Showing posts with label Eye of Horus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eye of Horus. Show all posts

Saturday, July 12, 2025

The Moon — XVIII

Once we have awakened to the mystical illumination of The Star and its life giving revelation of a hope, providing expansion beyond even the most grand edifices built by human hands, our attention is drawn in to the dreamy silvery light of La Lune and the hidden depths within.

Intuition (from in [*en-]tueri "to see, look at, protect, watch, uphold"), like the moon, our most distinguished satellite (from Latin satelles "attendant, bodyguard") that watches over us in the darkness, is our inner tutor (also from tueri) in Latin meaning "guardian, watcher," 👁 that speaks through instinct, feelings and emotion, and draws its knowing from the watery ungrounded realms of the unconscious.

Tarot de Marsailles
The Moon - Represents the spirit of inspiration.
Normal position: Deception, twilight, obscurity, trickery, caution, warning, bad influence, ulterior motives, selfishness, slyness, false promise, disgrace, slander, liable, being taken advantage of, failures to avoid the dangers which surround, danger.

Whereas The Star seems fixed and stable The Moon is noticeably ever shifting in its monthly cycle from new moon to new moon.


Looming largely in the sky, it visibly changes from day to day as it phases. Yet it is quite reliable overall in this change (29.5 days). So, we have such things as lunar calendars. 

Moon [from Middle English mone, from Old English monais said to ultimately be from the root *me- (2) "to measure." The moon is a kind of meter [from same root] of days that can be used to measure the year broken apart into moons/months, and the four weeks of a month are approximated by the primary phases of the moon; the new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter.

An Ancient Greek epithet of the moon goddess Selene (meaning "moon") synonymous in meaning with selene, was Mēnē "moon; month," from the older masculine form mēn, from the same source as the Phrygian moon-god Mên and the Latin mensis "month." So the moon was seen as something that measures. 12 moons make a year. The moon-th measures out the year. But it was also equally seen as a great light (generally when associated with a feminine deity). Both the Greek Selene and Latin Luna come from words meaning "light, brightness," selas and *leuk- respectively. And in Hebrew one word for moon is lebanah "(the) white [as in purified, laban], i.e., the moon."

Selenite Wand, photo by Julie O.
From Greek Selēnitēs "of the moon."

The moon is the greatest light (luna/selene) or the great heavenly white (lebanah) in the darkness of the night, and even visible during the day. However it should not get a big head about this [even though it is pictured as a big head]

🌝

It is still just a light of the darkness. Even a full moon does not change the night into day, and it is always dependent upon the sun for its own illumination. It is extremely good at partnering with the sun, but if it is not respectful of its particular role, it may fall prey to the grandeur of its own illusions.

Shaddowsacpes Tarot, by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Fears and anxieties, believing in illusions, experiencing distortion, chasing after fantasy, dreams and visions, disorientation.

The moon gives the illusion of giving its own light when it is really just acting as a big mirror. Illusion is from Latin illudere "mock at," literally "to play with" [in- + ludere]. An illusionist isn't preforming true magic, rather they are pretending or playing at having special abilities such as reading minds, teleportation, telekinesis and the like. Sometimes this is a good thing. It is fun! Like the illusions of set design, costume and acting created for a performance of a play. However illusion can also be used to deceive. And to be deluded [de- + ludere], or played by, ones own illusions is the greater deception. What we see, feel and experience isn't the ultimate truth, it is just a reflection of where we are putting our attention and who we are choosing to be.

Intuition is not opposed to illusion in that it is a liberally ludicrus "playful" [from luderetype of knowledge. It is not afraid to try out, sport, or play with ideas without knowing specifically why, how and where they might lead. When you listen to your intuition you enter the liminal[twilight] realm of The Moon. Intuition is our inner psychopomp that guides us between worlds by means of instinct, dreams, archetypes, patterns and unseen forces. Because of this, it facilitates inspiration, growth, brilliance and creativity, but at the same time it can fall prey to illusion and deception as well when not carefully checked by the conscious mind and logic in the light of day. 

