Tarot by HH
Originally by angeleyes:- i just have a little query on the death card
i know it represents endings sudden changes a loss of sorts and you should welcome the new BUT when does the card mean actual death(if ever)?[/quote] Death
A personification of the destroyer of life, usually represented as a skeleton holding a scythe
During the period that the tarot arose the personification was very personal and understood throughout Europe
Certainly Death means death
In the modern and occult decks, and becoming public with Waite's, the meaning began to alter and become more mystically connected
Waite tells us, "The natural transit of man to the next stage of his being either is or may be one form of his progress, but the exotic and almost unknown entrance, while still in this life, into the state of mystical death is a change in the form of consciousness and the passage into a state to which ordinary death is neither the path nor gate
The existing occult explanations of the 13th card are, on the whole, better than usual, rebirth, creation, destination, renewal, and the rest
" The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, Arthur Edward Waite, Samuel Weiser, Inc
2000
Paul Foster Case, Highlights of Tarot Copyright 1931 by the School of Ageless Wisdom, has this to say, "The card does not represent the end, but the real meaning of Death, which is change, motion, transformation
Death is but the gateway to a larger life in reality
It is the power represented by this Key that transforms our consciousness and releases it from the trammels and limitations that now hamper its free expression
The significance of this Key is profound, when you realize that all of our knowledge of Life rests upon its continual motion and change, disintegration for the release o f energy
" its just at a recent reading i was told there was a death to come shortly this particular reader used only ordinary playing cards so i am assuming that the ace of spades was the culprit does this mean the ace of swords can mean death also? [/quote] Most tarotists would say that more than the Ace of Swords, that physical death may be seen in the 5-Cups
However, having said that, let me hasten to add that much depends on the question, the spread, the spread position, the surrounding cards, and the deck
There is some discussion of the 5-Cups here: http://www.free-tarot-reading.net/forum/viewthread.php?tid=744 this is a non-archiving forum and the postings are pruned after seven days
In my cartomancy system the Ace of Spades is the card of the occultist
This is the card of divinity within
This is the card of realms not yet met, but sought
This is the card of knowing the unknowable and doing the undoable
There are dozens of cartomancy systems each with their own attributes
Again, much depends on the question, spread, spread positions, and surrounding cards
It is my experience that without knowing the details it is hard to make any determinations
It’s in the cards! HH Edited for spelling error and syntax
HH
other posts in this tarot thread
query on death card by angeleyes
by HH
thank you by angeleyes
by HH