Editing Death (tarot card)

{{Short description|Tarot card of the Major Arcana}}
{{redirect|Death card|the playing card|Ace of spades}}
[[File:RWS Tarot 13 Death.jpg|thumb|Death, [[Rider–Waite–Smith tarot deck]]]]
'''Death (XIII)''' is the 13th [[trump (card games)|trump]] or [[Major Arcana]] card in most traditional [[tarot]] decks. It is used in [[tarot card games]] as well as in [[Tarot reading|divination]]. The card typically depicts the [[Grim Reaper]], and when used for divination is often interpreted as signifying major changes in a person's life.

==Description==
Some decks, such as the [[Tarot of Marseilles]] and the [[Visconti-Sforza tarot deck|Visconti Sforza Tarot]] omit the name from the card, calling it "The Card with No Name", often with the implication of a broader meaning than literal death. There are other decks that title Death as "Rebirth" or "Death-Rebirth."

The Death card usually depicts the [[Grim Reaper]], the personification of Death. In some decks, the Grim Reaper is riding a [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse#Pale Horse|pale horse]], and often he is wielding a sickle or scythe. Surrounding the Grim Reaper are dead and dying people from all classes, including kings, bishops and commoners. The [[Rider–Waite tarot deck]] depicts the skeleton carrying a black standard emblazoned with [[White Rose of York|The White Rose of York.]] 

In the background are two towers and a rising sun.

==Examples==
<gallery>
File:Death tarot charles6.jpeg|Charles VI (or Gringonneur) (15th century)
File:Cary-Yale Tarot deck - Death.jpg|[[Visconti-Sforza tarot deck#Cary-Yale|Cary-Yale Visconti]] (15th century)
File:Death - Pierpont Morgan Bergamo tarot deck.jpg|[[Visconti-Sforza tarot deck#Pierpont Morgan Bergamo|Pierpont Morgan Bergamo]] (15th century)
File:Jean Dodal Tarot trump 13.jpg|Jean Dodal [[Tarot of Marseilles|Marseilles]] (1701-1715)
File:Troccas-13-der-tod.jpg|Rauch [[Troccas]] (1831–1838)
File:Minchiate card deck - Florence - 1860-1890 - Trumps - 13 - La Morte.jpg|Florence [[Minchiate]] (1860–1890)
File:Piedmontese tarot deck - Solesio - 1865 - Trump - 13 - Death.jpg|Solesio [[Tarocco Piemontese|Piedmontese]] (1865)
File:T13 Tarot.png|Lequart [[Tarot of Marseilles|Marseilles]] (1890)
File:17 La Mort - Grimaud Grand Etteilla Tarot Deck.jpg|Grimaud [[Etteilla]] (1890)
File:Papus Atout 13-sans-nom-without-a-name.png|[[Papus]] (1909)
</gallery>

==Interpretation==
According to [[Eden Gray]] and other authors on the subject, it is uncommon that this card actually represents a physical death, rather it typically implies an end, possibly of a relationship or interest, and therefore an increased sense of self-awareness.<ref>Gray, Eden. ''The Complete Guide to the Tarot''.</ref><ref>Bunning, Joan. ''Learning the Tarot''.</ref>

In fact, Gray interprets this card as a change of thinking from an old way into a new way.  The horse Death is riding is stepping over a prone king, which symbolizes that not even royalty can stop change.<ref>Gray, Eden. ''Complete Guide to the Tarot'' (1970). New York: Crown Publishers.</ref>

The card, drawn in reverse, can be interpreted as stagnation and the inability to move or change, according to Gray.<ref>Gray, Eden. ''The Tarot Revealed'' (1960). New York: Bell Publishing Company.</ref>

According to [[A. E. Waite]]'s 1910 book ''[[The Pictorial Key to the Tarot]]'', the Death card carries several divinatory associations:<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Pictorial Key to the Tarot|last=Waite, Arthur Edward|date=1979|publisher=Samuel Weiser|location=New York|page=285|isbn=0-87728-218-8|url=https://archive.org/stream/pictorialkeytota00arth?ref=ol#page/284/mode/2up}}</ref>

{{blockquote|13. DEATH.—End, mortality, destruction, corruption; also, for a man, the loss of a benefactor; for a woman, many contrarieties; for a maid, failure of marriage projects. ''Reversed:'' Inertia, sleep, lethargy, petrifaction, somnambulism; hope destroyed.}}

In [[Astrology]], the Death card is associated with the fixed-water [[Astrological sign|sign]] of [[Scorpio (astrology)|Scorpio]] and its ruling planet, [[Pluto (astrology)|Pluto.]]<ref name="askAstrology">{{cite web |url=https://askastrology.com/tarot-reading/major-arcana/death/ |title=The Death Tarot Card |publisher=askAstrology }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Triskaidekaphobia]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{commons category|Death (Major Arcana)}}
* [[A. E. Waite]]'s 1910 ''Pictorial Key to the Tarot''
* [[Sir James Frazer]] ''The Golden Bough''
* Hajo Banzhaf, ''Tarot and the Journey of the Hero'' (2000)
* Most works by [[Joseph Campbell]]
* ''[[The Book of Thoth (Crowley)|The Book of Thoth]]'' by [[Aleister Crowley]]
* G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., ''The Owl, The Raven, and The Dove: Religious Meaning of the Grimm's Magic Fairy Tales'' (2000)
* Riane Eisler, ''The Chalice and the Blade'' (1987)
* Mary Greer, ''The Women of the Golden Dawn'' (1994)
* Merlin Stone, ''When God Was A Woman'' (1976)
* [[Robert Graves]], ''Greek Mythology'' (1955)
* Joan Bunning, ''Learning the Tarot''
*[[Juliette Wood]], ''Folklore'' 109 (1998):15–24, "The Celtic Tarot and the Secret Tradition: A Study in Modern Legend Making" (1998)

{{Major Arcana}}

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[[Category:Major Arcana]]