Universal Waite Tarot
 Hidden enemies, danger, calumny, darkness, terror, deception, error

We can see things during the night that are invisible (or outshined) during the day such as the stars and the moon, and these are wonderful to behold, and give guidance, but it is the solar radiation which feeds the planet with energy and life. The light of the sun provides our fundamental foundation, that is, a world filled with the energy of life, that creates a place for contemplation under the stars. The night is not a never-ending darkness, it is only a pause or rest within the totality of the day. It is the light of the sun projected into the night as the delicate glow of the moon, that softly illuminates what would otherwise be in darkness and encourages different and enriching perspectives.

Even though a full moon can  brighten up the night, it does not do it well enough to keep us out of danger. Much still lurks in the shadows. You hear a sound, but what is the sound? You sense a presence, but who and what is the presence, and from when and where do they come? You see a figure watching, but is it a man, a beast, or just or just a trick of the eye? Perhaps it is only the leaves of a tree rustling in the breeze? 

When there is not sufficient illumination our minds can fill in the blanks with all manner of devils and monsters that aren't even real . . . or are they?

Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 
illustrated by Nenad Jakesevic 1999

This lack of clarity can play upon our animal instincts. While our instincts are meant to keep us safe, they can also cause us, at times, to act a bit loopy. We can be carried away by the currents and tides of emotion. 

We can become driven like dogs barking after intruders, delivery workers or invited guests alike without discrepancy, or at other times, we may become lupine(wolf-like), that is, wolfish, lascivious, rapacious, voracious or otherwise impassioned under the cover of darkness, especially, as lore would have it, at the time of the full moon when lunatics (those affected by luna[moon]) are triggered and run rampant.

Halloween Tarot - by Karin Lee, art Kipling West
Hidden dangers, deception, mystery. Things are not as they seem. Intuition,  instinct, the subconscious, wildness, a struggle for sanity.

Emotions are influenced by our stored subconscious experiences and they are always true in the sense that when they are being felt they are really being felt, but they aren't always a true reflection of reality. Therefore, it is important to listen to and address emotions but not let them be the ultimate arbitrators. We always need to question our feelings and submit them to the light of reason before we act or we can live to regret our actions that were based upon the true feeling of emotion, such as anger, fear, anxiety, lust, exuberance, infatuation, etc. 

For example. when a person feels anxious what is the feeling telling them? There is a reason the person feels anxious, but there is not necessarily a real danger that they need to be prepared to act against. When a person is angry, they may not really know the truth of the situation or may be  making assumptions. Or when a person is infatuated they may feel truly on top of the world and in love, but those feelings do not necessarily mean that they have found their one true soulmate or lifelong partner. It just means that something important is being reflected to them in this person or situation, but needs to be taken with caution, because, like the phases of the moon, feelings evolve and change over time. What is done in the passion of the moment can feel very foolish in the light of day, and leave a person with some intense and lasting consequences.

Salvador Dalí's tarot, pub. 1984

The previous trump, The Star, takes us into the realm of the marvelous. We are starstruck! The world is not as mundane as we thought. There are signs and meaning beyond our wildest dreams, our minds are expanded. Magic is real! . . .  Then we come to The Moon, and must guard against becoming moonstruck, or drunk off of the taste of the sublime. We mustn't marry the first pretty face or sweet talking boy who steps into view, not comprehending the temporary and changing nature of feelings, including those wonderful and miraculous. Nothing lasts forever.

 The full moon 🌕 naturally fades within a month  and we are left with nothing 🌑 for three days of darkness until a new sliver appears again to sight . . . and we do it all over again. 

Cheshire Cat moon grin

As Alice said this, she looked up. There was the Cheshire Cat, sitting in a tree. 
"Did you say, 'pig' or 'fig'?" the Chesire Cat asked.
"I said 'pig.' I wish you wouldn't keep appearing and disappearing so suddenly. You're making me quite dizzy!"
"All right." This time the Cheshire Cat vanished slowly, beginning with his tail and ending with his mouth. His grin remained long after the rest of him had disappeared.
"I've seen a cat without a grin, but never a grin without a cat." Alice shook her head in disbelief. "That's the strangest thing I've ever seen!" -Alices Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll 1865

There can be a fine line between brilliance and lunacy, inspiration and mania. What is the measure? Or, how does one remain measured "moderate, temperate"? 

Sherlock - Wall of Inspiration or Crazy Wall ?

Sometimes you need to ride a wave in, or go with the flow instead of sticking to hard lines. At times you may need to curb your enthusiasm,  take a breather, or get off the train. Obsession is not measured behavior. It isn't good to be all work and no play, but neither is it good to be all jokes and no seriousness. 

