What can we say about the Death card? Culture has become so detached from the experience that some deem the whole concept of the end of physical existence as something horrible. This speaks to attachment; attachment to a way of being, to a way of life, to a person, place or thing. Granted this is a human reaction based on the information we have been given. Death = bad. Bearing this in mind, the Death card, along with the Devil and the Tower, is one of the more misunderstood cards of the Major Arcana.
The Death card wants to break it down for us… literally. The depiction of the skeleton quite often seen in the Death card doesn’t mean the finality that we tend to attribute to this image. We are getting back to foundation, to ultimate energetic source. The skeleton is the essential foundation of the human body, therefore it is our symbol of the source of creation. Even the Hebrew letter attributed to Death by Paul Foster Case is Nun (pronounced noon.) As a verb it means to sprout or to grow.
Our fear of death as a force of nature, is the fear of losing those things that make us feel comfortable and safe (however uncomfortable.) Quite often those things of safety are what box us in, hold us down, and keep us from ultimate liberation. This card is challenging us to fully accept the cycle of life, stepping into the realization that death is overcome by understanding that it is only a phase in the path to rebirth and transformation. As people pass away from this world, so do outmoded fear-based ideas becoming rich pastures for new growth and possibilities. Ultimately in Death there is freedom, leading us closer to understanding the universe and it’s mysteries.
So as we pass into 2011, let go. Release what does not serve, and let it become fertile soil for the coming year and let it feed what you choose to manifest for yourselves. See this manifestation as already done, not worrying about how it will happen. Just remember nothing ever truly dies, it just takes on more wonderful and amazing forms in accordance with our choices and intentions. Happy new year and Namaste!
XOXO,
H
