Death
Don’t be afraid of the Death card — it doesn’t refer a literal death. It’s more about recognizing the need to put something you’ve been holding onto to rest.
It represents a loss or an ending: sometimes it’s a relationship and sometimes it’s a job or an emblem of security that you’re no longer going to be able to rely on.
Whatever it is, know that you’re probably not going to escape the process unscathed. Change is hard for all of us, and change that comes through circumstances beyond our control is harder still.
That’s the thing with the Death card. It’s not something you’re ready, willing and able to let go of. It’s usually just the opposite. It’s the thing you’re holding onto so desperately that has to go. And as such there may be some grieving that goes with this process.
This version of the card — an homage to the superstitions we’re all so conscious of on Friday the 13th — comes from the beautiful Tarot of Pagan Cats deck.
Here we see a black cat in a cemetery keeping vigil over his master’s grave. The Death card is also the 13th card in the major arcana, another nod to today’s date.
But with all these ominous symbols — the black cat, the headstone, the silver roses and the scythe — notice the prominent Celtic cross that takes up the largest area of the card.
There are references to Druid magic and mystery, the ancient symbols of wholeness, completion and unity. There’s the idea that letting go of something — via “death” in whatever form it takes — makes room for something else to fill its place and become whole again.
Ask yourself what you can do to replenish the things the Universe is forcing you to give up today. Cutting ties and letting go of unhealthy connections is only the first part of the process. Opening yourself back up to receive what the Universe has in store for you is the next.
