When Overwhelm Hits — Advice from ‘The Tower’

Sometimes when you think you’re finally on top, you miss the signs of something else building in the background, and it isn’t until it finally hits you that you tumble — hard.

My life has always had ups and downs, like everyone else, but I’d be lying if I said this last year especially has been typical. Drama, fatigue, stress, anxiety, things spiraling out of my control; it gets to be a lot. I thought I finally worked through it, that I finally had a handle on things, only for reality to strike me back down. I didn’t notice the warning signs, I ignored the red flags, and I hand-waved any negativity, thinking I finally truly had my footing.

It can be easy to hope for good news and positivity for so long, that you don’t want to acknowledge the hardships happening alongside it. My desire for change for the better grew to be an obsession. I was tired of struggling, so I’d grasp on to every little bit of happiness and good thing that I could, not actually working through the genuine anxiety, stress, and frustration I was feeling.

Without me consciously realizing it, my mental health was worse than I had thought. I know I’m not the first to say ‘mindfulness’ has its benefits, but boy would that have come in handy recently. Before I knew it, my tower I built came crashing down. …But to be fair, that tower was built on some shaky foundation.

‘The Tower’ is probably the most infamous card among tarot readers. While those outside of the tarot community may think of ‘The Devil’ or “Death’ as the ‘bad’ or ‘scary’ cards — for the tarot readers, it’s ‘The Tower’ we dread to see, and for understandable reasons! The meaning can be quite simple: crash and burn. Everything you know turned upside down. Life suddenly bursting through your door with all sorts of misfortune. Often one after another after another. No hope or end in sight! Everything you’ve built, gone in an instant!

But this card exists in the deck for a reason, it’s there not just to torture us (though for some, I know it can feel like that!), but to guide us. So what is there for us to learn when we have our ‘Tower’ moments? Can we actually survive the fall? Can we rebuild?

Like in most imagery, ‘The Tower’ is often struck down by another force, often lightning, suggesting outside influences in our life that have brought down our comforts. A medical bill. Water leaks in your home. Even in relationships with family or friends. Unexpected drama or an accident. The only thing we can control is ourselves, and sometimes even that doesn’t feel true.

But there’s more to this card than just the unexpected upheavals that life can bring. I want to take a moment to dive into the specific imagery of each of these different Tower cards, and see what wisdom we can gleam from them. Of course, these are my takes based on the artwork, so don’t take this as gospel, rather, use this as an opportunity to pause and reflect on what YOU see in the cards.

Green Glyphs Tarot: Very in your face about it, this card does not shy away from the shock of being not only brushed off your feet, but shaken out through your window! — as a literal hand grasps your home, has torn it from its foundation, and is ejecting all of its contents. How far is the fall? Where will you land? It remains unseen, as you plummet into the depths of the unknown. Quite a fearful depiction. But as you are in the fall, you can take this time to reflect upon this change. Perhaps you were too complacent, perhaps a shake-up was necessary, perhaps this is a test of your strength, or perhaps this upheaval can open your eyes to the world outside the safety of what you knew? Perhaps, whether you felt ready or not, this is life saying, “It’s time for you to grow.”

RWS Pocket Edition: It certainly lives up to the meaning of “upheaval”, as the people are seemingly thrown (or perhaps even leaping for safety) from the destruction of the tower. It’s a card that screams ‘pay attention’ with the shocking imagery. And not being able to see where the people are falling adds to its unease. One person appears more prepared than the other, looking forward to catch their fall, while the other seems distressed from the events that just transpired. I think it’s a balance of both, that you can find yourself in either position, and both people could also switch positions. The one in red could look back and panic, and the one in blue could look forward and brace for impact. It’s a choice for how you can react, you have the power to take control.

Celtic Dragon Tarot: This was a frightening card for me for a long time. Similar to the above cards, the artwork here is shocking and scary. The dragons appear very intimidating, powerful, and threatening. While there is a storm, the dragons are taking their own action around the tower. Are they defending it? Or participating in its destruction? There is a pile of rocks at the base, the tower might’ve been destroyed and rebuilt time and time again. I often imagine myself from the perspective of a person there watching this happen. Am I brave enough to approach? Perhaps I could be the one to rebuild the tower and try again? Or find peace with the dragons?

Celestial Tarot: (yes I caved and bought the Five Below deck! I actually quite like it, haha.) The image here at first glance was difficult for me to decipher, but as I thought more on it, I realized this tower is very different from the typical tower — it’s intact. It’s stable, upright, and balanced. The fire, another common symbol with this card, seems to be a part of the tower, not destroying it. I think this card could show that you have the ability to find stability and stand strong, despite what may be going on around you. You don’t have to fear the fire, you can use it, make it a part of you, and grow stronger with it.

That feeling of overwhelm that I’ve been experiencing lately has been screaming to be heard, and it wasn’t until I had no choice but to listen that I finally acknowledged it. Stress, frustration, anxiety, fear — these feelings don’t just go away because you want them to. They have to be seen, heard, and accepted, in order for you to start on a healthier path. You might not always see things coming, there might not always be signs, but it’s the decisions you make once that upheaval happens, how you work through it, and live with it, that really puts yourself to the test, and shows you how strong you can truly be. I know I’m not as strong as I’d like to be, but with each ‘Tower Moment’, I get myself a step closer.

What do you see in these cards? How do you feel about ‘The Tower’?

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Thank you for reading! I hope to continue to blog about tarot, mental health, and similar topics. Feel free to follow, or support me on Ko-Fi.

-LR🐇