The Death Arcanum calls for intelligence, reflection, and reason in order to make the right choices without any rush, but without excessive hesitation either.
Page Contents
This Arcanum Death symbolizes the triumph of life over death, or even reincarnation. It hints at some hidden spiritual potential, lying dormant in your soul, which has to be awakened in order to move on.
This is a “positive” card that calls for some in-depth transformations, as well as thorough introspection to find genuine solutions to a problem.
In this article I’ll be covering the Death Tarot Card Keywords: Upright & Reversed Meaning
Death Tarot Card Keywords
Upright Transformation, Endings, Metamorphosis, Change, Transition, End of Cycle Reversed Stagnation, Resistance to change, Immobility, Inner purging, Stalemate, Fear of Change Yes or No Card Yes Numerology Number XIII (13) Element Water Planet Pluto Astrological Sign Scorpio Healing Crystals Amber, Black Tourmaline
What does Death Card Mean?
It’s unlikely that this card really means that someone has died. Usually, it means the end of something, like a relationship or an interest. This means that the person has become more self-aware.
Death is a card of change, and it usually means that you need to let go of the past and start over.
The Death card is a sign of spiritual change.
In a spiritual Tarot reading, this card shows a time when you can connect deeply with your higher self and find a spiritual depth you may not have known you had.
Death (XIII) Depiction
The Death card depicts a skeleton on a white horse. The Grim Reaper, Death will come no matter what. The skeleton signifies the component of the body that persists long after life has left it.
Its dark tint represents grief and mystery, while the white horse represents strength, purity, and might.
To symbolize beauty, cleansing, and immortality, Death holds a black flag with the number XI the Tarot card number, and a white five-petal rose symbolizing change.
These images show that death isn’t only the end of life. Death is about ends, rebirth, change, and transition. Death is a natural part of life and has its own beauty.
In front of the horse children and a bishop, a plea to spare their lives but as we know death spares no one. Status, youth, gender, or race, none are spared. as a figure with a crown lays dead.
In the background is a boat on the river symbolizing the dead being carried to the afterlife. Also, notice the sun setting between two towers on the top right of the card this symbolizes death and rebirth for each day.
Death in the Major Arcana
Death (XIII) is the 13th trump card in the Major Arcana in a traditional Tarot deck, not necessarily a bad card instead it signifies endings, change, personal transformation & transition
Death Upright Meaning
The Death card is powerful in the Upright position because it has so many meanings.
The Upright Death tarot card often represents closing a chapter, letting go of the past, and trimming the fat.
The Death card signifies the conclusion of one major phase and the beginning of another.
The Death card is one of the most feared and misunderstood in the Tarot. Most people panic when they hear the card’s name, fearing they will collapse and die. Relax! Death is one of the deck’s most positive cards.
The Death card represents the end of a key phase or element of your life that no longer serves you, allowing room for something far more precious and vital.
To open another door, close one. You must let go of the past and welcome new possibilities. It’s hard to let go of the past, yet it holds the promise of regeneration and development.
Resisting these essential endings can cause emotional and physical suffering, but visualizing a new potential allows for more constructive patterns to emerge.
Similarly, Death depicts a period of profound change and transition. To bring in the new, you must transform yourself. Change is a beneficial, cleansing, and transformative force in your life.
Death and the removal of limiting constraints can lead to a richer, more happy life.
The Death card represents an abrupt transformation. Death happens to everyone, regardless of race, wealth, location, or skin color.
So, the Death card may be a message that you are caught in the midst of tremendous change if accompanied by The Tower or The Hanged Man. While the upheaval may be unwelcome and painful, it may also provide new chances and advantages.
Finally, Death is a sign that you need to learn to let go of unhealthy attachments in order to live a more meaningful and significant life.
Death teaches you to let go of old habits and move on. This is a great card to break a harmful habit. This is a moment to trim the excess and let go of needless things. Purge yourself of old baggage, memories, and clutter.
Death Upright Card Keywords
Transformation, Endings, Metamorphosis, Change, Transition, End of Cycle
What does Death Upright Mean for Love and Relationships?
In terms of love and relationships, the Death tarot card meaning might suggest emotional stagnation. If you are already in a relationship, you must learn to accept change. This card might also mean you desire to end a relationship, especially if it’s not going well. Remember that all doors closed by the Death tarot card open another.
While Death may be difficult to accept in a love tarot reading, alterations for one or both partners may be necessary for growth.
The cards are suggestions, and you can either embrace and welcome your relationship’s evolution, or let it go. While frightening at first, the Death tarot card’s effects on love can be favorable. It might also be the beginning of a new era, like an engagement.
Instead, it can indicate to beliefs, attitudes, or habits that you are now letting go of that can help you build healthier and stronger relationships.
