The Tower Card: The Gift of Destruction and Rebirth
I often wonder—who would I be if I had never left my home country? Would I still be the multifaceted human I am today? It’s funny how life, and even AI, reflects back parts of our story in unexpected ways. Without me even asking, AI once created an image of me standing in front of the iconic “Panama la Vieja” tower, as if it knew that deep within me, my roots still call me home.
The Tower card in Tarot is often seen as one of the most unsettling images in the deck—lightning striking a seemingly indestructible tower, flames bursting from its windows, and figures tumbling from its heights. At first glance, it’s a card of chaos, upheaval, and destruction. But look deeper, and you’ll see that The Tower is not here to punish—it’s here to liberate.
For so long, we carefully construct our own towers—built from our beliefs, our habits, our carefully maintained identities. These towers feel safe, predictable, even sacred. But the truth is, nothing new ever happens there. When we grow too comfortable in the structures we have built, we stop evolving. The walls of our tower become a cage, limiting our perception of what’s possible.
And then—boom. Life intervenes. The lightning strikes, tearing down what we thought was unshakable. The loss can feel devastating, but this is where real transformation begins. It reminds me of the lessons in The Untethered Soul—how we cling to the known, fearing the unknown, yet true liberation comes when we surrender to the flow of life itself. To step beyond the comfort of our own castles, we must be willing to deconstruct the walls that hold us captive.
Kali Ma: The Goddess of Tower Moments
In Hindu tradition, the goddess Kali Ma embodies the energy of The Tower. She is fierce, untamed, and unapologetically destructive—but her destruction is never without purpose. She tears down illusions, cuts through ego, and clears the way for rebirth. When your life starts to crumble, when everything you built begins to collapse, it often feels like Kali Ma herself is paying you a visit. She asks you to surrender, to release attachment to what was, and to trust in the rebirth that follows.
The beauty of embracing our multifaceted selves is that we don’t have to fit into one singular identity. We are the sum of our experiences, the bridges between cultures, and the storytellers of our own evolving narratives. And perhaps, just like that AI-generated image, the universe continues to find ways to remind me that no matter how far I travel, a part of me will always be standing at the threshold of home, looking forward while honoring the past.
An Invitation to Step Beyond the Tower
Decolonizing the mind works in much the same way. We all live within towers built not just by ourselves, but by society—by inherited ideologies, by cultural conditioning, by limited perceptions of truth. The Tower card challenges us to step outside these self-imposed boundaries. It urges us to sit with people who challenge our visions, to experience perspectives that push the limits of what we thought was reality. It calls us to deconstruct and rebuild—not in fear, but in liberation.
The beauty of embracing our multifaceted selves is that we don’t have to fit into one singular identity. We are the sum of our experiences, the bridges between cultures, and the storytellers of our own evolving narratives. And perhaps, just like that AI-generated image, the universe continues to find ways to remind me that no matter where I travel, a part of me will always be standing at the threshold of home, looking forward while honoring the past.
Embracing the Tower’s Lesson
- Welcome discomfort: Instead of resisting change, ask what it’s trying to teach you.
- Question your beliefs: Be open to new perspectives and acknowledge that your truth is just one of many.
- Step into the unknown: The greatest transformation happens when we move beyond what feels safe.
- Allow the fall: Destruction is painful, but on the other side is freedom.
The Tower is not an ending—it’s a portal to something greater. So the next time life shakes your foundations, ask yourself: What is this destruction making space for? You may just find that the life you were clinging to was never meant to contain you.
Deep gratitude to Gustavo Villamor for his teachings and his ever-evolving techniques that continuously shift perspectives.