Pixabay: mzgiaconte

The Death tarot card is one of the 22 major arcana cards in a tarot deck.

It is often associated with change, endings, and transformation.

This card rarely means that someone will pass away.

But for understandable reasons, people fear this card.

The card's appearance if you look at the one from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck is you see the Messenger of Death or the Grim Reaper, a skeleton wearing black armor that is riding a white horse.

Looking Deeper At The Death Tarot Card

The point of the armor that the skeleton is wearing is even though you may be invincible, death is an inevitable part of life, and you cannot avoid it.

The black is the color of mourning and mystery, whereas the white horse represents purity, power, and strength.

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And take a look at the flag on the card as it has a white rose with five petals, which represents purification and beauty and being immortal.

There are five petals because five represents change, and death does not only mean that your life is coming to an end.

Death can also mean the end of certain phases in your life so that new beginnings can come.

Therefore, when you see the Death card come up in a reading, it can signify that something new is coming and change is on the horizon.

But the difference is usually life-altering.

When you think about it, the Death card applies to first-time mothers.

The women who never had kids that have their first ones are now moms, and that is a death of who they used to be.

I remember hearing a story. Whether it was true or not, I don't know.

I cannot remember if I listened to this story back when I learned the tarot or if someone told it before I got into it.

This 13-year old girl was walking on the sidewalk, and she suddenly found the Death card on it.

She picked it up and understandably freaked out because of what the card represented.

Of course, she thought that she was going to pass away! But when she got home and went to the bathroom, she found something interesting.

Her period came on for the first time. Every girl experiences a significant transformation, which the Death tarot card would represent.

Either way, Death means significant and transformative changes. The change can be positive, but it may also mean difficult times are ahead.

But here is the thing. Even if it means the latter, those difficult times ahead will not last, as nothing does. That is something to remember.

What Else Can It Mean If The Death Tarot Card Comes Up In A Reading?

If you see the Death tarot card in your reading, it's essential to pay attention to what else is happening in the reading.

This card can often signal a time of transformation, whatever that may mean for you.

So be open to change and ready to embrace it, and you'll be able to weather whatever storms may come your way.

Think about it, as Death comes right after the Hanged Man, and the Hanged Man represents the time to reflect as time stands still.

And Death means the death of a particular phase that no longer works for you.

And sometimes you intuitively feel that something is ending, and right before it ends, things can come to a standstill but not always.

So you may be the one that needs to take the time to yourself to pause and reflect before the ending happens.

One clear example of this is if you are in an unhappy relationship and know that the relationship does not serve you.

You feel you need to take some extra time to yourself to reflect on whether or not the relationship is helping you.

And if you have to do that, the message is clear. You have to take extra time to reflect because it is not!

If it were, you would not need to take time to yourself to do that. But once you conclude, you end it.

It does not necessarily have to be a romantic relationship or a friendship. It can be one with a therapist.

I have had to do that many times.

It is not easy finding the right therapist but firing a therapist is not something you do in a heartbeat as you put your future sessions on hold to think about it more, and then you conclude that it is time to end it.

That way, you can open yourself up to finding new ones.

One question that often comes up too is if there is ever a time when the Death card represents a physical death.

And yes, it can.

However, the only time that it will is if you specifically do a reading regarding a loved one who is terminally ill, and if Death comes up, then they are leaving the physical plane.

When I did a private reading for myself, I looked into my late grandmother's situation as she was 97 and passed away on Halloween 2020, not from COVID-19.

She was deteriorating quickly, and I wanted to know what was happening with her.

So  I did a three-card reading past, present, and future, and Death was the current card. I did that reading several nights before that night.

Finally, she was ready to transition.

Anyway, now let's look and see how the Death card relates to Risa.

Like everyone, she has had to go through many transformations, which resulted in beginnings and endings, but, once again, the Death card in reverse seems to match her situation a lot more.

So, let's check out the meaning of Death in reverse.

Death In Reverse

Death in reverse is not a positive representation. It can represent living a life where you are unaware.

It can also mean depression, resistance to change, and delayed endings.

Doesn't that match Risa a lot more when you think of that?

She is going through the motions of life where she is not even really aware of what is happening because she dissociates often enough.

She has allowed trauma and mental illness to take over her life. Risa has the opportunity to make so many changes.

And that is a common situation when it comes to anyone who has mental illnesses in general.

Change is scary, so it is very easy to resist it.

She could easily change her situation if she were open to it.

And I am not only talking about her setting boundaries more.

She could place her child in a home as she does not have the tools to care for him properly.

She could do something about her relationship with Ron because it seems like there is a lack of love in that marriage.

It is all about obligation. But then again, the fear of her not being able to support herself financially is what keeps her in that loveless marriage.

She could cut her parents off since her mother devalued her during her entire life, and her father enabled her to do it.

So you see that the Death in reverse is what truly represents Risa's life.

And we all have had been in situations where fear paralyzed us to make big moves and transformations.

Because it is easier said than done when it comes to being open to making such significant transformations.

Sometimes, you have no choice but to surrender to those transformations which will bring up the Death card in an upright position.

The next card to go over is Temperance.