loss of control

Black Sky: Uncertainty

And today’s memory trick:

The Tower = When what seemed solid gets shaken.

Done.

One card.

One story.

23 Cards Into LexTalk Tarot!

We have officially explored:

23 OF 78 TAROT CARDS!

Which means we’re getting surprisingly close to…

ONE-THIRD OF THE ENTIRE DECK.

WHAT?!

When I started this, 78 cards sounded like SO MUCH.

But learning them individually?

Studying the artwork?

Finding little memory tricks?

Connecting each card with an actual story?

It’s working.

And The Tower is definitely going to be an easy one to recognize.

I mean…

LIGHTNING.

FIRE.

PEOPLE FALLING.

Thank you, Rider-Waite-Smith deck, for being extremely subtle.

One Last LexTalk Thought

I think The Tower scares people because it represents something most of us desperately want to avoid:

Losing control.

We want to know what’s coming.

We want our plans to work.

We want the people we love to stay.

We want the things we’ve built to remain stable.

We want certainty.

And unfortunately…

life doesn’t promise us that.

Things change.

People change.

Circumstances change.

WE change.

Sometimes slowly.

Sometimes overnight.

And maybe The Tower isn’t telling us to fear that.

Maybe it’s simply acknowledging:

Change can be scary.

It can be messy.

It can be unfair.

It can hurt.

It can make us question everything we thought we knew.

And we don’t have to pretend otherwise.

But when something changes…

we still get choices.

Maybe not about what happened.

But about what happens next.

We can ask questions.

We can gather information.

We can reach out for support.

We can rest.

We can rethink.

We can rebuild.

And sometimes…

we can decide NOT to rebuild the exact same thing.

Maybe we build something stronger.

Maybe we build something completely different.

Maybe we finally admit that the old tower wasn’t really working anyway.

Or maybe… we simply sit among the metaphorical rubble for a minute and say:

Well… shit.

And THEN figure out what comes next.

Because apparently personal growth doesn’t always arrive with candles, moonlight, and beautiful affirmations.

Sometimes it arrives like a lightning bolt.

Rude.

But memorable.

The Tower = When what seemed solid gets shaken.

And maybe today’s lesson isn’t:

Don’t build towers.

Maybe it’s:

Build things you believe in—but remember that you are more than the structures you’ve built around yourself.

Plans can change.

Beliefs can change.

Relationships can change.

Careers can change.

Life can change.

And we can change too.

One card. One lesson. One little bit of magic at a time.

— Lex

Tarot interpretations are subjective and are shared here for personal reflection, education, and entertainment. Tarot should not replace professional medical, legal, mental health, or financial advice.