Probably the most misunderstood card of the whole deck, the death card is actually not as deadly as it may first look. This is a card about life cycles, when something ends, something new begins. Change is happening constantly, everything is in flow, nothing can stay the same, whether it's your physical body or your mindset, we are all growing, aging, developing and transforming. When one door closes, another door opens.
Cat Pierce, in her Wandering Star deck has depicted a smiling skull, colourfully decorated, reminiscent of the decorations and costumes that are typical to the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico. This holiday celebrates the dead in a humorous festive way, the celebrations themselves and full of life, energy and colour. Is the skull really representing death, or is it actually alive or in a state or transformation? The full set of pearly white teeth do seem to be sprouting from healthy pink gums and the shapes and vivid colours of the background make the face appear to bounce into the foreground, full of energy, ready to embrace the next cycle.
The visual artist Aitor Saraiba in his Tarot de Luz similarly has his death figure in full flow, a childlike figure that appears to be dancing. The scythe, a typical symbol associated with the Grim Reaper- the personification of death, is discarded in the background, laying on the ground with a vine curling its way along it. The vine has attached itself to our cute little death dancer and shrubs of new growth are sprouting from the ground. These things, like the cloudy oppressive skies in the background which will inevitably clear, symbolise new beginnings, growth and transformation.
These interpretations can also be seen in the colour pencil drawings of The Robin Wood Tarot death card. The death figures robes and flag and in movement, in flow, as they stand on a woodland floor, blooming with new green plants and flowers. The white rose in full bloom on the flag will loose its petals and die. It's inevitable. But the beauty of it while it's alive can be a reminder that every moment in this cycle is precious, for we never know when this one will end and the next begin.
Change is constant, new starts, new mindsets and transformations to be embraced. Change is opportunity, death is a new beginning and these death figures invite us to have some fun along the way.
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