The Moon itself is monet, from Latin, it "warns." It is an admonitio "warning." It admonishes (ad + monere) us to be thoughtful or mindful (from  monitor "one who reminds, admonishes, checks" calling us to monitor our actions. For all is not as it seems, or all is perhaps more than it seems . . . or less than it seems. The point is, it is not clear. 

Our inner wellspring of instinct, intuition and emotions is a currency that we must use wisely and with caution. Like money (from Latin moneta), these things must be managed. While it is not good to always hoard or hide our feelings, neither is it good to overspend them and not invest for our future. All currency 💸 is meant to flow, that is currere "to run, move quickly" [change 👛 is] changing from one person's hand to another's, like a current 🌊. But people's fortunes change like the tides. 

Stamping moneta "coinage" with a moneta "die (for coining money)" that looks like a mone/moon and shines like silver, aka, argent, from argentum "silver, silver coinage[Greek argurion "money, pieces of silver, silver"].

 might subconsciously remind us or admonere "warn" us to not get carried away. 🤑😈😇

As the abundance of the full moon wanes, there are still bills to be paid at the beginning of the month when the sliver of the moon emerges anew bearing resemblance to the curved bill of an ibis 🌙. Like the ancient Egyptian god Djehuti "(he)who is like the ibis," known in English as  Thoth

As scribe of the gods he would have certainly written bills. Here he is shown with a bill (on his face) and billa (Anglo-Latin "a writing, a list"), presiding at the Weighing of the Heart ceremony standing near the scales of Maat("justice, truth, harmony").

Papyrus of Ani [detail], c. 1250 BCE, Thoth-Baboon and Ibis God of the Moon,The Hunt Museum

Being associated with medicine, mathematics, magic and the moon, we could say he was a god of things meted(or Maat-ed), measured and prescribed. Thoth taught the arts of science and therefore to be Thoth-ful is to be thoughtful and quite bright. 💡

The Lunar Eye which is called the left Eye of Horus or sometimes the Eye of Thoth (since it was Thoth who helped helped restore it to Horus), represents protection, health[wholeness] and regeneration [EB].

Eye of Horus/Eye of Thoth/Eye of the Moon bracelet 
According to Egyptian mythology, Horus was the son of Osiris, the god of the underworld. Horus fought his uncle Seth to see who would be ruler of Egypt. During the fight, Seth mutilated the left eye of Horus. But Horus ultimately won the fight, became ruler of Egypt and, eventually, regained his left eye. It was restored "by the ibis-headed Thoth, the god of wisdom, " Emily Teeter, a research associate at the Polish Centre of Mediteranean Archeology, told Live Science in an email. What is the Ancient 'Eye of Horus' - and why is it found in so many burials? by Owen Janus

The Lunar Eye/Eye of Horus/Eye of Thoth was also known as the left wadjet/udjat eye. The color green, was wadj in ancient Egyptian, and was written with the papyrus stem hieroglyph.
 
wadj-green, image by Julie O.

Wadj was also one of the words used for the papyrus plant, so we could say that in ancient Egypt papyrus = greenGreen, being the color of vegetation, carried with it the meaning of fertility, new life, joy, growth and regeneration.

The moon also, because it appears to grow and fade in cycles, continually renewing each month, shares a similarity to the character to things green and organic. So we might say The Lunar Eye was a "green" [wadj] eye. However, this doesn't necessarily imply that it was the color green, but that it was "green" as in whole(restored) and healthy. And even though the moon itself is not the color green, like vegetation, the moon is osseous in appearance like os "bone;" which is a living, growing, regenerative and organic substance, and therefore "green/wadj".

Interestingly enough the moon is linked to the god Osiris[the father of Horus], who is often portrayed with green skin being a god of "fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation," wikipedia
Osiris -Tomb of Nefertari, Ninteenth Dynasty, Valley of the Queens

as Osiris-Iah["moon"]. 
The god Osiris is linked to the moon because, as the moon changes from crescent to full from month to month, it recalls Osiris' continual rebirth and regeneration. -metmuseum.org

And if we look at the sound components of his name, wsjr,  we get ws "seat;place" + jr/ir, the "eye" hieroglyph in ancient Egyptian. 
Osiris /wsjr  ws "seat;place" + ir "eye" + seated god determinative


And from Osiris, we have  from Latin Os "bone" + iris "of the eye," or if written as Ausir, we have *aus- "to shine" + ir "eye".

