Major Arcana · Mirror of the Arcana
XIII · ArcanumDeath
Death in tarot is a card of ending, transformation and renewal.
Key meanings
- ending
- transformation
- renewal
- letting go
- transition
Death upright
An ending and a renewal: the old moves on to make room for a new you.
The shadow side
Keeping something dead alive out of fear of the empty space in between.
Death reversed
Clinging to what has run its course, fear of change, a transition that drags on.
Death as the card of the day
Something that has run its course is leaving, and it is good that it goes. This is not the end of you but a shed skin, with a renewed you waiting underneath. Let it go with gratitude, and life will fill the freed space with something new.
The question this card asks
What in your life may be ready to come to a gentle close?
Death: yes or no?
no
Death closes the door. What you are asking about has run its course.
Arcanum XIII reads as no, which tells you where the weight falls before you decide anything.
This is the tilt of a single card, and the theme holding that tilt is ending. Pull your own card →
Every card is a mirror, not a verdict. Walk the other arcana and listen to what they say together.
✦ See all 22 Major ArcanaFAQ
Does Death (XIII) count as a good card or a bad one?
No card in tarot is simply bad. The subject here is ending and transformation, and softness or sharpness arrives with your question and with the position. Frightening you is not my work.
Is Death a major or a minor arcanum?
Major, arcanum XIII of twenty-two. Large turns belong to the majors and daily texture to the minors, and arcanum XIII sits on the side of the turns.
Which cards stand next to Death in the deck?
The order of the twenty-two puts The Hanged Man in front of it and Temperance behind. Arcanum XIII is the step between them, and that is where its direction comes from.
What changes when Death (XIII) falls reversed?
Upright the card leans on ending and transformation and lets them work in the open. Reversed, arcanum XIII loses its footing more than it flips into an opposite, and that loss is what you read.