Why Tarot’s Death Symbolizes Transformation

The “Death” tarot card has a bad rap. Everyone assumes this scary card means The Grim Reaper is near, and we should count our days. But this is false. The true meaning behind the card is actually an invitation to get closer to Spirit.

Why Tarot’s Death Symbolizes Transformation
Via Wikimedia Commons

Many people fear pulling the Death card in tarot, because they think it means literal death. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Drawing the Death card signifies you’re about to undergo a powerful transformation. 

Death is part of life’s cycle. The Death card marks the ending of a cycle so a new one can begin. It reminds us we must allow old versions of ourselves to die metaphorically, so that new versions of ourselves can be born. 

If there’s one historic Black figure who embraced new beginnings, it was Josephine Baker

In her lifetime, she was a Broadway dancer, international music hall entertainer, World War II spy, Civil Rights activist, and adoptive mother to 12 children from different countries. 

Receiving Death in a tarot reading is an invitation to embrace the unknown, learn to put the past behind you, and start over as many times as needed. 

What area of your life do you want to transform? Change is necessary for new beginnings, new ways forward, and liberation.


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