No one wants to see the Tower come up in their reading, but if it does the Star is a wonderful card to follow it.
The Tower indicates the end of a pattern, situation, or way of life that is coming to a drastic end. For example, it could refer to a job that you’re fed up with but feel like you’re stuck with, a relationship that has been deteriorating for some time, or a nicotine habit that you just can’t, or don’t want to break. In your heart, you know that it’s an unhealthy situation, but it’s what you are used to, and leaving it might represent leaving your comfort zone. Making drastic changes can be daunting. Sleepwalking through life is much easier.
Then suddenly lightning strikes the Tower—you lose the job, have an irrevocable blow-up with your significant other, or get a bad diagnosis from the doctor. It hits you hard. You probably didn’t expect it, even though you might realize you should have. When the Tower comes up, you’ve probably played your part in it being there, even if you’ve contributed little more than complacency and inertia.
The energy of the Tower is often natures alarm clock, and waking up can be a shock. “This isn’t the dream I was having. The floor is cold and I’m still groggy. Where’s the snooze button?” The Tower has no snooze button and waking up to it can make you feel like the world is crumbling around you, and that can feel devastating.
This is where the Star comes in, and why it offsets the Tower so well. The Star speaks of hope, inspiration, healing, and an open spirit. It indicates that, no matter how drastic the changes represented by the Tower, that energy will pass, and that you will be shaken, but not scarred. It can mean mean that you can see an opportunity to change things that weren’t working out, and you have a positive attitude towards doing so. Maybe you already know what changes you want to make. Maybe the lightning strike of the Tower has provided a eureka moment and where you once saw nothing beyond your current situation you can now see the path ahead clearly. The Star is the silver lining around the storm cloud.
It’s worth pointing out that the Star immediately follows the Tower in the major arcana, so these two cards coming together form a natural progression. All is well, even if it temporarily appears that isn’t the case. This is just one more stage you need to pass through, and there are brighter days ahead.
Reiki Flow 