Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. Today’s post is about the Death card in Tarot! I am honestly surprised that I have not done a committed post about the Death card yet. The Death card is one of my favorite cards to discuss in Tarot because it is so often misunderstood!
The Death card is the thirteenth card of the Tarot, which could also be part of the reason it is so misunderstood. The number thirteen itself is often misunderstood as an unlucky omen when in truth it is a Sacred Divine Feminine Number! In fact, I have done multiple Friday the 13th posts talking about the true power of the number thirteen.
The Death card often has a skeleton figure on the card, as is shown in the traditional Rider Waite Smith illustration of the card. This makes sense given the popularity of the Grim Reaper as a traditional personification of Death well known to the general public. What I love most is decks that use folkloric and mythological representations of Death, I see this mostly in Celtic-based Decks! For example, The Arthurian Tarot uses The Washer at the Ford for the Death card, which is ideal given the lore of the Washer, she is seen by warriors going into battle and is the calling that they will not survive the battle. The Washer at the Ford tends to be seen as a counterpart of the Banshee since they are both Faery Women known as harbingers of Death! The other deck I want to mention as having a great Death card is The Llewellyn Tarot, whichhas Arawn, a Welsh Faery God of Death, a perfect choice for a deck based on Welsh mythology.
Now, obviously, the Death card appearing in a reading often triggers fear in people during their reading because many people are uninformed or are not very far into their spiritual journey. However, the Death card is far from a negative card to have appeared during a reading. I am well aware that it is a startling card for many people due to it being Death and those unfamiliar with the nature of Tarot may believe that the card is only appearing to signal a physical death. This card rarely means a physical death, instead being what I always call ‘The Card of Ultimate Change’ because what the Death card is truly showing is change and transformation. In particular, the Death card signals a gradual change, something that has probably been coming for a while that needs to happen. All things must die off for new things to blossom, and that is what the Death card means. I always tell the querent during a reading that this card not only is unlikely to mean physical death, but it is most likely a change that you have been feeling coming for some time. This differs from the shocking change indicated by the appearance of the Tower card! The appearance of the Death card may mean that you must let go of things, and that can be painful, but ultimately when you are free from those restrictions you can begin the renewal process. A great metaphor for the Death card’s energy is the mythical Phoenix, a bird that dies by bursting into flames and is reborn from its own ashes! When we let go and give into the process of transformation, we too are reborn.
That is why, we must remember that life and death are but an endless cycle that includes rebirth. The death of nature in Autumn and Winter allows for stillness and then the rebirth that happens in Spring. This nature of endless change is the root of the energy of the Death card in Tarot! I hope that you have enjoyed this short post about how much the Death card in Tarot is often misunderstood, and why you should not fear this card. Do you agree with me in my love of the Death card? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a lovely Death card image. I found the image on https://displate.com/displate/6465394.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading
- The Only Tarot Book You’ll Ever Need by Skye Alexander
- The Arthurian Tarot by John & Caitlin Matthews
- The Llewellyn Tarot by Anna-Marie Ferguson
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