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Death is one of the most important cards in the major arcana and despite what Hollywood would have you believe it very rarely has anything to do with mortality. Death is a card about new beginnings.
When it appears, you can be sure that some aspect of life is about to come to an end and as a result something new will take its place. There is going to be a change and it is going to happen whether you embrace it or not.
Change is always scary and for some people especially scary but when it is inevitable it is better to go with the flow than to fight it.
Upright Meanings Step-by-Step
Friends, Friendships, and Family
When Death appears in a reading about friends or family it almost always means a parting of the ways is going to happen. It is not necessarily permanent but at least in the near future it will mean that a family member or a friend is going to be leaving your physical circle and almost certainly moving to a new location.
If on the other hand you are the person indicated in your reading then you can expect a certain amount of resistance from friends and/or family in regard to your move. Put quite simply they are not going to want you to go but the fact of the matter is that this is a necessary change for you.
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Love and Relationships
In an existing relationship this card points to change but change in a positive way. It is all about growth or as it is sometimes put nowadays “Taking it to a new level.”
Even though for most people that is a positive step you need to remember that for most people any change is stressful. Just because it will ultimately benefit both of you does not mean that one of you will not find it stressful in the short term.
If you are looking for love then the appearance of Death has a somewhat different interpretation. It means that there is a good likelihood of love coming your way but it is also a clear indicator that you will need to get outside your comfort zone to make it happen.
It’s a case of going places you don’t normally go to, doing things you don’t normally do and things like that. Not only is it time to think outside the box but it is time to get outside the box too.
Spiritual Growth
In a spiritual reading the appearance of Death really takes the form of being a revelation. You are going to discover one of life’s truths and it is very likely to make you think “That’s so obvious, how come I’ve never thought of it before?” This may be a creeping realization but it is much more likely to come as a bolt out of the blue.
Work and Career
When you see Death appear in relation to your work or career it really only has two interpretations and neither is particularly great.
Firstly it can mean that things at work are changing and almost certainly they are not changing for the best. And secondly it can mean that nothing at work is going to change and that is going to hold you back.
In both cases you need to give very serious consideration to getting a new job because whichever is the case it is not in your best interests to stay where you are unless you have no other choice.
Message from Spirit
Change is coming and you have a choice. You can choose to embrace it or you can choose to fight it. Fighting it will get you nowhere because in the long term you will not win. You are capable of handling change far better than you give yourself credit for. Embrace it.
Death Tarot Card Meanings by Tarot Time
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Image Attribution: “RWS Tarot 13 Death” by Pamela Coleman Smith – a 1909 card scanned by Holly Voley (http://home.comcast.net/~vilex/) for the public domain, and retrieved from http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot (see note on that page regarding source of images). Via Wikipedia.
