i know everyones opinion is different

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 May 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

new2angels	23 May 2005
but which cards,put together could mean that there is going to be a death?

Citrin	23 May 2005
What about... Ten of Swords + Death Three of Swords + Death Death + Tower The Chariot + Death Though, I've never predicted/asked about a question like that.

jmd	23 May 2005
any two...

temperlyne	23 May 2005
I have to agree with jmd. death is different for each dying person, and if it is possible for the cards to predict death, every combination could do it.

Deana	23 May 2005
I have seen death in the cards with the Queen of Swords + Nine of Pentacles + Ten of Cups. As soon as I turned over the Ten of Cups, I knew (she was a woman in her late 80s whose husband of over 50 years had died four years before and she'd had a series of strokes and broken hips and had just moved from her home to a hospice because she could no longer take care of herself, even with family visiting daily).

Citrin	23 May 2005
If someone is 80, and sick, you don't really need cards to tell them they're gonna die...? That's just common sense, imo, not to be rude.

Deana	23 May 2005
Well, I didn't tell her she was going to die. But just because someone's in their 80s and sick doesn't mean death is immanent. I'm glad you've never had to watch someone suffer for ten or more years at the end of life.

Ace	23 May 2005
jmd wrote: any two... Or any card or batch of cards that says this is about to happen. Ace

huredriel	23 May 2005
How about 10 swords, Death and Tower? I mean if those 3 came up together, things aint looking good are they.

Ace	23 May 2005
They can predict major disaster-the kind that comes from someone saying "I can handle my cocaine habit just fine!" but it still doesn't HAVE to mean Death. No card or combination of cards ALWAYS means the same thing. It is a message being given to you that you can listen for. If you ASSUME ahead of time you know what the cards mean, the message gets blocked. I have seen an unborn child dying. Or at least having a diminishing chance of survival. I can't remember the exact cards, but the Death card was NOT one of them. And there was STILL a small chance for survival, and ideas that the doctors had to save it. So the Future wasn't for sure, just increasingly disturbing. To go back to the example above. A person gets a reading like that, and listens to your warnings and changes. AND DOESN'T DIE. does that make you wrong? Of course, not. Ace

Fudugazi	23 May 2005
Citrin wrote: If someone is 80, and sick, you don't really need cards to tell them they're gonna die...? That's just common sense, imo, not to be rude. I've known people in that condition live another 12 years. Creaking doors last the longest, as my grandmother used to say (who died at 84 after a flash illness).

Ace	23 May 2005
This discussion bothers me for reasons that I don't understand, but have NOTHING to do with any of you at all. (That is to say, it is MY problem, you all are not acting unreasonably.) new2angels, why do you ask this question? did you do a reading that bothered you? It is a good question, I just wonder. Ace

Fudugazi	23 May 2005
Ace wrote: This discussion bothers me for reasons that I don't understand [...] new2angels, why do you ask this question? did you do a reading that bothered you? It is a good question, I just wonder. Something is bothering me too. N2A, did you see death in a reading, or think you did? It's not an easy subject, but it is something worth discussing, even though I agree with Ace that there are no fixed card combinations that always mean death: some might only ever mean death to you once. And you might be right (in the way Ace defined "right" - even if someone recovers - if something was near-fatal to that person. Personally I'd enjoy being right in that way!)

daveyboy	23 May 2005
Assuming you subscribe to it....... [soapbox alert] If you wanted to look at it in another sense, it is not for someone to predict someones death. I don't mean to sound rude about someone elses "work" but i've had a person come for a reading who was told someone was going to be killed by a person in a black car. Thats very irresponsible (suppose they looked out for a black car and got killed by a green one? or a bus?). Suppose you told someone it was thier last day on earth, what would you do? - bit of a risky subject really - [/end soapboxing] Death is really only a transformation from one level of existance to another :) The main difference being you become floaty and out of phase with the rest of the earth plane. Ending with a smilie :D

new2angels	23 May 2005
I wasnt sure if it was possible to see death in a combination of cards im still very new to reading tarot and was just interested.I have been studying tarot for years but have only recently got back into it properly,and i like to ask questions!!!!!!!!!!!!!All help really appreciated.

daveyboy	23 May 2005
Don't mind me I get soapboxy :) hehe.

earth en lady	23 May 2005
I have recently been seeing Temperance as a sign that spirit guides are around ,I wonder if this would come up as a sign of a peaceful passing ?