As god and judge of the dead and the underworld we could say that Osiris, like The Moon, is connected to the subconscious or inner watcher [intuition] 👀, which we could say is an inner eye[ir/os] 👁 and shares in The Moon's cautionary [monitio] nature. It is at the "Judgment of Osiris," that the heart of the the deceased is weighed against the feather of Maat upon the scales to see if it is worthy of passing on to the afterlife, or is deserving of the second death. This is the same type of scales that measure the weight of moneta "money".

And remember what happened to Jesus the night of an appearing full moon [Passover]. . . He was betrayed by deception. 
Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. Mt. 26:14-15 NIV
He just wanted his disciples to stay and watch with him, but they couldn't keep their eyes open. 
The Agony in the Garden - Garofolo c. 1484-1559, The National Gallery
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."Mt. 26:36-38 NIV
The next day Jesus was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell [the underworld]. On the third day he rose again from the dead, like the new moon, he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. And he will come again to judge the living and the dead. . . But hopefully not before our enlightenment . . .

The Sun. The next trump, XIX.










Monday, January 6, 2025

The Tower — XVI

Winter Wonderland Tarot - by Joshua Franklin and Aaron Franklin

The Tower represents a force of nature. The heavier the building material used to build a tower and the higher it is built, the more potential energy is stored. The kinetic energy of the decent, avalantze "descent" in Romansch(Swiss) [from which we get the word avalanche by way of French], will be greater the more grave the material involved and its gravity. Towers are justifiably built for protection. They are focal points of walls or castles, towering over the other structures. They can provide defense against invasion and offer a long view of possible encroaching threats. However, they can only be built so high and so strong. Towers themselves are not immune to destruction. Towers are always at risk of being struck down or toppling over. When this occurs, that which was intended for protection, itself becomes its own very instrument of calamity. 

When a tower collapses, anything on or in the tower must also come down. There is no escape from the falling (hence being "towed" to the earth from the sky by the force of gravity). The tower is a force of nature like the water that flows is said to tow a thing by its flowing, 

Cochem, Germany, Dec. 7, 2022, photo by Julie O.

like an undertow forces objects out to sea, or the drag of a waterfall can lead a person over its edge. Tow is said to be from PIE *deuk- "to lead".  In this way a tower is a tow-er. Or it is a lead-er, often with a ladder, or stairs, or elevator. You can be lead or driven all the way up or all the way down.

Whether it is bringing you up or down the tower is making a difference because of its relationship to the earth. The Tower is impactful. When you are up in a tower you are elevated. You may be up very high, even in the clouds like Jack in the story of Jack and the Bean Stalk; up with the mighty ones, the giants, perhaps even the Elohim/El (God).


In Hebrew migdal or migdalah is "tower," from gadal "grow up, become great, increase"

The Hebrew verb "gadal" primarily conveys the idea of growth or increase in size, importance or significance. It is used in various contexts to describe physical growth, such as a child growing up, as well as metaphorical growth, such as the increase in power or influence of a person or nation. It can also mean to magnify or glorify, often in the context of exalting God or His works. Strongs Lexicon, Bible Hub

For this reason the tower can represent what happens when we attempt to grow up(ward) ⬆️, to rise above ourselves. Like the construction of the infamous Tower of Babel, which tower, we could say, was attempting to be a tow-er from earth to the heavens/sky/god, 

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the earth." Genesis 11:14, ESV

in the city of Babel[which name became a shem "name" of shame], called Βαβυλών by the Ancient Greeks (from Akkadian Bab-ilani/Bab-ilim "gate of the gods/god") 

𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠

and Latinized as Babylōn. But its all very confusing and confused due to the different transliterations and translations. There, in this city, the language of one people is said to have become "confused" (balal /בללdeliberately by YHWH in order to frustrate their plans. However, this sort of thing naturally happens due to the interactions of different people with diverse languages and writing systems as in this great metropolis of its time, Babylon.

