The frightening scene unfolding in the Tarot card called the Tower is one of the most violent and active in the entire deck. A powerful lightning bolt strikes a stone tower – its golden, crowned roof toppling while fire erupts, leaking through the tower’s windows. Two figures fall towards the earth – one in a red cloak and blue tunic, the other in red shoes, a blue tunic and a jeweled crown. Both are terrified and screaming as they plunge towards the cold, rocky abyss below. Smoke and flames surround the tower and the image is rife with chaos, destruction and fear. Opulence and wealth have no power here, as we see with the crowned figure falling far from grace. A higher force (the lightning) is taking everything away. Perhaps this is why this card is so intimidating to gaze at. Many a querent naturally flinch when this card appears in a reading and it is easy to see why. Who in their right mind would welcome such calamity? Who would want to see their home and their power taken from them? However, sometimes explosions of insight and unsettling truths liberate us from our own inner towers of illusion.
Truth is ultimately healing, but initially truth can feel like a slap in the face, like an explosion of pain and confusion, like a funeral pyre to our previous hopes and dreams. Truth is strange. It can be beautiful, gentle and miraculous while simultaneously feeling at times ruthless, cruel and unrelenting. That’s because though our subconscious selves observe a wild, magical and limitless universal energy at work all around us, our conscious selves use the Ego to help us create order and rule, pattern and predictability. These psychological limitations help us from being completely overwhelmed and unable to function day-to-day. However, when we marry our conscious selves and abandon our quieter, selfless intuition or when our Ego assures us that there is nothing beyond materialism, the acquisition of power over others, status quo and what we can see – when we forget that what we feel is just as important, that sight is not just the eyes but the heart as well, then we can easily build a tower around us of self-lies, strict traditionalism, fundamentalist thinking, rules and hypocrisy, the desire to conform, the assertion that wealth and power are all we need to be happy and content… Brick by brick we lay a foundation which ultimately imprisons us.
And just because we stop talking to our subconscious does not mean it stops talking to us. Insomnia, addiction, depression, anxiety, restlessness, irritability – there are a dozen ways in which our intuition still sings her siren song. The pressure of being so fractured can lead to a nervous breakdown, a panic attack, a sudden aggressive act like snapping at our bosses or spouses, or worse. These low points in our life are the tower. Falling. When we’re fired. Getting a divorce. Drinking too much. Feeling totally out of control. After clinging to control for days, weeks, months or even years, something inside of us snaps. A truth leaks through. We thought we could ignore the siren but somehow her voice just became more insistent. Now we feel like we’ve lost our minds. But it isn’t our minds we’ve lost. It’s our delusions. Our denials. Our discarded rationalizations. What do we do now? Reintegrate. The conscious self will always have a significant role in our daily lives. But the subconscious siren has her place in our lives as well. She is integral for us to remember what truly makes us grateful and content – family, friends, meaningful work, good health, a safe neighborhood, fresh food at our table, freedom to explore and share. This is usually not what our society is saying we need. We don’t need another car. An updated iPhone. More Instagram followers. Life involves the Ego but it is not ABOUT the Ego.
The Tower shows us this in a terrifying if not completely honest and brash way. We’re not in charge. The lightning bolt which hits all of our lives at some point is not of our own making. We are a part of something much larger than ourselves. Perhaps it is God – such as how the Tower of Babel was also destroyed by lightning. Perhaps it is the Divine. Or the cold, limitless universe. It has many names because it is ultimately nameless. Though we may never be able to completely understand it within our short, fast-paced lives, one thing we can hold on to is that though we can’t control when the lightning strikes, we can control how we decide to respond to its life altering consequences. We can remember our full potential, not just as rats in a race, but as spirits ever expanding our awareness. We can view our calamity as liberation. Our loss as gain. Our destruction as reinvention.
No plant friend is as useful and important to the Tower as Kava (Piper methysticum), a subtropical shrub in the pepper family native to the warm South Pacific islands including Hawaiʻi, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Samoas. Polynesian and Micronesian tribes would crush the roots of this plant, mix it with water or coconut milk and strain it to create a relaxing beverage known for promoting calmness and social connection. Used during communal ceremonies, rituals, and conflict resolutions, this bitter, earthy herb is still utilized similarly today. Besides its spiritual reverence and use in important traditional events, Kava is also used for a range of conditions, from calming stomach upset to easing menstrual cramps and premenstrual irritability. Researchers have discovered that kavalactones, the main constituents of Kava, act on the central nervous system to induce muscle relaxation, relieve anxiety, and promote a sense of well-being. Within half an hour of consuming it, a characteristic tingling and numbness of the tongue takes effect, followed by a feeling of calmness, mild euphoria and a relaxed but social state of mind without a loss of mental sharpness. Given these characteristics, Kava has reached Western countries as a gentle alternative to cope with anxiety disorders and stress as well as being used as a mild pain reliever. And recent studies show that Kava exhibits promising potential for cancer prevention, particularly for lung, bladder and colon cancers as the active compounds (kavalactones and flavokavains) help suppress tumor growth. Large doses can induce drowsiness and impair driving or operating machinery and studies on its liver toxicity are mixed, so it is wise not to combine Kava with NSAIDS such as acetaminophen.
The Tower yanks the rug out from beneath us and if we can’t sweep our truth under the rug anymore, what are we to do? Continue living in fear? Not if we want to discover our full potential. So with the assistance of Kava’s bitter medicine, instead of shying away from the lightning bolt, let us take it on. Boldly. With calm clarity. Change is opportunity – and lightning never strikes in the same place twice.
*Tarot reading is based on the Rider-Waite Tarot Card deck, illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith
References
Aporosa, S.A. “De-Mythologizing and Re-Branding the Traditional Drink Kava.” Research Outreach, 27 March 2020. https://researchoutreach.org/articles/de-mythologizing-traditional-drink-kava/
Nault, Daryl, MS and Jantz, Katie, MSc. “What are the Known Traditional, Historical, and Cultural Uses of Kava?” Examine, 16 May 2025. https://examine.com/faq/what-are-the-known-traditional-historical-and-cultural-uses-of-kava/
Pollack, Rachel. Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom. San Francisco, Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC, 2007. P118-121
Soares, Rita B, Dinis-Oliveira, Ricardo Jorge and Oliveira, Nuno G. “An Updated Review on the Psychoactive, Toxic and Anticancer Properties of Kava.” National Center for Biotechnology Information, 12 July 2022. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9315573/