Death: Modern RWS Tarot Card Meanings

‘KEY XIII: Death’, Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.

Death Upright

Upright Keywords

Endings, Transformation, Transition, Letting Go.

Correspondences

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Element: Water

Yes/No: No (unless radical transformation)

Generally

A major, unavoidable ending. The end of an era, moving house, a profound change in your worldview, the final conclusion of a long-term project.

In a Love Context

The end of a relationship. A necessary breakup, the finalisation of a divorce, the end of a particular phase in a partnership (e.g., the end of the "honeymoon" phase).

In a Money/Career Context

Leaving a job, the end of a career path, a company going into liquidation, the necessary failure of a business venture to make way for a new one.

In a Spiritual Context

The "dark night of the soul." A profound spiritual transformation that requires the "death" of the old self, letting go of the ego, the end of a spiritual path. This theme appears frequently throughout Waite’s Major Arcana.

The RWS ‘Death’ Card In Common Spread Positions

As Advice

Cut your losses. Clear the slate. Embrace the inevitable transformation. Let go of what is already gone.

As (Ultimate) Outcome

A clean break. A total reset. An irreversible transformation. The end of the road.

As Obstacles

An unavoidable ending is blocking your plans. A necessary transformation is being resisted. The sheer finality of a situation.

As Hidden Energy

An imminent, necessary ending. An unacknowledged need for a total reset. A transformative potential that is not being seen.

As Resources/Alliances

The power to end things cleanly. The courage to let go. A necessary transformation is your greatest ally.

Death Reversed Meanings

Reversed Keywords

Resisting Change, Stagnation, Fear of Endings, Limbo, Cycles,

Generally

A resistance to a necessary ending. Clinging to the past, a fear of change, a situation that is in a state of stagnant limbo, refusing to move on.

In a Love Context

Staying in a dead-end relationship out of fear. An inability to get over a breakup, refusing to accept that a relationship is over, a partnership that is stagnant.

In a Money/Career Context

Refusing to leave a job you hate. Clinging to a failing business venture, a fear of changing careers, a project that is going nowhere but is not being cancelled.

In a Spiritual Context

A resistance to spiritual growth. A fear of letting go of the ego, a spiritual practice that has become stagnant and lifeless, refusing to face a necessary "dark night of the soul."

In Common Spread Positions

As Advice

Stop resisting the inevitable. Let go of the past. End the stagnation.

As (Ultimate) Outcome

A state of limbo. A slow decay from refusing to change. A zombie-like existence.

As Obstacles

A fear of endings. A stubborn refusal to let go. A project stuck in development hell.

As Hidden Energy

A hidden fear of endings. A secret resistance to change. A karmic attachment to a situation.

As Resources/Alliances

Accepting defeat. The realisation that you are stuck. A strategic retreat from a lost cause.

The RWS Tarot ‘Death’ Card Combinations

Combinations with Major Arcana

Death & The Tower Tarot Card Combination

Death (↑) & The Tower (↑): A catastrophic and unavoidable ending. A sudden, shocking event that forces a major transformation. The complete destruction of an old way of life.

Death (↓) & The Tower (↑): Resisting a necessary ending, which then leads to a sudden and painful collapse. A refusal to change that results in disaster.

Death (↑) & The Tower (↓): A major ending that allows you to narrowly avoid a catastrophe. A controlled demolition rather than an uncontrolled explosion.

Death (↓) & The Tower (↓): A situation where a fear of change has you trapped in a state of ongoing crisis and decay.

Death & The Star

Death (↑) & The Star (↑): A painful ending that leads to a period of hope, healing, and renewal. Finding peace after a major loss.

Death (↓) & The Star (↑): A refusal to let go of the past is preventing you from finding hope and healing.

Death (↑) & The Star (↓): An ending that leads to a loss of faith or a period of hopelessness. A transformation that does not bring the expected peace.

Death (↓) & The Star (↓): A situation of complete stagnation and despair. A refusal to change that has led to a loss of all hope.

Tarot Card Combinations with the Suit of Swords

Death & The Ten of Swords

Death (↑) & The Ten of Swords (↑): A final, painful, but absolutely necessary ending. The rock bottom that forces a complete transformation. A betrayal that ends a chapter of your life.

Death (↓) & The Ten of Swords (↑): A refusal to accept a painful ending, leading to prolonged suffering. Clinging to a situation that is already over.

Death (↑) & The Ten of Swords (↓): An ending that allows you to finally move on from a period of victimhood. A transformation that frees you from mental anguish.

Death (↓) & The Ten of Swords (↓): A situation where a fear of change has you trapped in a cycle of victimhood and negative thinking.

Additional Notes On Death

A.E Waite’s Original ‘Death’ Card Meanings

Upright: "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." Pictorial Key To The Tarot (1911).

The RWS ‘Death’ Card Symbolism

A.E Waite’s Death card depicts a skeleton in black armour riding a white horse. The skeleton represents the inescapable nature of death, which comes for all regardless of status, as shown by the figures on the ground: a dead king, a praying bishop, and a woman and child. The white horse symbolises purity and the unstoppable force of purification. In the background, the sun rises between two towers, signifying that every ending brings a new beginning and the promise of rebirth.

Question: Does the ‘Death’ card mean literal death?

It is usually an allegorical and symbolic card which represents change and transformation more generally. Only in rare cases will it indicate literal death.

I shoukl also point out that whilst it is necessary for tarot teachers and students to understand the rare but real risk of literal death showing up in a reading, it is almost certainly unethical to start predicting literal death in a reading. The awareness of literal death in a tarot teaching context is to pass on such ethical considerations, something which cannot be done if, in a divinatory context, the art of tarot reading is whitewashed as not being usable for unethical or shocking purposes.

Also, it would not be merely the ‘Death’ tarot card which can in rare cases might indicate physical death but cards like the ‘10 of Swords’ or the ‘Tower’ as well.

Meditations On The RWS ‘Death’ Card

What temporary things am I karmically attached to? What transformations could I embrace to life in Divine alignment? Am I willing to give my lower self up in service of the Divine? How can I align with the fated energy of the Wheel of Fortune.