Death (Card XIII) - Basic Meanings

 

General:

Death, numbered XIII (that's thirteen in Roman numerals), is change.* The acorn dies in order to become an oak tree. Whenever something ends, something else begins. Change is the only constant in the universe, so you may as well have fun with it. Let change edify your life. Every time you learn something new, you change a little bit, and that's so very cool.  

Obstacle:

When in the obstacle position, Death tends to speak to fear of change and of the unknown; a denial of change. Yet, in reality, if you delay change for too long the change happens anyway. Chronic denial of change moves into stagnation, which changes into regression, and then into unnecessary suffering. It's okay to be scared, but gather your courage so you can zen it out while moving forward; progressing.

Solution:

When in the solution position, Death is asking you to make them your friend by embracing change with wild abandon. Get excited about the adventure of discovering what needs to change. Get grounded and real about what needs to change. You have to let go of what no longer serves you in order to get through what you are going through well, even when it's hard. Embrace it with compassion and curiosity. 

*Addendum: Death almost never means physical death, and even if it did, it's illegal to predict physical death anyway. 

NOTE: Picture slot intentionally left blank. I'm using NO pictures on purpose so that these meanings can be more easily applied to any Tarot deck using the Smith-Waite system, aka: Rider-Waite Smith (RWS).