13
Death
Major Arcana
Keywords
transformationendingschangetransition
Reversed Keywords
resistance to changestagnationfear of endings
Card Imagery
A skeletal figure in black armour rides a white horse, carrying a black flag with a white rose. Before them, figures of all stations — a king fallen, a bishop praying, a maiden turning away, a child offering flowers — illustrate that death comes for all. In the distance, the sun rises between two towers, promising renewal.
Upright Meaning
Death rarely means physical death — it represents profound transformation, the end of a chapter, and the clearing away of what no longer serves you. Something must die so that something new can be born.
Reversed Meaning
Reversed, Death suggests resistance to inevitable change or clinging to the past. You may be afraid of transformation or stuck in stagnation. The change will come regardless — it's better to embrace it.