Death (Tarot card)
Encyclopedia
Trump Card
Trump Card was an American syndicated game show that aired from September 10, 1990 to September 6, 1991 and was hosted by Jimmy Cefalo. Debi Massey served as hostess and Chuck Reilly was the announcer. The show was produced by Telepictures Productions, Createl, Ltd., & Fiedler-Berlin Productions...
or Major Arcana
Major Arcana
The Major Arcana or trumps are a suit of twenty-two cards in the tarot deck. They serve as a permanent trump suit in games played with the tarot deck, and are distinguished from the four standard suits collectively known as the Minor Arcana...
card in most traditional Tarot
Tarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
decks.
It is used in Tarot, tarock and tarocchi games
Tarot, tarock and tarocchi games
Tarot, tarock, tarocchi, etc., are a group of card games played with the tarot deck. The first basic rules appear in the manuscript of Martiano da Tortona written before 1425...
as well as in divination.
Description
The Death card commonly depicts a skeleton riding a horse. Surrounding it are dead and dying people from all classes, including kings, bishops and commoners. The skeleton carries a black standard emblazoned with a white flower. Some decks depict the Crashing Towers from The MoonThe Moon (Tarot card)
The Moon is the eighteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.-Symbolism:* Two large, foreboding pillars are shown...
with The Sun
The Sun (Tarot card)
The Sun is a trump card in the tarot deck. Tarot trumps are often called Major Arcana by tarot card readers.-Rider-Waite symbolism:A. E. Waite suggested that this card is associated with attained knowledge. An infant rides a white horse under the anthropomorphized sun, with sunflowers in the...
rising behind them in the background. Some decks, such as the Tarot of Marseilles
Tarot of Marseilles
The Tarot of Marseilles , also widely known by the French designation Tarot de Marseille, is one of the standard patterns for the design of tarot cards...
, omit the name from the card.
Rider-Waite symbolism
- The kingKing- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
is trampled by a reaping skeleton horseman, as the Pictorial Key to the TarotPictorial Key to the TarotThe Pictorial Key to the Tarot is A. E. Waite's influential guide to divinatory tarot, published in England in 1911 in conjunction with the Rider-Waite-Smith deck...
describes him, which appears to be a personification of deathDeath (personification)The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
. The fall of the king may represent the importance and magnitude of the critical event of this card, or that death takes us all equally. - The reaper carries a black banner emblazoned with the Mystic Rose, which according to Waite symbolises lifeLifeLife is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
or rebirth. - As in other cards, the gray background may indicate uncertainty surrounding this event.
- The bishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
may represent faithFaithFaith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
in the face of death, faith in the divine plan, and faith that "God works in mysterious ways". - The maiden seeming distraught by the fall of the king represents the sorrowSorrow (emotion)Sorrow is an emotion, feeling, or sentiment. Sorrow 'is more "intense" than sadness...it implies a long term state'. At the same time 'sorrow - but not unhappiness - suggests a degree of resignation...which lends sorrow its peculiar air of dignity'....
and great pain that often accompanies death. - The child, seemingly entranced by the occurrence, may represent bewilderment or curiosity.
- In the darkness behind, according to Waite's PKT, lies the whole world of ascent in the spirit.
- Although some believe the New JerusalemNew JerusalemIn the book of Ezekiel, the Prophecy of New Jerusalem is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city to be established to the south of the Temple Mount that will be inhabited by the twelve tribes of Israel in the...
appears as a silhouette across the Sun, it does not appear clearly enough to be certain and may instead be the tops of The Moon's mountains.
- Although some believe the New Jerusalem
.jpg)
Pop culture
- Death is the name of a boss in The House of the Dead IIIThe House of the Dead IIIThe House of the Dead III is a 2002 light gun arcade game with a horror zombie-survival theme, and the third installment to the House of the Dead series of video games, developed by Wow Entertainment and Sega. It was later ported to the Xbox in 2003, Microsoft Windows in 2005, and the Wii in 2008,...
, depicted as a hulking security guard zombie with a club covered in human skulls. All bosses in The House of the DeadThe House of the Dead (series)The House of the Dead is a video game franchise published by Sega and created by in-house designer Atsushi Seimiya of AM1....
games are named for tarot cards of the Major ArcanaMajor ArcanaThe Major Arcana or trumps are a suit of twenty-two cards in the tarot deck. They serve as a permanent trump suit in games played with the tarot deck, and are distinguished from the four standard suits collectively known as the Minor Arcana...
