Reading the Death Card in Tarot
Well I’ve had a very interesting week. Struck down by the lurgy, for the second time in succession, was clear on Saturday, went down with sore throat Sunday evening…and woke up to full blown nose blowing Monday.
That morning after my normal meditation practice I pulled my normal Monday morning daily reflection card and got DEATH.
I stared at it, instantly reminded of the momentus occasion when I pulled it on another Monday morning after Trumpet died.
Given that I was going to be looking after a neighbour’s dog for the first time, who is the young twin of Trumpet except with longer legs, my mind immediately went on alert to be ‘very careful. Traditionally the Death card signifies a definite ending (and the beginning of something new). Death, loss, leading to transformation wasn't helping my interpretation and so I pulled a clarifying card and got the Ace of Wands. A brand new spark, a new idea, the match has been struck and is lit. Is this ace of wands referring to the ace of wands I picked at the beginning of the month in the ‘how to unlock the potential at hand’ spread? Then, I had the ten of swords as the best course of action. Let go of control. Loss, for a new dawn…. is closely linked to the message of the Death card. see blog Nov 6. how to interpret the DEVIL.
If so, then I felt the Death card was saying stop holding on and feeling muddled about losing some friends, of whom I had had a strong dream a night earlier? Accept it’s the end of an era and the beginning of a new. And in that there is loss and sadness. Transformation isn’t done by magic. Although the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis effortlessly enough one might think, except for the weeks stuck inside with no light.
So first impressions perhaps the Death card was referring to the end of a friendship as well as signifying an overall feeling of letting go of a version of myself that I am rather attached to. Popular, fun, with lots of friends, dynamic even for a much less dynamic, more pondering tarot reader/healer version of Sue, who is no longer able to ‘hold court’ with her wit and charism and has become a bit slow, and lost a sense of certainty about life and now lives in a more subliminal world, the world of the Tarot, Jungian concepts, Energy Healing, Qi gong.
My question to myself over the months has been is this change for the good? Does the Death card mean ‘for the good’? What’s ‘good’? It certainly reflects endings, loss, having to let go….to a new Era. Certainly many shared interests with friends have fallen away…and it’s been happening for quite a few years. And so it would make sense that I have less to talk about that interests them. Which is not easy to accept as I do love to be fun and entertain friends. Even as I write this, I realise it is quite possible to be amusing and lively (even if not up to date with the news or latest shows). That’s about confidence. And choice. (and written with hindsight)
Next day, Tuesday, CAN YOU BELIVE IT??? I pulled DEATH again. You can imagine my consternation. Am I going to die, certainly my cold made me feel (I was going to say ‘like death’, but that’s tempting fate and untrue) no, I wasn’t going to die from a cold. Even covid. Perhaps however it’s a warning and I better go to the doctor for a check up. Perhaps it was about Solo, he did disappear into the bushes a couple of times and I thought might take himself home and cross the road? Bizarrely the day before, Monday, a friend’s dog got run over by a bike, no bones broken but seriously in shock.
So again I resorted to a clarification card. The Queen of Pentacles. I always say this Queen brings value and likes to be valued. She makes things happen and has a practical approach to life, her great skill is understanding what people need and giving them what they need in order for them to flourish. I always think of a tv producer who has to give each artist, actor, writer, director the environment they need to be their most creative. I failed frequently as I wanted to be the artist and wade in too heavily on occasion.
If The Queen of Pentacles is referring to my Ace of Wands, then she gets practical and makes things happen.
So write.
The Five of Wands. You need to be in it to win it. If you compete you will succeed.
Wednesday day 3. Still pondering and blowing my nose. I pulled the Five of Wands….fight for what you believe it. Be in it to win it. Ok that seemed a clear directive.
Thursday day 4. Again with a lot of sincere prayer beforehand…The EMPEROR….a very Aries sign, with ram heads on his throne, nothing stops a ram, they just go for it with all the determination and discipline they can muster to empower themselves.
The Emperor empowers himself with determination, armouring up against any feelings of doubt.
The Emperor armours up his feelings, my feelings of ….I’ve lost my edge, am losing friends, got too woo woo feely touchy, am spending too much time alone, am out of the loop, why do I want to write, who needs another book, what if I’m being obsessed about something that is pointless?
Funnily enough that afternoon I did listen to two interesting talks, part of a ‘Write Anyway’ webinar, one on reading tarot for writing? (would you believe ?) the other on how to organise writing by giving yourself deadlines, and timetables - very Emperor.
In tarot readings this week, the Death card has come up frequently. Much more than ‘normal’. Is this a time of shedding for all of us for a new Era?