Cult of Tarot Forum

Hi all,

among Tarot readers and the Tarot community it is common to say that the Death Card means NOT that a person will die, and I agree with that up to a point.
But I wonder why this interpretation is so often excluded, sometimes very vehemently.

I agree that not the Death card alone is a sign to predict the approaching death of a human being (or a beloved pet), but in my opinion there are some combinations of cards which can be an indication of it.

So when tarot readers are willing to answer questions like:
“Should I take this job?” or “Will I ever find my true love?”
"Should I separate from my violent husband?"
Why is it not possible to see the real death in the cards?

I understand when tarot readers say they won’t say anything about death in the cards (even when they would see him), but my question is completely detached from moral issues.

I think the reason for it lies in our (Christian) socio-cultural education. In Western societies death is something that is unpleasant and we are used to oust it of our everyday consciousness. We won’t deal with it and in most cases we get confronted when we have no choice.

From what I have heard, Death card in readings are not always physical death.
It really must have the other cards such as 10 of swords, The Tower and Judgement card around Death card in the reading to suggest someone's physical death.

They say that Death cards without those other death implying cards usually can mean, transformation, money or sex.
Because Death card has the GD attribution of Scorpio, which means those attributions traditionally.

Why is it not possible to see the real death in the cards?

It's as possible as seeing anything else in the cards. The Death card can indicate physical death. It would be a nonsense to say otherwise.

But like any possible meaning for any card, it depends on the context and, frankly, the likelihood. If someone came to us asking a question about their job and in the course of the reading we pulled the Death card we wouldn't tell them not to worry about their job because they're going to die. Context.

As for likelihood, that's easier to illustrate with a different card. The Empress can indicate pregnancy but if we pull that card for our grandfather it probably doesn't in this instance.

Why do I think some people say Death doesn't mean death? Either because they don't believe Tarot is predictive or because they want to protect their clients' sensitivities.

JudyK wrote: ↑26 Sep 2021, 12:42 But like any possible meaning for any card, it depends on the context and, frankly, the likelihood. If someone came to us asking a question about their job and in the course of the reading we pulled the Death card we wouldn't tell them not to worry about their job because they're going to die. Context.