November 5th is approaching so I thought that I would look at the Tower tarot card.
There is a lot of destruction and fire imagery here and Guy Fawkes is one of the people/ghosts who is supposed to haunt the Tower of London. He was executed there for treason in 1606. Guy Fawkes was not the only conspirator but he got caught with the 36 barrels of gunpowder that were concealed in a cellar beneath the House Of Lords. Mars rules this card. Mars energy gets things moving and rules Aries which is a fire sign.

Lightening has traditionally been associated with masculine influences as a symbol of the god Zeus.  It is also appears in phrases “bolt out of the blue”, “quick as a flash” and appears in “enlightening ” which in spite of its appearance on the surface as a catastrophic destruction, can  deconstruct things to bring about a new configuration. Deconstruction is a sociological/psychoanalytical theory of language/semantics. Simply put, it is a process of realising that there is tension in  opposites ways of being, writing/speech, male and female in specch etc. You do not try to overturn the opposites as you recognize that both are necessary parts of a structure to give it meaning, but that each component needs to be analysed and criticised in all its manifestations. The process would produce new ideas or concepts not to unite them in a synthesis but to recognize that it is useful to understand their difference and how they interplay. The bibical story of the building of the Tower of Babel and the confusion of tongues links this together in my mind too.

The Tower could be a symbol of protection so it could be things, including personality and the reality that we have worked to construct for ourselves that we thought were permanent fixtures. Life is not like that. Things are in flux and shift in the light of new information or influences. The Tower is also a symbol of a vantage point for looking out on the world. Therefore it could be a psychological construct as our beliefs and perceptions colour everything we see and even if we see it. Another point here, it is obvious from the image on the card that the falling figures were unprepared and did not see the lightening/bolt out of the blue coming (note the background colour is black *they were in the dark”) which indicates that their view was limiting them and their experiences.

The Tower also reminds me of phoenix energy and its ability to be reborn from its own ashes. Also I like playing with words and numbers and their symbolic meanings. Nov is a prefix to the words Novice and Novel meaning new and ember connects to ashes. The number 5 can represent the 4 elements which we have symbolised in the card. The stone Tower structure = earth, The flames = Fire, The figures are falling through the Air (plus you need air to fan the fire to make it burn) and Water is symbolised to me by the colour blue garments that the falling beings wear, to me this symbolises their emotional bodies. The 5th element is spirit which binds them all together.

Before you go to a bonfire display or light your own bonfire (please follow safety precautions and think of your pets. Make sure that they are safe and comfortable inside the house)) spend a little time in thought to see what has been broken down in your life or what needs deconstructing to be transformed by fire and reborn into a new configuration that will benefit your life. It could be physical happenings, thoughts, beliefs etc. Here is some guidance  but if you meditate and look back over your life you will identify your own Have any of your longterm (stone Tower = solid foundations) dreams or ambitions crumbled so that you have to pick up the pieces, think out of the box and start a new project?  Did something occur or did you meet someone who completely overthrew your way of looking at life or the way that you see yourself so that you  had to reform you identity in your mind? What situation that you were holding on to has been taken away swiftly so that you can experience the freedom to explore new more fulfilling options?   You could write revelations or symbols that represent these things on a piece of paper and symbolically throw them into the fire and see them as being broken down, transformed into new forms of energy.

I have also just had the thought that you could make a tiny Guy with drawings on or things that symbolise what you would like transformed into new positive life affirming energies.

You could even fire gaze (do not get too close though or too mesmerized that you forget your bearings and get too close) and see what shapes appear in the fire. They could appear as symbols, say for example a bird, a fountain, a triangle, a face. As I studied psychoanalysis I am a big fan of free associating to a word, image or symbol before you seek out suggested interpretations on the internet etc. If you see a fountain for example, free associate to it for a while to see what your mind brings to consciousness. The important thing is just to let the thoughts flow freely  without censor. If I saw a fountain for example, I would follow my own train of thought, Trafalgar Square, lion, leo, dad, fountain pen, ink.. Oh yes he wanted me to help him write a letter..

If you looked up “fountain” it would relate to emotions flowing, cleansing so maybe the fire will help you to release emotions or will wipe clean the emotional slate regarding you and an issue. Maybe you could dance in your new feelings of emotional freedom (still associating to Trafalgar Square and people dancing in the fountains)…

You could even devise some sparkler magic. Have thoughts in your mind about aspects of your life that you would like brought to life and energized and project them as images of the result that you want into the sparkler as it sends sparks of energetic flame into the world.They are jumping in all directions so opportunites and the positive impact will be all around you. They have been given a spark of life. Take the image of the sparkler into yourself, like a snapshot, photo and carry it with you. Your desire and actions will keep the spark alive and emergetically bring the situation about.

November follows close on the heels of Samhain/Halloween so it is an ideal time to connect to the spirits of our ancestors way back in time as Fire links physically to our past, spiritually, and as a species. Ritual fires are a physical manifestation of the awesome power of fire as an ally of our species that warms and protects us and aids us to meet our goals as a directional symbol.

Warmest Wishes to All for a Safe and creatively inspiring November 5th experience be it on the actual day or over this weekend. May the Fire Force be With you

Rose Dixon