By Lorraine Kemble
Image from the RWS Tarot
13. Death
One of Rachel's firm friends, inadvertently, kills herself. Understandingly, Rachel feels dreadful, fervently wishing it was herself who had died. She needs to go and see the psychiatrist again. Before she can say ‘Jack Robinson’, her misunderstanding and conniving mother has her sectioned under the mental health act, exacerbating suicidal feelings. She is a zombie, swallowing loads of pills, not allowing her to think rationally.
In the Tarot, the Death card is portrayed as a skeleton because the skeletal bones only survive. The armour he is wearing indicates that he is invincible. Indeed, no-one has triumphed over death. The horse that Death rides is white, the colour of purity. All humans are represented: men, women, and children – showing that Death does not discern between anybody.
Contraindicating that, the white rose, indicates beauty and purification. The two pillars are guarding the gateway to the sun, symbolizing the knowledge needed to gain immortality. The boat on the water is the ferry that transports the souls across the River Styx. The background is a neutral grey, expressing Death’s impartiality. There is little redemption, depicting that surrender nor prayers help. The triumphant flag is planted as a flower on one's grave, cold and colourless.
The sun has not completely set; an indication that the sweeping changes are providing some opportunity. Nature is an everlasting cycle, sometimes of desolate, barren beauty that is indeed, ugly. It is the death of the way things have been, yet, there will be a new order of everything. Rachel feels extremely, out of sorts, however, proverbially, she is on the running track of existence.
Death is ruled by Scorpio; another opinion of it being the zodiac sign of sex, death, and taxes. The number is 13, sacred to the Goddess, as there are thirteen moons in a year.
Astrologically, Death is so uncertain that it cannot be clearly heralded.
The previous installment can be found in the January 2020 issue of Tarot Reflections. Watch for the next installment in the March issue.