I was reading Tarot at a private party. I approached a table and asked if anyone would like a reading. Two guests replied with an enthusiastic "yes" while the third, looking slightly panicked said "NO! I don't want to get the Death card!" I've had some interesting conversations over the years about Tarot (Some more lively than others) but one discussion that reoccurs is the meaning of the Death card. So I've decided to do a series of posts on the most misunderstood Tarot cards and invite you to look at them in a new light. Hollywood has never done them justice. One of my favourite decks is the Robin Wood Tarot so I will use the imagery from the deck for this series. Death - the 13 Card: The grim reaper stands swathed in flowing robes of red, faceless, hooded and beckoning the viewer.... That's pretty much where everyone stops and begins getting twitchy. As a Tarot reader I keep looking. The central figure stands in woodland surrounded by birch and greenery. It is a place of vibrancy and life. A yellow butterfly dances under the outstretched arm. I hear my intuition whisper "Transformation". Death holds a banner bedecked with a flower not the customary scythe of reaping. For me it holds a certain balance: A reminder of the cyclical nature of life. Things must give way for something else to enter. Irrevocable change has come. Humans are creatures of comfort. Change, albeit easier for some and harder for others, is not always welcome. Especially when it challenges us to move past what is familiar, routine and well.... comfortable. The Death card shows up when it is time for that which has created stagnation, held us back or has become destructive needs to shift. Sometimes we are in the drivers seat and other times we need to buckle up and hold on for the ride. But if we listen deeply to our gut and intuition we know some signs were there. Can the Death card mean mortal death? In all the years of reading Tarot, 99% of the spreads have reflected the end of something relating to that persons situation. It has not acted as a portent of pending death. Death once showed up to affirm for a client that she was struggling with grief after the loss of her Father. After 25 years I have come to look at the Death card as an ally. Death is not a card of doom but an invitation to move more fully into life. Growing pains are referred to as pains for a reason. Growth is not always comfortable but it is a constant companion. So the next time you see the Death card in a reading, look at it as a friend not a foe. For Death is there to remind you that something must end so something new can be born.
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March 2017
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