What does Death Upright Mean for Work and Career?
If you’ve been thinking about changing careers, the upright Death card may be a message to act now. If you don’t take action, life may force you to make a change.
You may be sticking to your current path for its stability, predictability, and safety, but if you are unhappy or unchallenged, you stand to lose much more. It’s not uncommon for one door to close and another to open.
What does Death Upright Mean for Finances?
The Death tarot card indicates loss, which means you may be facing a financial loss. This period can also be the start of a change in your relationship with money and what you value.
Lessons from this time can lead to practical adjustments in resource management and spiritual changes in knowing what is actually important to you.
Death Reversed Meaning
Like the upright Death Card, the Reversed Death Tarot card depicts tremendous change. When the card is turned upside down, there is an additional element: resistance.
I believe we can all resist this urge. You may be afraid of letting go of the past or unsure of the changes required to go forward.
Reversed Death is a card of transformation, usually referring to letting go of the past. In the opposite situation, Death can suggest you are rejecting substantial change.
You may be hesitant to let go or unsure of how to change. You still hold dangerous prior beliefs that may obstruct a new chance. Life has stalled due to your unwillingness, and you feel trapped.
Reversing death allows you to accept change rather than reject it. See what fantastic opportunities open up when you say ‘yes’ to change.
The future becomes even brighter when you learn to let go of the past. “I embrace change in all forms,” repeat this affirmation to help. This tiny shift in energy permits new doors to open in unexpected ways.
Death Reversed can also show that you are undergoing a huge personal transition, frequently in quietly and out of sight. You are letting go of what no longer serves you to create a way for the new.
Draw a second card to clarify what you need to let go of, or look through the other cards in the reading.
Plant medicine or other spiritual healing may help you remove fear and limiting ideas; change habits; or endure a physical purge and transformation.
You may not want to share this with others until you have undergone a personal metamorphosis.
Death Reversed Card Keywords
Stagnation, Resistance to change, Immobility, Inner purging, Stalemate, Fear of Change
What does Death Reversed Mean for Love and Relationships?
Reversing the Death tarot card love meaning can indicate a strong aversion to change in your approach to relationships and romance. This can be in the form of holding on to a relationship that is no longer serving either of you. You may be in a relationship because you are comfortable, obligated, or afraid of being alone.
What does Death Reversed Mean for Work and Career?
Like the upright version of this card, you are being pressured to change jobs or professional paths. In reverse, you may be resisting the change. You may stay despite the bad working conditions, low income, and boring projects. Change is unavoidable in our careers and other areas of our life. Not reject it, but learn to welcome it. When we cling to a cycle that is no longer meant to be, we steadily rot and exhaust ourselves. This card can also reflect bad trends reoccurring at work.
What does Death Reversed Mean for Finances?
Financial loss is inescapable, yet it may be difficult to accept and adapt to. You may need to adjust your spending habits to get through this brief phase, but you may find it difficult to give up some necessities. You may not be learning your lessons if you do not modify your relationship with your resources and your ideals. Stop opposing change and you may find it easier to cope.
Related Tarot Cards
- The Emperor Tarot Card
- King of Swords Tarot Card
- King of Wands Tarot Card
- King of Pentacles Tarot Card
- King of Cups Tarot Card
- 4 of Swords Tarot Card
- 4 of Wands Tarot Card
- 4 of Pentacles Tarot Card
- 4 of Cups Tarot Card
Death Card & Numerology
Death Tarot card has the number 13 in numerology 13 is 1+3=4, The number of The Emperor which shows us that the number 4 is the number of full expressions.
So Death exists outside of the world and is also fully present in it. This contradiction fits very well with the Death Tarot card.
Number 13 being an odd number, it is often thought to be bad luck. But it’s only bad luck on the physical level. In The Hanged Man, we learned that the number 12 stands for the fullness of humanity.
But that’s not entirely true. There is always a 13th person who is different from the rest. There were the twelve disciples in Christianity, but there was also Jesus.
In Judaism, there were 12 tribes, but the tribe of Levi was set aside to be priests, so in reality, it was the 13th tribe. (Joseph’s tribe was split in two.)
So, 13 stands for things that don’t fit into the normal world.
Death Yes or No in a Reading
Some Tarot experts would say Death is a No card in a yes or no reading, but that depends on the question.
If you want to stay on to a difficult relationship or job, the response is ‘No, cut your losses and move on.’
For a new beginning, such as quitting your job and starting a business, the answer is a Yes.
What does Death Card Mean for Love in a Reading?
If you want to find new love, you have to be totally over the ones you’ve had before.
You must move on.
Your next relationship will be very different from the ones you’ve had before, so don’t bring old problems with you. It’s too much trouble and you won’t need it anymore.
