Death is card XIII of the Major Arcana in the Thoth Tarot. In a reading it speaks of transformation, ending, rebirth and putrefaction. In the Golden Dawn system it corresponds to the Hebrew letter Nun, path 24 of the Tree of Life between Tiphareth and Netzach, the element Water and Scorpio in astrology.
transformation · ending · rebirth · putrefaction · renewal
What does Death mean?
Something is closing to make room for the new: accompany the transformation instead of resisting it.
Everyday meaning
Deep transformation, the end of a cycle, irreversible change. It almost never points to a physical death: more often the necessary closing of a phase.
Psychological meaning
The process of letting old identities and attachments die; the mourning that makes rebirth possible.
Initiatic meaning
Path 24 from Tiphareth to Netzach, the letter Nun (the fish, 50) and Scorpio, the fixed water of Mars: the alchemical putrefaction that precedes all regeneration. Scorpion, serpent and eagle are the three degrees of the same energy transforming itself.
The shadow side
Ill-dignified, it signals fear of change, stagnation, attachment to what has already ended.
Death reversed
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading:
Resistance to an inevitable ending; a change postponed that becomes slow wear and tear.
Death in love, work and spirit
In love
The end of a phase of the relationship, or a radical transformation of the bond.
At work and career
The closing of a project or a role; restructurings that prepare a new beginning.
In spiritual practice
Dying to yourself in order to be reborn: transformation as initiation.
Kabbalah, astrology and the Hebrew letter of Death
Nun נ (50) · path 24: Tiphareth – Netzach · Water · Scorpio
Crowley on Death
Crowley paints a crowned skeleton dancing and, with his scythe, raising bubbles in which new forms sprout: death is a moment in the dance of life, not its opposite.
Frequently asked questions
What does Death mean in the Thoth Tarot?
Something is closing to make room for the new: accompany the transformation instead of resisting it.
What does Death mean in love?
The end of a phase of the relationship, or a radical transformation of the bond.
What does Death mean for work and career?
The closing of a project or a role; restructurings that prepare a new beginning.
What does Death mean reversed?
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading: Resistance to an inevitable ending; a change postponed that becomes slow wear and tear.
What are the Kabbalah and astrology correspondences of Death?
In the Golden Dawn system Death corresponds to the Hebrew letter Nun, path 24 of the Tree of Life between Tiphareth and Netzach, the element Water and Scorpio in astrology.
