Death Tarot Card

The Death tarot card shows the skeleton of a knight riding a white horse, holding a black flag upon which a white rose is emblazoned. On the ground beneath Death's horse lies the king, apparently dead and whose crown has rolled away. Facing Death is a clergyman, or religious leader, and beside him kneel the king’s wife and child. In the distance the sun shines between two towers.

The Death Tarot Card From The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck.

Death Tarot Card Meanings- Significant loss, painful farewells, drastic change, grave danger, serious health problems, imminent harm, corruption, mortality, rebirth, destruction, fresh starts, removals, or the end of something.

Do not let the word death make you fearful. This card very rarely points toward physical death. More commonly it is a portent to spiritual death. There will be a traumatic spiritual experience in the life of the person who receives this card. Keep in mind that death is a natural part of life. Without death there is no rebirth. There is no ascension to a higher plane. Just like plants have to be trimmed of dead branches in order for new healthy growth to occur so does life need to be trimmed of toxic and dead-weight psychic branches so the tree of spiritual growth can grow stronger and healthier.

The Death Tarot Card Meanings In A Reading

Love & Relationships- In the upright position this tarot card reflects very little positive perspective. Transformation is the word associated with the Death tarot card, and transform your life you must. In fact, if you do not make the necessary changes they will be made for you, so take heed. Perhaps you are clinging to a relationship that no longer makes you happy. Why? Maybe you hate the idea of losing a long-term partner. Maybe you fear being alone. The death of your relationship depends on both of you as a couple. Your willingness to give each other the chance to make things work and to embrace the changes brought by time will determine whether your love story will survive. However, as mentioned earlier, if the love has died it’s time to trim the branches back and allow a fresh love to blossom. In most cases, this means with someone new.

Money & Career- Your ability to bring in money is going to be affected soon. You are likely to suffer financial struggles due to job losses. Even though you may not see how it will play out now you will either quit your job or you will be forced to quit. In these cases where “the writing is on the wall” it is best for you to be the gardener and do the pruning yourself. It will be painful but making the tough decisions now will enable you to experience so much better in the future. And as the Death tarot card explains, when death comes, there will be changes whether you like it or not.

Health & Wellness- Do not hide anything about your physical health. Know your body, pay attention to the changes you are experiencing, and engage in stress management activities. While this card doesn’t mean your physical body is on the brink of dying it’s a thunder clap reminder that we all have a finite time on Earth. Best to make your time as comfortable and healthy as possible. While physical health is important, so are mental and emotional health. The difficulty in taking care of mental and emotional wellness is that they deteriorate in silence because they are often invisible to the naked eye.

Spirituality- The Death tarot card often appears upright when large life events are approaching such as leaving home, moving, marriage, becoming a parent, changing jobs, the loss of a loved one, or divorce. These big changes do not only refer to an end, rather, they can also be the beginning of something new and wonderful. For the final transformation, which is the Death tarot card trademark, when physical death occurs the body will be left behind as souls transform into the spiritual beings they originally were.

The Reversed Death Tarot Card From The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck.

Death Tarot Card Meanings Reversed- Lethargy, obsession, immobility, inertia, unfinished work, denying a change, destroyed hope, detachment, adversity, stubbornness, stagnation, fear of change, or a lost relationship/friendship.

Interestingly, the reverse of death in this case is not life. It is inertia. You are at a standstill and neither progressing nor regressing. This is a dangerous place to be because inertia breeds discontent. If you are making changes they are slow, they are painful, and sometimes you wonder if anything is really changing. It feels like you're going nowhere, quickly. Changes are needed to get your momentum going but you must stop resisting them.

Love & Relationships- The reversed Death tarot card brings a spotlight to the fact that, like the upright, change is coming but with the added dynamic that you keep resisting it. This is one situation where it’s a really bad sign. While generally the card doesn’t speak to physical death it can be warning that your partner will pass away before you. It can also mean the passing of a loved one is coming quite soon. But those are very rare interpretations. More often it simply speaks to the death of your relationship with someone, romantic or otherwise. For whatever reason, the relationship must end. For singles and searchers this is an equally negative reading. You’ll not find what you are looking for right now. All is not lost, though. Change is coming.

Money & Career- The same theme repeats over and over with Death; transformation. In this case, the end of the old and the start of the new career path. This change will result in tight finances until things have resettled. You will weather this storm better by avoiding bad spending habits and remembering that adversity breeds growth. You will survive this and you will come out better for it.

Health & Wellness- Be proactive and religiously follow through with your treatments and check-ups. The Death tarot card in reverse signifies refusal to submit to health treatments and the failure of things to heal if you ignore properly treating them. Again, be proactive even if the news sounds bad. If you do nothing you can guarantee you’ll experience continued physical deterioration.

Spirituality- When you receive this card in reverse on a spiritual question it’s a difficult one to read because of the profound sadness. It often shows fear of the unknown which inhibits your soul to grow and mature and your spiritual elevation to take place. It also shows that you are trying to hold on to something that is already gone. A lot of times this means your old, dearly held belief system has crumbled and you feel lost without it. In this case, experience your grief and love yourself through it. You must overcome your reluctance in dealing with pain and loss because it ties you to the past and hinders your spiritual growth.

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