To let something new into your life, you have to change your thoughts, habits, and patterns.
The Death card is about endings, so if you’re worried about how your relationship is going, this isn’t a good sign.
Before you can find the love you’re meant to have, you have to let go of the past. This means giving up your dreams, expectations, and ideas of what the perfect relationship looks like.
 |
 |
| Get this Rider-Waite Tarot Deck on Amazon | Get this Modern Way Tarot Deck on Amazon |
 |
 |
| Get this Mystic Mondays Tarot Deck on Amazon | Get this Light Seer’s Tarot Deck on Amazon |
src: https://en.wikipedia.org/
What does Death Card Mean for Health and Spirituality in a Reading?
Death card meaning in the tarot is to let go of things that don’t help you, like guilt, shame about your body, and Doritos. Instead, pay attention to how you are changing.
You are the only person who can change the way your life turns out.
Before you can move on, you have to let go of the past and all of your guilt, shame, and regrets.
Fully accept everything about yourself, good and bad, to make room for new spiritual growth.
But how you live is what really matters, and that’s the message of the Death card.
Every minute of every day gives you a second chance. Don’t drag yourself down with things from the past. Start over by leaving the past where it belongs: in the past. Use this time to start over and start over again.
What does Death Card Mean for your Career in a Reading?
The Death Card meaning for your career is to be ready for the worst, but think the best will happen in the end.
This is a good card, so even if things look bad (you get fired, lose the promotion, or do something else stupid), it’s really for the best. Things will work out, but probably not how you want or think they will.
Let go of things that aren’t helping you reach your goals and make room for new growth in your life. Before you can move on to something better, you have to let this situation end completely.
What does Death Card Mean for Finances in a Reading?
The Death Card meaning is that there will be a big change. And you likely aren’t ready for it. Don’t take a big risk right now; instead, get your finances in order.
Are you free of debt and have enough money saved to live for the next six months? Work toward that goal, not a wishful thinking idea.
With that kind of financial security, you’ll be able to handle almost anything, even investments, and opportunities that only come around once in a lifetime.
If you’ve made big money mistakes in the past, accept them and move on with honesty. You can change the way you feel about money by taking charge of it today.
On a spiritual level, we all want to feel whole and like we belong. We want to figure out where we belong in the world. The tarot card Death doesn’t mean the end of the world.
It’s a wake-up call for us to fully live in the present and take care of the few things we can fully control.
What does Drawing The Death Card in a Reading Mean?
When drawing The Death card in a reading don’t be too freaked out if this card appears in your spread. The Death card meaning doesn’t necessarily mean you or someone you care about is going to die.
Instead, “death” just refers to an ending or a change – and likely, a permanent one. Depending on how you look at it, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
“Do not dread death.” In spite of his frightening appearance, Death is here to teach you crucial life lessons. You are going to undergo a major transformation, and the cards explain to you how and why. Welcome Death and see what you can get out of it.
For all you know, you could be shutting the door on something that was not good for you, in order to open up the opportunity to embrace something new that is.
Death asks you not to worry or panic when facing the essential modifications that you need to undertake if you do not want to miss out on life.
An act of great courage is the only thing that will allow you to untangle tough situations or finally discover the true intentions of people you thought you knew well.
The Death Tarot card is a powerful Major Arcana Trump card. When it appears upright, it foretells future changes. Your life can have these, and they will be permanent, significant, and absolute.
Departure from this world signifies a full severance from the past and future.
Despite the sorrow it causes, Death is a normal and necessary part of existence. Moving forward is essential, realizing that accepting change is easier than resisting it.
When Death visits, it may mean the end of a personal friendship, a career, a marriage, or even a real or symbolic existence.
Conversely, when the Death Tarot card is reversed, it loses all positive connotations. Its main message is about the difficulty of resisting change. But change is coming, whether we like it or not.
To Conclude Death Tarot Card is known for:
Transformation, change, destruction followed by renewal. The change may be in consciousness. Birth of new ideas, new opportunities.
Disaster, political upheaval, revolution, anarchy. Death of a political figure. Temporary stagnation. Tendency to inertia.
Questions to Ask Yourself when Drawing The Death Card
- Are you perhaps Self-sabotaging yourself?
- Do you get defensive when you make mistakes?
- Does your impostor syndrome affect how you work with others?
- What changes do you make to let go of bad habits?
To fully understand the meanings and dynamics of the Death Tarot Card, it is advised to get a tarot reading from an expert Tarot reader with, Oranum, Keen, or Kasamba.
Get an Expert Tarot Card Reading with:
Psychic Spirituality & Relationships Writer , Julianne has a bachelor’s in communication, she has also practiced numerology & the psychic arts for many years.