The veil or mask of life is perpetuated in change, transformation and passage from lower to higher, and this is more fitly represented in the rectified Tarot by one of the apocalyptic visions than by the crude notion of the reaping skeleton. Behind it lies the whole world of ascent in the spirit. The mysterious horseman moves slowly, bearing a black banner emblazoned with the Mystic Rose, which signifies life. Between two pillars on the verge of the horizon there shines the sun of immortality. The horseman carries no visible weapon, but king and child and maiden fall before him, while a prelate with clasped hands awaits his end.

There should be no need to point out that the suggestion of death which I have made in connection with the previous card is, of course, to be understood mystically, but this is not the case in the present instance. The natural transit of man to the next stage of his being either is or may be one form of his progress but the exotic and almost unknown entrance, while still in this life, into the state of mystical death is a change in the form of consciousness and the passage into a state to which ordinary death is neither the path nor gate. The existing occult explanations of the 13th card are, on the whole, better than usual, rebirth, creation, destination, renewal, and the rest.--A.E. Waite

Everything born of this world reaches its peak then starts the degeneration process. "For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Genesis 3:16) The white rose indicates hope for a new life ahead. . . . Death in the Tarot stands for this transformation and renewal. It is a card that can initially bring chills, but like its number 13, it is necessary for nature's orderly progression. The alchemists referred to the process of life after death as putrefaction. When their mixtures were at the point of rot and stench (note the Hebrew letter associated to Death stands for "smell"), they would regenerate new life.--Susan Hansson

It is formally divided into three parts; the lowest is symbolized by the scorpion, which was thought by early observers of Nature to commit suicide when finding itself ringed with fire, or otherwise in a desperate situation. This represents putrefaction in its lowest form. The strain of environment has become intolerable, and the attacked element willingly subjects itself to change; thus, potassium thrown upon water becomes ignited, and accepts the embrace of the hydroxyl radicle.

The middle interpretation of this sign is given by the serpent, who is, moreover, the main theme of the sign. . . . The highest aspect of the card is the Eagle, which represents exaltation above solid matter.

In this card the symbol of the fish is paramount; the fish and the serpent are the two principal objects of worship in cults which taught the doctrines of resurrection and re-incarnation.--Aleister Crowley

Who can look at the dark, skeletal figure on Card 13(!) and not feel uneasy. Here we see the face of our deepest fear - our greatest unknown. In western culture, we recoil from Death because we think of dying as annihilation. In the Tarot (and in "real" life I would suggest) Death is not a permanent end, but a transition into a new state. Life is eternal in its essence, if not in its form. To grow, to move, to live - we must "die" to the old to give birth to the new.

In readings, Death often represents an important ending that will initiate great change. It signals the end of an era; a moment when a door is closing. At such times, there may be sadness and reluctance, but also relief and a sense of completion. Death also suggests getting down to basics. Dying has a way of making you concentrate on what's important. This card can remind you to cut the unnecessary from your life.--Joan Bunning

Saturn is the executioner of the zodiac in his role as Father Time bearing the scythe, and as Chronos he devours his children, the other planets.

The five-petaled white rose is parallel in meaning to the Fool's white rose, "signifying the extinction of all interest in life and in the manifest world."

. . . red feather, related to the spirit because of its associations with birds and the flight of the spirit or the winged soul. This combination of red and white hints at a t'ai chi-type blend of active and passive, that is, birth in death. Further, the feather signified truth and justice, in the judgment revealed in the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Key 13 may be likened to Good Friday and Easter in one tableau, for the resurrected sun suggests the vernal equinox, when the sun-god breaks free of the earth's six darkest months.--Richard Roberts

Death's white rose

Death 

IMHO

 The Vision

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