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Death is the Major Arcana number XIII and has various iconographic representations, depending on the deck. The common representation is that of a skeleton armed with a scythe.
In the Tarot of Marseilles, this skeleton is naked and reaping a field made up of human heads and other parts of the body. In other decks this figure wears a black tunic and is represented on horseback, in the atria the skeleton is still inserted into the ground and reaps skulls belonging to men of various social classes, to express the concept that death comes for everyone, without making distinctions.
Another peculiarity of this card is that in some decks its name and number are omitted. The interpretation of Arcana 13 must not literally follow his name. To better understand it, Death should be read as transformation and renewal. It is a card that can be feared by those who resist change, especially if evolutionary, because it lives rooted in its comfort zone. When it comes out on a spread, it makes us reflect on what needs to be severed or radically transformed. If the old is not eliminated, the false beliefs, what no longer belongs to one’s being there is stasis and lack of evolution, therefore it should be read as the need to destroy what no longer serves one’s path in order to leave the field open to renewal and evolution.
Depending on the topic, it could also indicate a physical death, but it should be best read by analyzing all the papers on it, so as to understand whether there is actually a reference to physical death or not. The card itself is not very functional if the consultant does not question himself. The interpretation it offers is to accept cycles and changes, because they are part of personal growth and evolution. Growth, whether physical or spiritual, is based on change and the cycles of death and rebirth. For this reason, paper must be seen as a need for renewal, for the elimination of what is no longer needed and which prevents one’s true self from emerging.
In the spreads on the money it may indicate an inheritance due to the death of some relative, or economic losses, or a deal that will make the consultant suffer a lot before being concluded. The jobs associated with this card are those that have to do with bones and death as. In terms of work, it can indicate that you are close to finishing a job, so you have to adapt to this change and find another one, more akin to the person you are transforming into or it could indicate a tortuous path, full of challenges, to find a job.
In questions about love, Death can indicate the end of a relationship, as the partner is no longer akin at an evolutionary level, or refer to a tormented story where one does not have the courage to take different paths for fear of changes, or a story that must radically change in order to continue to function.
Death is associated with bones, so it could indicate all the health problems associated with them. In more general terms it can indicate a long illness that will make the consultant suffer or, as the name implies, death itself. To avoid frightening the potential consultant, it should be read as a whole, paying attention to all the cards, as it could also indicate the end of a long illness with recovery.
