Welcome, wise ones, to another turning of Sage Leaves. As the year exhales its last light, the days narrow and the evenings arrive with quiet insistence, reminding you that the old cycle is closing. December carries the feeling of thresholds, when the sun’s strength wanes and the world prepares for the longest night of Yule. In the heroine’s journey, this is the realm of The Tower, the moment when what cannot endure is revealed and released as the light fades. You are invited to stand honestly with what is falling away, not in fear, but in recognition. This inward season asks you to loosen your grip on old stories, examine the structures that shaped you, and choose with care what is worth carrying forward as the year turns and the light prepares to be born again.
The Role of The Tower in the Heroine’s Journey
In the Heroine’s Journey, The Tower represents the moment when structures that once felt stable are revealed to be false, brittle, or built at the cost of the self, and unlike the Hero’s Journey, where destruction is often framed as conquest or punishment, the Heroine encounters The Tower as an awakening that exposes how much of her life has been shaped by expectations, systems, and roles that were never truly hers to begin with.
The Tower arrives suddenly, not to punish, but to interrupt a long pattern of endurance, accommodation, and quiet self-erasure, and it often appears at the exact moment when the Heroine can no longer survive by holding herself together within a structure that denies her truth. This may look like the collapse of a relationship, a belief system, a career path, or an identity that once promised safety but required silence, compliance, or self-betrayal in return.
In the Heroine’s Journey, The Tower is not merely external destruction; it is the cracking open of internalized rules that said she must be pleasing, small, loyal to systems that harm her, or grateful for survival instead of fulfillment. The lightning strike of the Tower exposes where power was borrowed instead of embodied, and where safety was conditional rather than real.
Unlike the Hero, who often rebuilds quickly and moves forward with new tools, the Heroine must first sit with the rubble, because the fall of the Tower leaves behind grief, disorientation, and a deep questioning of what was real and what was only endured. This pause is not weakness; it is discernment. The Heroine learns that what collapses during The Tower was never sustainable, and that survival alone is not the same as living.
“The Tower does not destroy the Heroine’s life;
it reveals where her life was never truly hers.”
In Jungian terms, The Tower represents the collapse of the false self, the persona that was constructed to meet external demands, and in the Heroine’s Journey, this persona is often shaped by cultural expectations around gender, care, sacrifice, and emotional labor. When the Tower falls, the shadow emerges, bringing anger, grief, truth, and clarity that had been suppressed in order to keep the structure intact.
What follows The Tower is not immediate empowerment, but honesty, because the Heroine must learn to trust herself without the scaffolding of approval, hierarchy, or borrowed authority. She begins to rebuild not upward toward dominance, but inward toward coherence, choosing foundations rooted in intuition, integrity, and lived truth rather than external validation.
Ultimately, The Tower teaches the Heroine that collapse can be sacred, that clarity often arrives through disruption, and that liberation rarely comes without loss, because what falls away was never meant to last. The Tower does not end her journey; it strips it down to what is real, making room for a life built not on endurance, but on alignment.
Where in your life are you holding together a structure that requires you to silence your truth, and what might be revealed if you allowed that structure to fall with honesty and care?
Sage Leaves Weekly Tarotscope:
December 16-22, 2025
This week opens with the sense that something heavy has been carried for too long, and yet there is also a clear promise that the weight is not permanent. You stand at a threshold where endings, beginnings, and responsibility are all active at once. The cards describe a passage from burden into intention, from release into authorship, and from scattered effort into grounded authority. With a Sagittarius New Moon and the Sun crossing into Capricorn, the cosmos mirrors the tarot’s message: vision must now meet structure, and freedom must learn how to live inside form.
The Cards of the Week
Tuesday: 10 of Wands | Sun in Sagittarius Square Saturn in Pisces
Wednesday: Death | Moon in Scorpio Trine Saturn in Pisces
Thursday: 9 of Pentacles | Moon in Sagittarius Conjunct Mercury in Sagittarius
Friday: The Fool | Sagittarius New Moon
Saturday: 4 of Pentacles | Sun in Sagittarius Square Neptune in Pisces
Sunday: 9 of Wands | Sun Enters Capricorn
Monday: The Emperor | Moon in Capricorn Trine Uranus in Taurus
Daily Story
Tuesday – 10 of Wands | Sun in Sagittarius Square Saturn in Pisces
You begin the week carrying more than your fair share. The 10 of Wands shows exhaustion that comes from responsibility layered upon responsibility, often accepted out of duty rather than choice. With the Sun in Sagittarius squaring Saturn in Pisces, you may feel torn between wanting space and meaning while being held in place by obligations that feel unclear or draining. This is not a punishment; it is a signal. You are being asked to notice what you have been holding that no longer needs to be yours.