.
- Death 13 is the name of the Mannish Boys Stand in JoJo's Bizarre AdventureJoJo's Bizarre Adventureis a manga written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Every main character's name in each part can be read as JoJo. The manga, published by Shueisha, first ran in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 2002, before being transferred to the seinen magazine Ultra Jump in 2004. The current story...
, appearing as a grim reaper with a clowns face that drags it's victims in its nightmares, when they go to sleep near to his user. Most of the other Stands are also named after Tarot Cards.
- In the video game Persona 3, Death is represented by Pharos, a strange boy who visits the protagonist at night. Notable mythological figures included are Samael and Thanatos.
- In Persona 4, Death is represented by Hisano Kuroda, an old lady who is convinced she is Death after her husbands passing.
- In the Virtua FighterVirtua Fighteris a 1993 fighting game developed for the Sega Model 1 arcade platform by AM2, a development group within Sega, headed by Yu Suzuki. It is the first game in the Virtua Fighter series, and the first arcade fighting game to feature fully 3D polygon graphics. It has been ported to several home video...
series, Death is the name of one of the six branches of Judgment Six, the antagonistic sponsors of the fighting gameFighting gameFighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
series' tournaments. This particular branch manufactures atomic, biological, and chemical weapons.
- In the series Death NoteDeath Noteis a manga created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and manga artist Takeshi Obata. The main character is Light Yagami, a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook, the "Death Note", dropped on Earth by a god of death, or a shinigami, named Ryuk...
, Near is seen playing with Death tarot cards when he deduces that the 'Thirteen Day Rule' is a fake.
- In the SNES video game Ogre Battle: The March of the Black QueenOgre Battle: The March of the Black Queenis a 1993 real-time strategy role-playing video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, directed by Yasumi Matsuno with artwork by Akihiko Yoshida...
, the Death Tarot card depicts a black-winged Grim Reaper skeleton wearing a tattered orange robe, holding a huge scythe and stepping forward. On drawing the card after liberation of one of the towns, it decreases the Reputation Meter by 2 points, and summons said Grim Reaper skeleton to wipe out weak enemy units, sending all the experience points from slain units to the main character when used in battle.
Interpretation
A. E. WaiteArthur Edward Waite
Arthur Edward Waite was a scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. As his biographer, R.A...
was a key figure in the development of modern Tarot interpretations. However, not all interpretations follow his model.
Some frequent keywords used by tarot readers for the interpretation of Death are:
- Ending of a cycle——Loss——Conclusion——Sadness
- Transition into a new state——Psychological transformation
- Finishing up——Regeneration——Elimination of old patterns
- Being caught in the inescapable——Good-byes——Deep change
According to Eden Gray
Eden Gray
Eden Gray , was the professional name of Priscilla Pardridge, an American actress, and writer on the esoteric meanings of Tarot cards and their use in fortune-telling...
and other authors on the subject, it is unlikely that this card actually represents a physical death. Typically it implies an end, possibly of a relationship or interest, and therefore implies an increased sense of self-awareness—not to be confused with self-consciousness or any kind of self-diminishment.
Other versions
- In X/1999X (manga), also known as X/1999, is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by Clamp, a creative team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Mokona. It premiered in Monthly Asukas May 1992 issue and ran there until the magazine's editors showed concern with the increasingly violent...
, a mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by CLAMPClamp (manga artists), is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader , who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively ,...
, the Tarot set Death is Seishirou Sakurazuka. - In the Mythic Tarot deck, Death is depicted by HadesHadesHades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
.
Further reading
- A. E. Waite's 1910 Pictorial Key to the Tarot
- Sir James Frazer The Golden Bough
- Hajo Banzhaf, Tarot and the Journey of the Hero (2000)
- Most works by Joseph CampbellJoseph CampbellJoseph John Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience...
- G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., The Owl, The Raven, and The Dove: Religious Meaning of the Grimm's Magic Fairy Tales (2000)
- Riane Eisler, The Chalice and the Blade (1987)
- Mary Greer, The Women of the Golden Dawn (1994)
- Merlin Stone, When God Was A Woman (1976)
- Robert GravesRobert GravesRobert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
, Greek Mythology (1955) - Joan Bunning, Learning the Tarot
- Juliette Wood, Folklore 109 (1998):15–24, The Celtic Tarot and the Secret Tradition: A Study in Modern Legend Making (1998)