XIII Death - 'Rise From the Ashes'
At number 'XIII' in the Major Arcana, The Fool comes upon a forbidding figure. It takes the form of the Grim Reaper, a hooded skeletal apparition that stops The Fool right in his tracks. The card often referred to as 'L'Arcane sans nom' --the Unnamed Arcana-- in the Marseille Tarot, was given the name 'Death' in later decks. This is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented Tarot archetypes outside the Tarot community.
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| 'Death' from the Gilded Tarot Royale by Ciro Marchetti |
DEATH - Rise from the Ashes
KEYWORDS
Change. Transformation. Transition. Rebirth. Painful endings. The end of an era. Life cycles. Letting go of the past. A new life. Death.
Resisting change. Refusing to let go. Mourning past loss. Living in the past. Cheating death. Overcoming dismal odds. Surviving.
THE LIGHT
Death is without a doubt one of the most misunderstood and feared cards in the Tarot. It's been used ad nauseam in countless movie scenes, provoking the collective gasp that usually follows the moment the Tarot reader turns this infamous card over and we can expect someone to die very soon after. I don't think any other card inspires the same instinctive recoiling response, with the possible exception of The Devil. The word "death" and the disturbing symbolism of the Grim Reaper wielding a huge scythe that is often used to illustrate this card understandably result in the great misconceptions associated with it.
So how scary is the Death archetype, really? In my experience, infinitely less terrifying than the Ten of Swords, which will always be the real 'death card' to me; much less destructive than the Tower and, as for The Devil, that fear is more rooted in Christian lore than anything else. As a Tarot reader, Death, while never truly welcome, is definitely not a card I dread to see. It's important to choose the right words to place it in the proper context in a reading and carefully explain its meaning to the person we're reading for.
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| 'Death' variations. Left: Le Tarot Noir. Right: Madhouse Tarot. Top: Infernal Tarot |
Don't get me wrong, Death can in very rare circumstances represent actual physical death. It would be disingenuous to try and pretend otherwise. However, this card alone is not enough to predict such a dismal outcome. It needs to be paired with other very telling cards. Look for combinations with cards like the Tower; the Three, Four and most significantly the Ten of Swords. Judgment or the Hierophant when paired with Death and the Four of Swords can sometimes indicate a funeral. It's imperative to use our intuition very cautiously in these instances.
In most cases, however, Death does not represent the passing into the next world. It signals the start of a critical transformation, a sort of rebirth in this life. A metamorphosis into a different version of ourselves brought on by a painful ending. Our life is undergoing fundamental changes that will bring about a complete rethinking of our priorities, our relationships, our surroundings and the plans we thought were set in stone. It's the end of an era, but also the dawning of a new one. As one door seems to slam shut in our face, another one will immediately open up, although we may not realize it yet. It may appear as if everything is going to hell in a hand basket, but when the initial shock and pain subside, it will become apparent that it was all for the best.
As we've seen in some of the previous Major Arcana archetypes, a certain duality is also present in the Death card. The regretful conclusion of an important part of our life coexists with the new hope of a brand new chapter. Paradoxically, the Death card is a reminder that nothing ever truly dies, it just takes on a different form. Like the child going through the many stages that lead to adulthood, leaving behind several versions of him or herself. Or the caterpillar that eventually becomes a graceful butterfly. Keep in mind the legendary Phoenix that is reborn and rises from the ashes time and time again. Death is not the end. It's a new beginning.
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| 'Death' variations. From left to right: The Secret Tarot, the Dreamkeepers Tarot and the Five Cents Tarot |
THE SHADOW
The shadow side of this already dark archetype can be interpreted as a tendency to resist change at all costs. It signifies that we're holding on to a situation that is already on its last throes. For reasons ranging from fear to loyalty, to denial, to sheer stubbornness we're incapable of letting go and we're cheating ourselves of a better life in the process.
Death in a negative position in a spread can indicate that we're stuck in the past, reliving long gone moments or endlessly mourning past losses. This leads to a life of total absence in all aspects. We exist in the physical plane, but it's as if our soul is already dead. We convince ourselves that our best days are behind us and that there is nothing left to look forward to in the future. We become actual living ghosts.
