Death RWS Tarot

Death

Child of the Great Transformers

Rules: Scorpio

Exaltation: Uranus

Planet: Pluto and Mars

Hebrew Letter: Nun

Color: Greenish-Blue

Musical Note: G-natural

 

Death Description and Symbolism

We see the grim reaper in black armor riding a white horse. We see a king lying dead, a priest praying and a young maiden and child. Only the woman and child accept death. The king being dead tells us that everyone dies, no matter how rich or powerful. You have two choices you can pray and beg for death not to come like the priest or you can just accept it like the maiden.

There is a river that flows towards two pillars. The pillars are the same ones painted on the Moon card. These symbolize the dark night of the soul that we all have to walk through in order to get to something new.

The black flag is a symbol of the white, mystic rose and of the sacral spinal cord. Waite hid a lot of the true meanings to the Tarot keys at the early turn of the century. I believe that he was trying to keep the real meanings hidden from mass consciousness so that people would be more likely to accept the cards. The old age of Pisces has fallen away and we have entered into the Age of Aquarius where the true meanings of the cards do not have to be concealed anymore. The white mystic rose it yet another misleading clue from Waite. The true occult meaning is the sacral spinal cord where the kundalini energy is coiled up, waiting to be released. During actual death, through orgasmic experiences and when having an out of body experience (OBE), the energy will release itself and spiral upward toward the crown chakra.

The sacral region of the spinal cord controls the reproductive functions, the perineum, colon and the bladder. Scorpio governs the reproductive organs, bladder, perineum (anus) and the colon. Scorpio is ruled by Mars, which is a center of the spinal column, which will help overcome the idea of Death. Once this center is released the true understanding of life and death are understood as the One Love. This is a clue as to why only the Emperor lays dead in the picture, for Aries is governed by Mars and the Emperor, card 4 (1+3=4) is governed by Aries. Again, once we release the Mars energy, we die and reform ourselves. It is only then that are sight is clear. The other death card is the Tower and Mars is also assigned to that card as well. Something to meditate on!

The sacral part of the spinal cord corresponds to the first chakra and carries up the vibration energy into the second chakra. There are five parts to the flower looking spinal bone just as Death transcends the five senses. There are also five sacral bones labeled s1, s2, s3, s4, and s5.

The sun is important in the Death card. There have been quite a few arguments over whether the sun is setting or rising. In traditional occult, the sun is rising. We know this because the river is flowing to the east and the sun rises in the east. The Grim Reaper is also moving towards the east. But it really doesn’t matter either way;  it is the manifestation of the same one force. You can choose to see it either way. The setting sun tells us that death is upon us and it is the end. The rising sun tells us of cycles and a transformation into a new day.

The Hebrew letter is Nun. As a noun it means “fish” in Hebrew. In Hebrew each letter has a word meaning. In Hebrew the verb means to “grow or sprout”. I don’t know a lot about Hebrew, but when I started studying the Hebrew words and letters system in tarot I noticed a direct correlation to Arabic. Root-based consonant languages, such as Hebrew and Arabic, are very beautiful and easy to learn because when you know where the root comes from you can make other words out of it easily. In Arabic the verb is nabata (نبت ), which also means to grow or sprout. We can think about this as an association to Scorpio when we think about a child sprouting up or growing in the womb through the reproductive process.

 

Death Interpretation and Divination

Death can indicate something that is supposed to happen. You have no control over it happening. It will come regardless of any action that you take to prevent it. It can indicate the death of a friendship, a job, or a marriage.

In transliteration tarot, Death translates into “no” or “not”. So if you get Death with the 3 of Cups it translates as “No, you will not become friends or you will not go to the party.”

Death can also be about a kundalini sexual experience. If you asked what you wanted in a partner and got the Death card, you might want the best sex ever on a tantric level. You want sex to take you to a higher place spiritually. It could represent the orgasm as a gateway to God, source and the Universe.

Celibacy is only for the very advanced spiritual souls who understand how to use the reproductive energies in the second chakra. You can pull up this dense sexual energy and use to to heal your body. In a man this power is let out and dispelled through ejaculation. When he is advanced enough, he can learn to turn this ejaculation inward and use it to energize his entire body, thus preventing the spilling of his life-force, chi, prana. But man does not normally get to this point in one life time and it is only for the very, very advanced. For a woman, she sheds blood every month. She can also learn to pull this energy up her body and stop or limit her monthly cycle.

