The Busy Witch: Learning to Love The Tower

There’s been a lot of upheaval lately, in both my personal sphere, and in the wider community. When things get tough or change unexpectedly, our first impulse may be to lash out or bury our heads in the sand, but in the long run, these actions don’t solve the root of the issue. I’m not a fan of lightning fast change or trouble, but I’ve been trying to re-train my brain when it all hits the fan. Instead of melting down or stepping back, I’m learning to view upheaval as an opportunity.

Try thinking tarot-ly. The card that springs to my mind in times of stress or disaster is, inevitably, The Tower. I used to dread seeing this card in a reading, but a few years ago, I decided to shift my focus. Instead of seeing The Tower in a spread as evidence of disaster, I looked at meaning beneath the surface. This is a card of lightning-fast change, but it often shows up for me when I’ve refused to make necessary changes or am clinging to things which no longer serve me. Letting go can be scary, but ignoring the problem is even scarier; it begins to fester, and you never know when the foundation will start to crumble.

I’ve found the same to be true in my individual life, as well; whenever I ignore what’s broken or decayed or simply finished, it ends up smacking me in the face in the least expected way possible. It’s hard going to retrain myself to view these times of seeming disaster as an opportunity for growth, but isn’t that one of the things The Tower teaches us? Only when something is torn down can something new take root, and dreams are often realized when the chains of the past fall away.

It’s not always easy to face crises this way, and I’ll admit, I still hit anger and denial whenever my towers crumble, but the best way for me to work through upheaval is to try to face it as an opportunity for growth, a chance to let a better dream take root. Rant if you need to, and mourn what you must, but when those feelings are spent, look to the future and begin building something new.

How will you transform upheaval into something positive?

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