As the new millennium dawned and the Age of Aquarius established itself it was hard to ignore the growing sense of unease and dissatisfaction with "old ways." Since the beginning of the new millennium the lynch pins of society as we know them (Police, Armed Forces, Education, Health Services, Governments & Financial Institutions), have been under almost constant scrutiny and criticism. In recent days many have looked increasingly wobbly. Aquarians are often referred to as people born before their time and likewise it seems that perhaps the Age of Aquarius has arrived prematurely insofar as there is almost unanimous agreement that things need to be done differently but society/the world/individuals are not particularly sure what that new way might be.

When the dreadful day of September 11th dawned and the full horror of what was unfolding was brought into our homes via the media, the parallel with the image of the Tower card, the sixteenth card of the Major Arcana in the tarot deck was unavoidably obvious to those familiar with it. Many public figures declared that September 11th, 2001, was the day the world changed forever. This year (2003) Mars the planet of war comes closer to the Earth than it has done for 70,000 years. The planetary ruler of the Tower card is Mars.

The god struck tower is an image of the collapse of all forms. The Tower is the only manmade structure in the Major Arcana and is used as a representation of structures, inner and outer, which we build, as defences against life and as a means to hide our less agreeable sides from others.

If we look to folklore and mythology the two stories associated with the Tower card are Rapunzel and Theseus and the Minotaur. Both are tales of heroism tainted with treachery, betrayal and revenge. The Greek myth centres on the initial treachery of King Minos with Poseidon, Poseidon's revenge through Pasiphae's betrayal (infidelity) of King Minos out of which is born the monstrous Minotaur, to the eternal shame and terror of King Minos. Finally, there is the betrayal and desertion of Ariadne by Theseus, which taints his heroic slaying of the Minotaur in the labyrinth (Tower) and blights his homecoming as in his guilt he forgets to change the sails of the ship and unwittingly causes the death of his father King Aegeus (who mistakenly believes his son to be dead). Theseus is proclaimed the new King of Crete, a new age begins and the labyrinth is never raised again but the cost in terms of treachery, betrayal and human suffering is immense.
Similarly, in the tale of Rapunzel, the much longed for child is betrayed before birth, when her father unthinkingly promises her to the witch who catches him stealing herbs for his pregnant wife. The witch claims the child and imprisons her in a Tower with no way in except by climbing up her hair (hair being symbolic of the ego). When the witch realises that Rapunzel has fallen in love with the Prince, she cuts off her hair and banishes her to the wilderness. The witch then tricks the Prince by lowering Rapunzel's hair and cutting through it as the prince is half way up, causing him to fall into thorns and blind himself. As he wanders blinded through the wilderness he is reunited with Rapunzel whose tears of love heal his blindness. Rapunzel gives birth to twins (a boy and a girl) in the wilderness, a symbolic reminder of our dual nature.

In many ways the Tower card and the stories of Rapunzel and Theseus and the Minotaur are images of the socially acceptable persona(s) we adopt to hide the beast (our shadow) within; our professions, our good reputations, our membership of respectable companies, religious institutions, etc. Our careful manners, social etiquette, our media-inspired homes, personal appearances and family values, all conspire to hide our shameful secrets. Mistakenly, the human shadow is all too often thought of in a completely negative light as the repository of all that is bad or undesirable in an individual yet it is much more than that. It is the place where we safely hide our authentic self when it is attacked and dishonoured. It is also the place where we compost our emotional wounds to provide a rich mulch for the journey of individuation and ultimately transcendence if we are up to it. Or put another way, where the profane can transform into the sacred. Similarly, the Buddhist image of the lotus flower always has its roots in the mud.

So what does all this mean? I believe the relevance of the Tower image today, is its call to congruence. The Tower is a structure of false or outgrown values, those ways of living, which do not spring from the whole self but are put on like masks at a masked ball to hide our true selves. I believe we are being challenged to drop our false personas and values and live congruently and authentically in full acknowledgement of our own shadows. This is no easy task and we must be prepared for treachery, betrayal and revenge along the way.

No matter what issue the Tower relates to, it always indicates a period of restoration, healing and renovation alongside the major (internal) breakdown, restructuring and burning out of what is false and rigid. In the Age of Aquarius I believe this will be achieved through compassion. Compassion is a hard won quality and comes when one has experienced and gone beyond the deepest and darkest of human emotions, hate, rage, revenge, perversion, jealousy, the desire to kill etc. This true compassion will give rise to acceptance, tolerance and integration of the human shadow. Then and only then, can we hope to live authentically and with congruence*. A great deal depends upon the attitude of the individual/society in terms of how difficult or painful this breakdown is to deal with. Obviously it is more creative to ask where we are constricted or bound by a false persona or image, because a willing effort to break through the pretence can spare a great deal of anguish. But the tower will fall anyway, whether or not we are willing, not because fate decrees it, but because something within the individual/society has reached boiling point and can no longer live within such confines.

*I believe this is what happens with Integral Regression Therapy and why individuals are able to experience such profound and lasting healing and transformation.