During the 3rd millennium BC, an intimate cultural symbiosis occurred between Sumerian and Akkadian-speakers, which included widespread bilingualism. The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian and vice versa is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale, to static, morphological, and phonological convergence. wikipedia/Baylonia


In the Hebrew Book of Genesis the city is called בבל/Babel and is said to be named from the the word בלל/balal "confusion." However, the Biblical Hebrew, Babel, is similar to the Akkadian name Bab-ilim, which is said to mean "gate of god," and the meaning in the Sumerian rendering is also literally "gate of god," Kadingir, from ka "gate/door" digir.ra "of god". The same sort of connection can even be made in Hebrew with the words בבה babah  and אל el.  El is a word used to refer to God in the Book of Genesis and babah according to Strong's Hebrew Lexicon is:

feminine active participle of an unused root meaning to hollow out; something hollowed (as a gate), i.e. pupil of the eye:—apple [of the eye] -Strong's

A Babah/Apple of the Eye/Window to the Soul

So, for example, a place "hollowed out" in a wall surrounding a city is a "gate," it is an opening, and the hollowed out place in the eye, then, would be, the "gate" in the eye, therefore the "gate" is the pupil. . . sometimes called the "apple of the eye," the history of which idiom itself is ripe with babel. But if eyes are the "windows to the soul"(and windows['wind eyes"] are themselves places "hollowed out"), then indeed this "gate/window" is very special. Apart from this, according to Brown-Driver-Briggs this word, babah, relates to the Aramaic בבא "gate". So that would be Baba-el "gate of god," therefore even in Hebrew, the meaning of "gate of god" is not totally lost. In some sense this city, Babel, was a place to meet or encounter God, i.e. El "the mighty one, the Almighty".

There is a difference between 1.) hearing something in a strange language, knowing its a language that you don't comprehend, yet having the understanding that the speaker is making proper sense, not just "babbling",  . . .  and 2.) hearing something and thinking that you understand it because you are "apparently" both speaking the same language, yet the meaning of the words, that is, the image[eidōlon] you form, from said words, is off or in vain[idle] from what the speaker intended, . . . however neither are necessarily aware of this. . . The second case is where the real confusion(balal) lies. Is babble incomprehensible meaningless speech like gobbledygook? Or is babel speech that somehow becomes confused due to wrong understanding and differing assumptions? Things can get lost in translation, or misunderstood, or misheard like in a game of "Telephone"? Who's on first? Who is on first. That's what I said. . . 

THE TOWER [OR: WAR]
Thoth Tarot Deck, Aleister Crowley
"The dominating feature of this card is the Eye of Horus. This is also the Eye of Shiva, on the opening of which, according to the legend of this cult, the Universe is destroyed" -The Book of Thoth, pg. 108

And if misunderstanding causes division, and division causes war, then this kind of confusion is a big problem. It's actually the root of all evil. War is: 

said in Watkins to be from PIE *wers- (1) "to confuse, mix up," suggesting the original sense was "bring into confusion." -EO

Well, isn't that interesting? Crowley thought the name "War" suited this Atu(Trump) XVI. And the Eye is prominent in the artwork. And we could say the eye, given that it is the Eye of Horus or the Eye of Shiva is a Baba-El, or Gate(pupil of the eye) of God, or Babel/Babylon, the place where God "confused[balal] the language of all the earth." Gen. 11:9  So to balal "confuse" a people can be the cause of bella "wars"/bellum "war" in Latin. And when you mix up people's language you also mix up their worship and this can be a cause of idolatry.

For the worshiping of idols not to be named[άνωνύμων "unnamed" anonymon]  is the beginning, the cause, and the end, of all evil. Wisdom 14:27 KJV

Is idolatry the worship of a false God/gods or is idolatry the worship of "God", but falsely? Isn't this a great Confusion/Babel? No one says they are worshipping a god who is an idol. People say they are worshiping the true God/gods, so if they are in fact idolaters, their idol is not named as such, or is an unnamed idol. So how can anyone know if their God is truly God and not an unnamed idol? A true God should be known by Their works, and not only by Their works, but also by Their effect on Their worshipers. If the "God" is idle("vain, worthless, useless"), then it is an idol. Are the worshipers acting in evil ways? Then they are in effect idolators regardless of whom they call "LORD, LORD." For, "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit."Mt 7:18 DRB The form[eidos] they(evil persons) are portraying of God(all persons being an image of God) is a false "incorrect, mistaken" image; an idol. It is abominable, it is worthless

For, as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles["nations"] because of you. Romans 2:24

Whoever is not careful in their worship, that is, where they place their worth(worth-ship), is building upon unstable ground and cruisin' for a bruisin'.

Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." Luke 6:47-49

And isn't it in fact a good thing for a house to be destroyed if it needs to be destroyed in order to allow for a better, more stable house to be built in its place? God is not shy about knocking his houses down. 

In the Tarot de Marseilles, The Tower is, La Maison Dieu, "The House of God." It is a lofty place. Not to be trifled with.

Tarot de Marsailles
Change in a complete and sudden manner, abandonment of past relationships, unexpected events, termination, adversity, downfall, disruption, loss of stability, loss of money, loss of love and affection, terrible change, annoyance.

Like Phaeton, the higher you dare to fly the further you have to fall, but then again, only those who dare mightily can ever succeed mightily. Phaeton himself was remembered for just that reason;
Here Phaeton lies who in the sun-god's chariot fared. And though he greatly failed, more greatly he dared.

The preceding card to The Tower was The Devil XV, representing the "barely anything" bond/chain that binds us when we strive after the good/beautiful/pleasurable, but stray too far from the middle, from our firm foundation, i.e. Temperance. It is a terrible trap to always want more and more, to seek higher and higher towards the unfathomable infinite goal which is equality with God or perfection. It is not that the goal is so wrong. We are in fact gods. Like Phaeton, we are children of God, made "in [His/Their] image according to [His/Their] likeness"[Let *Us*] The problem is that a creature[any created being(who is inherently laking or imperfect due to this very fact, i.e. they are created [they move/change/grow]) who is striving to become God by ever expanding higher is engaging in a loosing battle, because God has no beginning nor ending, so it is not possible to expand sufficiently to encompass the unfathomable. A person would forever be seeking, yet always lacking. In reality, our perfection, our heaven, i.e. ouranos ούρανός is not "out there," rather it is within. The house/dwelling/temple of God is within. God is in [έν /en] us. To realize the futility of striving to become God by expansion; being the top, the best, the brightest is the true beginning of wisdom. 

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give to you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. Mt. 4:8-11, ESV

However this truth doesn't always naturally dawn on us until we reach the point of futility and collapse.  

And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will be impossible for them. Genesis 11:6 ESV

In other words, the citizens of Babel would have kept endlessly striving outward and upward, straying from wisdom in their attempt to be great. Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a person is to have someone knock them off their block. If going up is leading you down, what is there left to do? The only way to move forward from this trap of the devil is a fall from grace, a reversal, something gone topsy-turvy, a shake down, a break down; which is a disruption of the mighty structure, the tower, or temple(dwelling place/house of God).

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking of the temple of his bodyJohn 2:19-21 NRSV

 and declared, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple[naos "dwelling"] of God and rebuild it in three days.'" Matthew 26:61 BSB

Reliquary Monstrance with a Tooth of St. John the Baptist, metalwork German 1433 CE, on display at The Getty Museum, December 2024, photo by Julie O.
Jesus hanging on a stauros on top of a tower.

In this way the Tower can manifest as a point of futility, distraction or stagnation like Rapunzel stuck in the tower. She was kept "safe" from the world below. She was up high, close to heaven, but was not allowed to grow up on her own. Growing up can be harsh, but we all need these experiences in order to mature into [true]adulthood. And, in any case, being locked away, did not ultimately save Rupunzel from being discovered by a man, the prince, and getting herself "into trouble." Nature always finds a way.

The story begins with Rapunzel's expectant mother wanting to rapere "to seize" the "rapunzel"(a type of herb) in her neighbor, the sorcerer's garden. The woman(out of her zeal[zelfor the rapa) has her husband rape the rapunculus(rapunzel) from the garden of the witch, and the witch in turn seizes their daughter(Rapunzel) from them after her birth and locks her in the tower at the age of puberty(her time to grow up)."