Alice23	23 May 2005
Hi. This is a really interesting discussion! The Tower has meant a death for me once before, but at other times has just meant a nasty shock. I personally dont think there are any specific cards - including the death card, that actually specifiy death itself. Saying that though, I recently had the tower and the 10 of swords side by side in the future bit of the reading and one of the influence card was death. Those, if any, would be the combination I'd expect for something to do with/surrounding death....although I sincerely hope I was wrong.... Alice x

Annabelle	23 May 2005
jmd wrote: any two... Yes, this is precisely what I was thinking. :) :) Every reading is different. Every reader is different. Every querent is different. Cards that may seem very dark and foreboding during one reading may seem entirely different another time. It seems unwise to get in the habit of regarding certain card combinations as typically indicating death, or marriage, or pregnancy, or whatever. There are just so many possibilities, and I prefer not to limit myself.

Ace	24 May 2005
Annabelle4 wrote: Yes, this is precisely what I was thinking. :) :) Every reading is different. Every reader is different. Every querent is different. Cards that may seem very dark and foreboding during one reading may seem entirely different another time. It seems unwise to get in the habit of regarding certain card combinations as typically indicating death, or marriage, or pregnancy, or whatever. There are just so many possibilities, and I prefer not to limit myself. Thank you Annabelle4 for saying what I can't say often enough (or clearly enough!) myself. Ace

Scorpion	25 May 2005
daveyboy wrote: Assuming you subscribe to it....... [soapbox alert] i've had a person come for a reading who was told someone was going to be killed by a person in a black car. Thats very irresponsible [/end soapboxing] I agree with you entirely, Daveyboy. I once had a woman ask me to confirm what another reader had told her - that her husband was going to be murdered! I just couldn't believe what I was hearing and simply refused to discuss it (although Death was one of the prominent cards in the reading). My immediate feeling was "yes, you'll probably do it yourself when you get fed up waiting for it to happen" (from the cards, he was clearly a b*st*rd of the first order) but there was no way I could ever say that to someone. And I agree with Annabelle - I go by the way the cards look on the day, not set combinations. As you rightly point out, a card that looks "dark" one day may be a beacon of light another. Thanks for putting it so eloquently.

psychic sue	25 May 2005
I've seen death with the 5 of cups and also with the Hanged man - but it was my intuition which lead me to the conclusion it was a death, not the cards themselves.

daveyboy	25 May 2005
Imagine if you'd have agreed: "The medium/psychic said I could do it". Its funny actually over here, i've seen several mediums now who give a disclaimer (so it's presumably a problem) :( But going back to my previous diatribe, putting it the other way, why not use Tarot as a tool to give a positive message. Or to empower people to make changes in thier life for the better. Show people the possibilities, show them a fresh page to start writing on. Finally the one that made me laugh was the Temperance card meaning spirits are around. The guides who are with me, one in particular gives me a shiver, she only does it when one particular workmate is near. He finds it hillarious, that just makes her do it more :) lol. Dave Scorpion wrote: I agree with you entirely, Daveyboy. I once had a woman ask me to confirm what another reader had told her - that her husband was going to be murdered! I just couldn't believe what I was hearing and simply refused to discuss it (although Death was one of the prominent cards in the reading). My immediate feeling was "yes, you'll probably do it yourself when you get fed up waiting for it to happen" (from the cards, he was clearly a b*st*rd of the first order) but there was no way I could ever say that to someone. And I agree with Annabelle - I go by the way the cards look on the day, not set combinations. As you rightly point out, a card that looks "dark" one day may be a beacon of light another. Thanks for putting it so eloquently.

MeeWah	25 May 2005
For me as a reader, there is no one single card nor a set combination. Not to mention that such an approach can be limiting & lead to error. Various cards that I recall of themselves signified or foretold death & in no particular order: 5-Pentacles 6-Swords (also with other Swords) 4-Swords 4-Pentacles (struck as a mauseleum) Ace-Swords 11-Justice 0-The Fool 12-The Hanged Man (also 12-The Hanging Ghost from the Chinese Tarot) 13-Death

The i know everyones opinion is different thread was originally posted on 23 May 2005 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.