Wednesday – Death | Moon in Scorpio Trine Saturn in Pisces
Midweek brings a profound shift. Death arrives not as an ending to fear, but as an ending to stagnation. The Scorpio Moon trining Saturn offers emotional courage and quiet resolve. Something is ready to be released with intention rather than drama. This is a clean ending, one that honors what came before while refusing to drag it forward. You are allowed to close a chapter without apology.
Thursday – 9 of Pentacles | Moon in Sagittarius Conjunct Mercury in Sagittarius
After release comes self-possession. The 9 of Pentacles reflects independence earned through effort and discernment. With Mercury and the Moon together in Sagittarius, your thinking widens and your confidence steadies. You may recognize how capable you truly are when you are no longer weighed down by what is outdated. This is a moment of quiet pride and self-trust.
Friday – The Fool | Sagittarius New Moon
The New Moon invites a beginning that is sincere and unburdened. The Fool steps forward with openness, curiosity, and faith. This is not recklessness; it is renewal. You are not asked to know everything yet. You are asked to trust the path enough to take the first step. The Fool stands between Death and the future, reminding you that endings create space for wonder.
Saturday – 3 of Pentacles | Sun in Sagittarius Square Neptune in Pisces
Vision now needs collaboration. The 3 of Pentacles shows focused effort, shared goals, and learning through doing. The Sun’s square to Neptune can blur direction, so this card grounds you in practical action. You may need feedback, partnership, or clear plans to keep dreams from dissolving into confusion. Progress comes from showing up and refining the work.
Sunday – 4 of Pentacles | Sun Enters Capricorn
As the Sun enters Capricorn, the energy shifts toward stability and boundaries. The 4 of Pentacles asks you to consider what you are holding onto and why. This is not about fear-based control, but about stewardship. What deserves protection now? What resources need structure? Capricorn season begins by asking you to define what security means on your terms.
Monday – The Emperor | Moon in Capricorn Trine Uranus in Taurus
The week concludes with authority that is grounded rather than rigid. The Emperor looks directly at you, reminding you that leadership begins with responsibility to yourself. With the Moon trining Uranus, there is room for innovation within structure. This is the third appearance of the Emperor in recent weeks, emphasizing that you are being asked to step fully into authorship of your life, not by force, but by clarity and commitment.
Overarching Themes
This week tells a story of release followed by intentional rebuilding. Death clears what is finished. The Fool opens the door to possibility. The Emperor establishes form and direction. Together, they describe a complete cycle of transformation. The repeated presence of Pentacles highlights the importance of practical grounding, while the recurring Emperor signals that long-term stability is becoming a central lesson.
Numerologically, the movement from ten to zero to four mirrors the process of shedding excess, beginning anew, and creating structure. The Emperor’s recurrence suggests that this is not a temporary theme, but a season of claiming responsibility without sacrificing vision.
Conclusion
As the Sun settles into Capricorn, the invitation is to build wisely on what has been cleared. You are not meant to carry everything forward, nor are you meant to drift without form. This week teaches that true authority grows from discernment, and that freedom deepens when it is paired with intention. Let yourself release what is finished, begin what feels alive, and commit to what supports your future with integrity and care.
Final Reflection
What responsibility are you ready to set down, and what new structure are you willing to commit to so that your next beginning can truly take root?
As December’s light continues to thin, the year moves unmistakably toward its turning point. Each earlier dusk brings us closer to the longest night of Solstice, when darkness stands fully revealed and nothing false can hide. This is the season of The Tower, when structures that cannot endure are quietly undone, not to punish, but to clear the way for truth. The falling light reminds you that collapse is not failure; it is honesty. You are not asked to rush toward answers or force resolution. You are asked to witness what no longer stands. As Yule approaches, trust that even in disruption there is wisdom, and even in darkness there is direction. Let the crisp days steady your body and the long nights sharpen your listening. What remains after the Tower falls is what is real, and from that ground, the light will return.
Until next time,
—Dr. Winkler
Thanks again. \(*_*)/