The sorcerer/adoptive mother who keeps Rapunzel in the tower is named Gothel, which is similar sounding to gadalGothel did not want Rapunzel to gadal "grow up"  or "become great" in this way. Instead she attempts to keep Rapanzel separate and "safe" from the world. Perhaps we could say not "mixed" with or "confused" by the world. However, because Rapunzel is imprisoned in the tower she is not grown up on her own, and is left in a vulnerable state. As it turns out Rapunzel's downfall, not unlike the innocent Eve in the Garden of Eden(who also was not "being allowed" to grow up), comes from a "snake" of sorts. In this story it is Rapunzel's long hair that is snakelike and allows for the witch, and ultimately the prince, to have access to her reality. The prince sneakily(snakily) climbs up her hair and brings her knowledge of the world. The two "know" each other and Rapunzel becomes pregnant. When the witch discovers this, Rapunzel is banished to the woods, and the prince ends up falling from the tower, and being blinded by thorns, after he is deceived(snakily) by Rapunzel's long hair which the witch had cut from Rapunzel's head in order to trick him. They both are forced, by this calamity, to grow up (gadal) in a way that wasn't possible when Rapunzel was safely hidden away in the tower in the garden. And ironically Gothel is the cause of this by placing Rapunzel in the tower to begin with, even though she never meant for Rapunzel to gadal "grow up" in this way.

Shaddowscapes Tarot - Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Catastrophe, sudden change, crisis, releasing all emotion, suffering a blow to the ego, revelation, and seeing through illusions. A necessary disruption to the status quo— violent and explosive upheavals the only way to break through the long-established patterns. Fantasies shattered by the harsh and brutal hand of reality. Making a clean and utter severing from the past. It is time to re-examine belief structures and opinions. 

The leaving/falling from the purgos  πύργος "tower, fortified structure" in Greek (from a root meaning "to tower, to rise"), ended up being a purge by means of the purgatory the two experienced before they were once again reunited. Purgatory is from Medieval Latin purgatorium "means of cleansing," from Latin purgare "clense, purify," from (purus "clean, clear, unmixed" + agere "to set in motion, drive"). So a tower could be said to be, metaphorically, a structure which drives(tows) purification or pyr/pur(πύρ/πύρός "fire") -ification through its destruction.  

We're building it up
To break it back down
We're building it up
To burn it down
We can't wait to burn it to the ground - BURN IT DOWN, Linkin Park

A tower is a building which is drawn out(upward) and which drives (agere from PIE *ag- "to drive, draw out to forth, move"), or moves people up(i.e., it raises), or down(i.e., it razes), but  figuratively it is a force of nature that has the ability to make people to be "moved" inwardly. 

The Halloween Tarot - by Karin Lee, Art by Kipling West 
The Tower (Haunted House): Disaster or catastrophe that ends in enlightenment and liberation. A dramatic overthrow of some major aspect of your life. A shattering of false premises.

However, regardless of any unintended folly, the person who is building or utilizing a tower is aiming for what is perceived to be a good. People in a tower, i.e. those who are towered, might be those who are seeking, inclining, i.e. toward "aiming, intending to reach" upward, those who are to-ward "turned toward" the sky/heaven. Whereas someone who is NOT in the tower, who is un-towered, does not see the enemy approaching because they are not elevated or seeking in this way. The effect of which may be untoward "adverse, unpropitious."

So, which is worse? To never be elevated and so never risk a fall, and in fact never to fall (because it is not possible without first being elevated), or to just do it, go for it, shoot for the moon, fall and then see what is redeemed in the process?

O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer! -Exultet—Easter Proclomation

We are mortal! If we fall we die! We crash! We burn! . . . yet we are sons of God! We are "built" in God's image and after his likeness, . . . therefore after the fall. . . God really had to. . . was required to, even, pull some magic out of his hat and make something extraordinary occur that wouldn't have occurred unless it needed to[some divine alchemy]. . . How is a CREATURE who is so daringly made to be in GOD'S image(made an idol / pesel / eidolon) redeemed? He must first be brought low, humbled, and proven in purity and obedience to the one true God, so as to not forever traverse a path of futility(like the Devil). This is a kind of tempering "mix or work up into proper condition[*i.e. mixing for the good, not simply to confuse or destroy], adjust or restore to proper proportions." Only then can he be properly exalted "raised up" by the Creator.

In your relationship with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing[empty, void]
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. 
 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but 
now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky . . . Philippians 2:6-15

Perhaps this is the point, we were never meant to reach equality with God by being entowered. Towers have limits. Striving is vanity. We must allow ourselves to be limitless through the indwelling presence of God. We were made to reach for the stars. . . However, the destruction of the tower raised up by human hands and not by God is an important step along this path.