Wheel of Fortune

The Tower----Lightning

I pulled the 16th card of the Tarot a few days ago----and decided to ignore it. It's not a favorite image----and has always held negative connotations for me. This morning, I reshuffled my Herbal Tarot deck seeking another card--and of course--I drew The Tower again. I guess I need to wake up and smell the fire! A tower struck by ligtning----it is an image of fire, lightning, destruction. Even Joanna Colbert's Gaian Tarot pictures this card as lightning and fire. It can portend misfortune and trials. But like the yin-and-yang in everything there is a positive side to this card. It can also be seen as indicating transformation and sudden revelation. The Tarot of the Saints associates this card with St. Barbara---a chaste maiden---imprisoned in a tower by her father to punish her for her conversion to Christianity---he is struck by lightning--at the time he beheads his daughter.

In Santeria--St. Barbara becomes Chango---the orisha of fire and lightning-----but also of will. Scribbled notes on my Tower card---state---"actualize" and "break-up"----and is paired with a bulb of garlic. Chango/St. Barbara is about will and what allows us to move from dreams to plans to actuality.....it is change, will, power in motion. Sometimes progress requires shaking things up---"you need to break eggs to make an omelet"----perhaps one filled with garlic.

I am off work today and will go by the local botanica and buy a red St. Barbara /Chango candle----and seek to move my dreams, my plans, to actuality....and it is suggested to leave offerings of dry red wine, apples, and bananas, at the foot of a tree.

And I did have a "flash of lightning" this morning. I decided to splurge and pre-order the limited edition of Joanna Powell Colbert's forthcoming Gaian Tarot. David and I have been very frugal and cost-concious these past months----but I do have some extra funds---and this is such a delicious splurge----it's my birthday treat to myself! It feels luxurious to order something this beautiful and life-affirming-----especially to someone like me who typically splurges at dollar stores and thrift shops!

On a personal, local level----just as for me the "Elder of Earth" card will forever be associated with the Florida woman who spins Spanish moss---the Tower/Lightning card is associated with Florida's summer storms and lightning. Specifically, the lightning fires that spark the Everglades----burning away old vegetation, allowing for new growth. All part of Mother Gaia's natural cycles----an inherent Earth wisdom--greater than our own.

I also often see this card as representing the Tower of Babel---the Bible's cautionary tale of mankind's hubris and arrogance---and remembering to be humble before our Creator.

Blessings!