ENDING TRANSITION ELIMINATION INEXORABLE FORCES
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ENDING closing one door to open another bringing something to a close completing a chapter concluding unfinished business putting the past behind you having a parting of the ways Reversed Early Phase: You may be approaching an ending. A parting of the ways may be coming up. You may be entering the end game. A task may be nearing completion. Someone may decide to call it a day. Late Phase: The time of ending is past. The completion is behind you. Unfinished business is no longer an issue. The old ways are fading. The urge to terminate is decreasing. |
GOING THROUGH TRANSITION changing status moving from the known to the unknown being cast adrift waiting in an in-between state being in the middle Reversed Early Phase: You may enter a period of transition. A change of condition may be on the horizon. The tide may begin to shift. Someone may be nearing an in-between state. A major transformation may become possible. Late Phase: A transition is behind you. You're no longer moving from one state to another. A passage is almost completed. People are less interested in change now. The need for conversion is decreasing. |
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cutting out what isn't necessary shedding old attitudes getting down to bare bones concentrating on essentials getting back to basics Reversed Early Phase: You may start to get rid of baggage. Something may be jettisoned in the future. Nonessentials may be on the way out. A dismissal may be in the works. You may begin to simplify. Late Phase: The period of elimination is behind you. A paring down is less likely now. You're no longer concerned about a removal. The cut has been made. The need to do away with is fading. |
EXPERIENCING INEXORABLE FORCES being in the path of sweeping change being caught in the inescapable going through what cannot be avoided being part of a powerful movement riding your fate accepting the inevitable Reversed Early Phase: An irresistible event may be on the horizon. An earthshaking experience may be coming up. Powerful happenings may be building strength. You may get drawn into a compelling scenario. Late Phase: A powerful moment is behind you. You've gone through a fateful encounter. A larger-than-life experience has passed. You're no longer at the mercy of forces. The situation is less unyielding now. |
Description
Death! A powerful energy indeed. Who can look at the dark, skeletal figure on Card 13 and not feel uneasy? Here we see the face of our deepest fear—our greatest unknown. We recoil from Death because we think of it as annihilation. In the tarot (and in life I would suggest) Death is not a permanent end, but a transition into a new state. Life is eternal in its essence, if not in its form. To grow, to move, to live—we must “die’ to the old to give birth to the new.
It is a truism in tarot work that Card 13 rarely has anything to do with physical death. A responsible card reader never interprets Card 13 in this way because this view is too limiting. Death is not something that happens once to our bodies. It happens continually, at many levels and not just in the physical. Each moment we die to the present so the future can unfold.
In readings, Death often represents an important ending that will initiate great change. It signals the end of an era, a moment when a door is closing. At such times, there may be sadness and reluctance, but also relief and a sense of completion. Death also suggests getting down to basics. Dying has a way of making you concentrate on what's important. This card reminds you to cut out the unnecessary. Death can also mean you will experience an inexorable force. Death is inevitable, and sometimes there are events that are inescapable as well. When these moments occur, the best approach is to ride your fate and see where it takes you.
Some Possible Opposing Cards
Fool—beginning
Empress—birth
Judgement—rebirth, fresh start
Some Possible Reinforcing Cards
Tower—sweeping impact, powerful forces
Eight of Wands—conclusion, ending
Five of Cups—loss, goodbyes
Eight of Cups—moving on, finishing up
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