By Sarah Taylor
The last time we met The Tower in the Weekend Tarot Reading, it was the middle of November 2011. Admittedly, when I drew the cards today, two things occurred to me. The first was an exclamation with some exasperation: “Again?!” The Tower is a challenging card for many to receive with open arms. I am no exception in this, and I most certainly had had my own Tower moment during and after that reading. (Its influence can reverberate far into the future.)
The second was that the reading seemed to ask for a card to contextualise The Tower. In this case the context is one of interpersonal relationships — more specifically the conventions that often surround them. I’m aware I am being more specific than usual, and there are several reasons why, which I’ll address through the cards themselves, doing my best to relate to you the narrative I feel they are weaving.
In November last year, there was another Cups card in the centre of the reading: The Knight of Cups. I also alluded to the Queen of Cups in that reading in order to contrast the qualities of the two court cards. This is what I wrote:
… [T]he Knight embodies the principle of ‘courtly love’. Well-intentioned but showy (shadowy?), courtly love is public display of affection without the deeply felt understanding that true love cannot be idealised and pushed ‘out there’ to admire from afar. Like Strength, love is visceral — watery, flowing, hidden, sometimes unfathomable.
Unlike the King and Queen of Cups, who are associated with the ocean, the water associated with the Knight is still a shallow river. Nonetheless, even though idealistic, the Knight’s potential is indicated in the fish and waves embroidered on his tunic (fish representing sustenance for the soul). Moreover, he is on a mission, his cup held out before him: He has courage and an adventurous spirit, and he is open — like the cup — to what he will find.