The Tower
The Tower is the sixteenth Major Arcana card, numbered XVI. It shows a structure struck by lightning, with figures falling — one of the deck's most dramatic images, associated with sudden rupture and inevitable revelation.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-22
Historical fact
In historical French and Italian decks, this card had varying names, including 'The House of God' (La Maison Dieu). Some scholars link the image to the biblical story of the Tower of Babel or to depictions of divine punishment for human pride, showing a tower struck by lightning with figures falling from it.
Interpretation — Rider-Waite-Smith / Golden Dawn
In the 1909 version, lightning strikes the top of a tower, tearing off its crown, while two figures fall toward the ground. It represents sudden rupture, the collapse of false structures, and the inevitable revelation of previously hidden truths. Despite the shock, it's often read as necessary — clearing space for a more honest rebuilding.
Interpretation — Thoth (Aleister Crowley)
In the Thoth deck, the Tower is tied to the planet Mars and the Hebrew letter Peh. It represents the violent destruction of rigid, illusory structures — a purifying, if abrupt, process needed to break patterns that no longer sustain anything real.
Curiosities
- The Hebrew letter Peh, tied to the Tower in the Golden Dawn's system, literally means 'mouth' — a symbolic link to the idea of a truth that must be spoken or revealed suddenly, even when unwelcome.
- The crown knocked off the tower's top by the lightning bolt, in the Rider-Waite version, is read by commentators as a specific symbol of the fall of structures of authority or pride — an image echoing hubris themes found across several ancient mythological narratives, not limited to a single source.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Did the Tower ever have other names in historical Tarot?
- Yes. In older French and Italian decks, the card carried names such as 'The House of God' (La Maison Dieu), linked by some scholars to the biblical Tower of Babel or to depictions of divine punishment for pride.
- Does the Tower always mean disaster in a reading?
- Not necessarily. Although it represents sudden rupture, the card is often read as a necessary revelation, tearing down false structures to allow a more truthful rebuilding.
Sources
- Michael Dummett. The Game of Tarot: From Ferrara to Salt Lake City (1980).
- Arthur Edward Waite. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910).
- Aleister Crowley. The Book of Thoth (1944).
- Stuart R. Kaplan. The Encyclopedia of Tarot (1978).