In both man and a woman, you can use the orgasm and pull the energy up your body. You can do this with or without a partner. In a woman, it is much easier to do since she doesn’t have to worry about spilling her reproductive life-force. In a man, this is achieved through having an orgasm without ejaculation. Again, this is for the very advanced and I have seen “tantric-dakini’s” advertising these services for men online. Most of these services are simply prostitution disguised as some sort of spiritual eastern philosophy attached to them. I do not advocate using these services. I doubt most will yield the instruct of utilizing the life force.

The Death card can be very spiritual. It may be telling you that it’s time to evolve to a higher level spiritually. In order to do this, you’ll need to leave behind an old attitude or believe.

It can also mean death of an idea or period in your life. It has to be quite a literal transformation though. You would have to cut something off that truly is dead.

Death is something that is forced on to you. You may not have a choice in the matter. You may have trouble letting go of old habits and Death is here to tell you that you are being forced. You do not have a choice in the matter.

People hate to hear this, but the Tarot Death card can be about someone that will truly die. Death is, after all, natural and inevitable.

Death is transformational. All the leaves need to fall off in the winter and be barren before new leaves will grow in the spring. They must ‘die’ in the winter to be ‘reborn’ in the spring.

People tend to fear death because literal death is the giving up of one’s body and leaving behind all the materialistic, identifying aspects to a life. We also leave behind loved ones and our relationships with them. But it doesn’t have to be scary. No one lives forever and nothing goes on forever. Death asks you to look deep inside yourself and accept change for the better. You simply cannot go on in the manner in which you are living any longer.

 

Death as a Person

Death to describe someone’s personality could indicate someone who has many different and eclectic friends. They are a little odd and always interesting. They have a spiritual side that they may hide from others. They have a love of knowledge and believe that they can keep knowledge in the soul through the DNA. Someone with the tarot Death card as a signifier is very good at keeping secrets. They love excitement and are different. They may pride themselves in being different and very intense. They can end up being loners.

 

Death in Love

When Death comes up in a love reading, it does not seem likely that you and your romantic partner will continue. Death is a definite, “No, it won’t work out.”

Death in love has a tendency towards obsession. They may call too many times or email excessively unaware that this is off putting. In this way, they set themselves up for a loss in the long term. The challenge with Death in love is to know when to back away and when to advance.

 

Death as Feelings

They feel like it’s over. Whether or not it really is over is left to be unseen.

On the other hand, it could be possible that you have sexually, orgasmic feelings. It really depends on the context.

 

Death as Advice

When you see the Death card as advice, you are being asked to let something go. It might be an idea or a lover, but you might want to end things.

 

Death on a Mundane Level

On a mundane level, Death can indicate doctor’s visits and therapy sessions.

 

Tarot Death Professions

Mortician. Grave Keeper. Forensics. Sexual Therapist. OBGYN. Coroner. IRS. Debit Collector. Forensic Accountant.

 

Death Reversed

When Death comes up reversed it still indicates that something is over, but you may be trying to sustain a false illusion that it is alive and well. You are resisting Death with every fiber of your body.

Death Reversed indicates that there is a delay in something ending.

Reversed Death can indicate that many people are sick, but not dying.

 

Death Tarot Card Combinations

Death and Lovers

a. Kundalini seggs.
b. A seggs experience that brings you closer to God
c. It can also predict the ending of a relationship or a relationship that
never forms or a relationship that happened in a past life.
d. It also easily predicts the end of a relationship whether it was romantic
or a business partnership.

Death and Strength

a. Having the emotional strength to end a friendship or relationship
b. Being diplomatic in regard to the end of a relationship/friendship.

Death and Hermit

a. An immediate change of thinking due to a wise sage or insight and self-awarness on a higher level of thinking.

Death and Hanged Man

a. Seeing a situation that had to end as it really is.
b. Getting a new perspective on a dying situation
c. Understanding completely why the relationship had to end.