This card can also reveal a deep, immense internal upheaval. An inner transformation that we're either keeping secret from others, or that we're not aware is taking place yet. It will start to have an effect on every aspect and area of our lives and the change will not remain hidden for long.
On a more positive note, the shadow Death card may indicate that we have somehow cheated fate, that we've had a lucky narrow escape from a really bad situation or that we've survived some pretty dismal odds.
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| More 'Death' variations. From left to right: The Slow Tarot, the Pagan Otherworlds Tarot and I 22 Arcani Fiabeschi |
LITERALLY
The obvious literal interpretation of this card is written right there on the card: Death. Be very careful with this one, though. As mentioned above, the odds of predicting an actual passing with this card alone are astronomically low.
TAROT ACADEMIA
Death and The Fool mirror each other in the Tarot de Marseille in an interesting way. While The Fool bears a name, but no number, Death bears a number, but no name. This card remains nameless in some old Italian decks as well, while in others it's renamed 'Il Tredici'--which translates as 'the number thirteen'. Yet, even without its label, there is no mistaking the symbolism in this card. It clearly portrays some representation of the Grim Reaper and invariably conjures up visions of death and decay.
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| Older versions of the 'Death' archetype found at number 'XIII' From left: Pierpont Morgan Visconti Sforza, Sola Busca Tarot and Minchiate Etruria |
Regardless of whether or not it bears a name, Death is almost always found at number 'XIII' in the Major Arcana. One exception being Etteilla's 'Book of Thoth' where 'La Mort' is found at number '17'--but one could argue that this particular deck is more of a Tarot/Oracle hybrid to begin with. The symbolic significance of the number thirteen won't be lost on the more superstitious among us. Was assigning this historically cursed number to this specific archetype a coincidence, or was it intentional? I think it was undoubtedly by design.
Let's look into why the number thirteen is so reviled in Western culture and why it would be associated with Death in the Tarot. According to historians, the number 12 was revered by the ancient Sumerians who used it as the basis for their numeral system. Part of that system is still used today to measure time --12 months in the year, 12 Zodiac signs, 12 hours on our clocks, our days are comprised of two 12 hour segments, etc... Many religions hold the number 12 as important. There are 12 main Gods in the Greek pantheon; the Norse god Odin had 12 sons; Christ had 12 disciples and there are 12 Imams in the Shia Islamic religion. Coming right after this significant, almost holy number, 13 seems oddly out of place. Like an unwelcome intruder.
In Christian lore, thirteen is closely associated with Judas Iscariot, the 13th guest to show up at the Last Supper and who later betrayed Jesus in the most despicable way: with a kiss. The proverbial kiss of Death, maybe?
In Norse mythology the number 13 is also similarly maligned. It is believed that evil and chaos were first introduced to the world when the treacherous god Loki crashed a dinner party in Valhalla, making him the 13th uninvited guest and upsetting the perfect balance of the 12 other gods in attendance.
I don't think it's any wonder that 'Death' is to be found at number XIII. Tarot stems from Western culture and the view of the number thirteen as an unlucky or cursed number is a mostly Western construct. In other cultures around the world 13 is just another regular number.
In any event, the Death Tarot archetype and the number thirteen are inextricably linked and this card adds yet another layer to the 'unlucky 13' superstitious belief.
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| An unusual 'Death' representation from the quirky Housewives Tarot by J. Buffum and P. Kepple |
AN EXERCISE
The interpretation of the Death card is very much influenced by the surrounding cards in a spread. The core meaning of this archetype being about fundamental change, transformation and endings, the reader will need to rely on those other cards to identify which area of a person's life is going to be affected.
Place the Death card on the table and place your deck face down right next to it. Pull one card from the top of the deck and try to interpret it in conjunction with the Death card. Repeat as many times and with as many cards as you want. This will help you fine tune the many ways in which Death can be interpreted and how it doesn't always necessarily spell doom.