Major Arcana XIII
Death
The Transformer
The card
Saturn looms in a desert background as a figure dating from the 4th century BC keeps vigil. The body of Marat, a hero of the French revolution, lies lifeless in a bath of blood and water as he grasps a formal letter of introduction from his murderess. The two figures sit in the shadows, conveying death as it approaches and an end to the subject’s life as he knows it.
The Death card signals the end of a cycle. It’s best at this time not to hold too tightly to the current season and be willing to witness its ending without judgment. Grieve what you must, but know that you are in the autumn of your life and there must be a death for something new to come up through the ground.
Perhaps it’s best to keep in mind that death can also signal rebirth and if you willingly let this season go, you may find yourself in a garden of new life on the other side.
What are you ready to stop carrying into the next season?
Jungian lens
The archetype in motion
A completed identity yields so psychic life can reorganize around what remains vital. Its shadow is either clinging to a completed form or destroying what is still alive. Integration grieves honestly and releases only what has finished its work.