Major Arcana · XIII
Death Tarot Card Meaning
- Arcana
- Major Arcana
- Number
- XIII · No. 13
- Yes or no
- No
Upright meaning
Endings and beginnings · change · clearing out
One chapter closes and a new one opens. You have to let go of what must end for the next thing to arrive.
Reversed meaning
Resisting change · clinging · stagnation
Holding on to something that is already over is keeping you stuck. Even if it's scary, it is time to let it go.
In a yes-or-no reading
- UprightNoThe card says it won't be easy as things stand.
- ReversedNoThe card says it won't be easy as things stand.
Its place in the Major Arcana
The 22 cards of life's big currents and turning points. They are read as one person's journey from 0, The Fool, to 21, The World, and the more of them in a spread, the more the matter goes beyond personal choice.
Cards 8 to 14 are the stage of turning inward to test and refine yourself. Here you learn patience, reflection, pausing, endings and balance.
The 22 Major Arcana
- The Fool
- The Magician
- The High Priestess
- The Empress
- The Emperor
- The Hierophant
- The Lovers
- The Chariot
- Strength
- The Hermit
- Wheel of Fortune
- Justice
- The Hanged Man
- Death
- Temperance
- The Devil
- The Tower
- The Star
- The Moon
- The Sun
- Judgement
- The World
Draw your own
Now that you know the card, think of one question and shuffle the deck yourself. Which of the 78 cards comes up is decided the moment you shuffle.
Meanings follow the widely used Rider–Waite tradition, and the pictures are simple designs drawn for this site. Please treat tarot as a light-hearted aid to reflection.