When does the "Death" card mean an actual Death?

Seraphina said:

In my very, humble opinion, I totally agree with TB on this, I do not believe for one moment that it literally means that someone is going to actually die, regardless of the surrounding cards...that amounts to a definite prediction, similar to fortune telling, and as we all know, Tarot is not about that!

Click to expand...

And if you read back over each and everyone's posts on this thread then you will see we did not say that it will always mean that, but what you can Not say is that Death does not mean an actual death when there must be hundreds of posts on here describing a nature of someone's passing. And yes in my humble opinion it can mean a physical death i have already experienced a death with a close friend of mine that came true by having the Death card in his reading?

Firstly, let me just say, I'm sorry for the death of your close friend, that must have been a terrible time for you...I respect your point of view on how you feel about the Death card in a reading possibly indicating real death in certain circumstances..

But my view point still stands, that is my opinion and no amount of posts on here saying otherwise would change it, we are each entitled to our own opinions on how we see and read the cards, so sometimes it's best to agree, to disagree..

Seraphina said:

Firstly, let me just say, I'm sorry for the death of your close friend, that must have been a terrible time for you...I respect your point of view on how you feel about the Death card in a reading possibly indicating real death in certain circumstances..

But my view point still stands, that is my opinion and no amount of posts on here saying otherwise would change it, we are each entitled to our own opinions on how we see and read the cards, so sometimes it's best to agree, to disagree..

Click to expand...

Okay then i do apologies i didn't mean to sound narky with you i do respect your views.

But if other people have said that they have had such experiences then i do not see why other readers feel they can tell people on how to interpret certain cards, i have had an experience with the Death card and i will still stand by that it can give an accurate message of an actual death?

Oh I do agree with you on that Star, I do not think that anyone should tell any other reader how to interpret the cards, that is entirely up to them, I think it's good that different readers interpret cards differently.
if you think that's how my original post sounded then I apologise for that... I was just voicing my own personal opinion regarding the Death card and how I see it in a reading...

But that's what's great about the forum, everyone has different points of views, some agree and some don't and it's always interesting to read everyone's take on the cards and everyone's personal experience with Tarot.

tarotbear said:

I believe the original post asks 'when does the Death card mean that you or someone IS ACTUALLY GOING TO DIE'; not some abstract philosophical discussion on man's fate in the cosmos, challenges to face, or past indiscretions or lack of foresight.

If the Death card appearing meant that the Querent was ABSOLUTELY going to die within a short period of time - then there would be an awful lot of dead Querents and Readers in the world, STAR* and ravenest!

Click to expand...

I said it CAN mean death not it must mean death.

The original post did ask that but you said " In My Humble Opinion (IMHO) The Death Card 'NEVER' means Death" I am saying it can, IMHE (in my humble EXPERIENCE i.e. not just what I opinion but it actually happened )... it CAN happen.... and did!

You can say IMHO it has never meant someone's actual death in my readings ... or readings I know of ... but really ... can you say it NEVER means that?

Your "and also IMHO there is no one set way that 'If such-and-such lines up with so-and-so, then the Death cards means you are gonna die.' I absolutely agree with

I don't know why Mr Not-Happy-about-it appeared at the top of your other post or why now you are blowing raspberries - YOU are the one that changed what I said and then seemed to have an issue with it and then refuted what I said even though I didn't say that.

tarotbear said:

The envelope you received from Publisher's Clearinghouse says YOU HAVE WON ONE MILLION DOLLARS - did you?

Click to expand...

Not yet ... I just have to buy some more stuff off them and then , they say, I am SURE to win! I have been waiting at the mailbox every morning for my check ... it will come soon

PAMUYA said:

I didnt know... When I pulled this card during the reading what I saw in the picture was someone rising to heaven and I said it out loud, "looks like someone is ascending to heaven". Never saw that card that way before (Legacy deck by Ciro). The woman I was reading for broke down and cried, and told me her father was ill, and was not exected to make it through the week. I posted it here on AT when it happened and asked if anyone else had ever seen this card in that way. An intuitive read, world is an ending, ready to start a new journey.

Click to expand...

I find your interpretation interesting in light of the post I made yesterday comparing some of Plato's stanzas with RW card images. Here is the one for the World;

The Phaedrus by Plato. " For the immortals, when they are at the end of their course, go forth and stand upon the outside of heaven, and the revolution of the spheres carries them round, and they behold the things beyond."

Seraphina said:

In my very, humble opinion, I totally agree with TB on this, I do not believe for one moment that it literally means that someone is going to actually die, regardless of the surrounding cards...that amounts to a definite prediction, similar to fortune telling, and as we all know, Tarot is not about that!

Click to expand...

Well , I agree with this, it is juat that in my case ... someone actually DID die after a negatively aspected death card came up in the last reading I did for them. Come to think of it, I did a few quiet readings for that person over a longish period of time, I don't recall the death card coming up previously but I do recall an increasing trend in their readings towards the end of rather difficult and negative aspects. In that reading I did not interpret it literally, I gave it the nice safe spin that we 'all' like to put on it .... I was wrong! And I am only talking about that one case IME.

Seraphina said:

Firstly, let me just say, I'm sorry for the death of your close friend, that must have been a terrible time for you...I respect your point of view on how you feel about the Death card in a reading possibly indicating real death in certain circumstances..

But my view point still stands, that is my opinion and no amount of posts on here saying otherwise would change it, we are each entitled to our own opinions on how we see and read the cards, so sometimes it's best to agree, to disagree..

Click to expand...

EXACTLY ! The thing is some people here seem to be denying the validity of OUR experience ... it seems some are disagreeing with our experience while they are stating an opinion , while seeing that as 'us' trying to change 'their' opinion.

Why so defensive?

ravenest said:

EXACTLY ! The thing is some people here seem to be denying the validity of OUR experience ... it seems some are disagreeing with our experience while they are stating an opinion , while seeing that as 'us' trying to change 'their' opinion.

Why so defensive?

Click to expand...

I agree with ravenest without mentioning any names this person does seem really annoyed with some posters on this thread, and pretty much denied everyone's experiences with using the Death card.

I'm not sure if this person has read other books other then his own? but in all the books i have studied over the last 10 yrs have said that in some cases an actual death can be foreseen with the Death card, and this is also validated by a number of Tarot authors that i respect?

Queen Hippolyta said:

When does the Death card in a reading actually mean someone is going to die? Would like to know of some examples others have come across regarding this.

Is it a where the card is located, reversed or just a feeling? Please tell me everything.


Thank you

Queen Hippolyta

Click to expand...

My answer is that, as in most things with Tarot, the Death card means actual death: when you FEEL that it does...when your intuition tells you that that is what it means in a specific reading, when you just know it in your gut.

The Death card RARELY means actual death, In 10 years as a reader that card has come up hundreds of times for me, no exaggeration, and only once was it actually talking about actual death. It is very rare that it will come up meaning that, but yes it IS a potential meaning for the card. The card to me means something ending to make room for something better that is to come. That CAN in theory include the concept of a life on earth ending and the soul going on to a better place.

I myself DO tend to believe that Tarot can very much predict the future, as well as do all kinds of amazing things.

How do we, as readers, know when a card that can mean more than one thing means this or when it means that? There is only one way to know. You have to turn off all thought and follow your feelings. Intuition is important in Tarot and that is a case where you need to follow it.

Babs