What does the death card mean when doing a tarot reading?
11/04/25 6:53pm
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The Death card is one of the most misunderstood cards in tarot. It almost never means physical death. What it actually represents is an ending that makes space for something new. When Death appears in a reading, it’s usually pointing to a moment of irreversible change, something you can’t unsee or go back from. A pattern, identity, relationship, or version of yourself is ready to be released. And while that can feel uncomfortable or even scary, it’s also deeply liberating.
I often say Death is about transformation through honesty. It asks: What’s complete? What no longer belongs in your life? When you allow that ending, you create room for rebirth through clarity, renewal, and a more authentic way forward.
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I often say Death is about transformation through honesty. It asks: What’s complete? What no longer belongs in your life? When you allow that ending, you create room for rebirth through clarity, renewal, and a more authentic way forward.
When doing a tarot reading, the death card can either mean things are dead and you’re looking forward to what is next, or that you need to let go of something so something new can come into your life. Generally, it’s all about closed chapters and new beginnings, often referring to the space between the end of a chapter and the turn of the page. You can reduce it to the concept that everything in nature grows from something that died.
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