Death and the Sun

a. There is always a silver lining.

Death and Three of Swords

a. Open heart surgery.

Death and Ten of Swords

a. Extremely inebriated.
b. Alcohol blackout.

Death and Five of Swords

a. The End of the fight.
b. All parties are withdrawing from the fighting. They realize it’s futile.

Death and Ten of Pentacles

a. The end of good family relationship
b. The death of the patriarch

Tarot Decks Worth Owning

Before Tarot Deck

Following the tremendous success of the New Vision Tarot and the After Tarot, the Before Tarot Kit shows tarot readers and collectors the scenes that take place immediately before the images rendered in the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot. Each of the Arcana opens a new window into our understanding of the cards, adding a time dimension to what we see and what it means. -Amazon Except

After Tarot Deck

“After Tarot explores what the cards would look like just moments after the usual scenes with which we are most familiar. For instance, what would happen to The Fool moments after putting his foot over the cliff? Find out in the revolutionary After Tarot.

Kit includes 78-card deck and a 160-page guidebook.” Excerpt from Amazon

Oracle of the Mermaids

“Overflowing with Mermaid magic, legends and lore, the 168-page guidebook features in-depth messages and clear, accurate card spreads to help you to find answers for yourself, your loved ones, or your clients. Features 45 illustrations by renowned fantasy artist Selina Fenech.” excerpt from Amazon

Ciro Marchetti Oracle Deck

“Through lush, Victorian-influenced images, the Oracle of Visions deck offers unique perspectives for insightful and intuitive readings. Rather than relying on a single theme, this eclectic oracle deck introduces archetypal figures from many areas of life, including the theater and the carnival. Ciro Marchetti’s imaginative scenes encourage us to set aside pre-conceived ideas and open ourselves up to new ways of looking at our choices, decisions, and potential outcomes. Oracle of Visions set includes 52 cards and 140-page illustrated guidebook. Following a career in advertising and graphic design, Ciro Marchetti has devoted the last decade of his life to the creation of several divination decks, including the Gilded Reverie Lenormand deck and the Tarot of Dreams. His award-winning digital artwork is popular around the world.” -Amazon

Ciro Marchetti Gilded Tarot Deck

“One of Llewellyn’s bestselling tarot decks has been updated with brilliantly refreshed art and an updated guidebook. With borderless cards, richer colors, and stylish design improvements, the deck retains its powerful readability with a more contemporary look to engage its many fans and new users alike. Following the RWS style and abounding with medieval magicians, priestesses, emperors, and knights, the Gilded Tarot Royale will continue to inspire tarot readers for years to come.” Amazon Staff Writer

Rider Waite Tarot Kit

The kit comes in a beautiful gift box and has lots of extras, including 78 beautiful tarot cards, in-depth guide, instruction booklet, luxurious velvet tarot card bag, 3 piece of tarot card holder stands, 7-color chakra stones, crystal pendulum, divination tablecloth and 2 decorative feathers. You will feel like you are participating in a personal ritual every time you pick up your tarot deck gift set.

Rider Waite Classic

Rider-Waite Tarot has set the standard for hundreds of other tarot decks, which follow the archetypal images created by Pamela Colman Smith in 1909under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite. This edition includes Smith’s original hand drawn titles.”A unique feature of the Rider-Waite deck, and one of the of the principal reasons for its enduring popularity, is that all of the cards, including the Minor Arcana, depict full scenes with figures and symbols.

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Additional Reading

Paul Foster Case

Paul Foster Case takes you deep inside the esoteric elements of the Major Arcana.

A Complete Guide to the Tarot

One of the first books I read on Tarot. I bought mine from a used book store when I was 15-years-old. Eden Gray’s Tarot Book remains a staple must-have and a timeless resource.

“The Tarot is a symbolic record of human experience. Through deeply rooted mystic powers, the cards accomplish miracles of psychological insight, wise counsel and accurate divination.”—from A Complete Guide to the Tarot

The Element Tarot Handbook

For a deeper, esoteric dive into Tarot, I recommend Naomi Ozaniec’s book. She takes cues from the Golden Dawn, Qabalah and Western Mysteries.

We make a small percentage from purchases through the Amazon Affiliate program.