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Major Arcana · XIII

Death

Upright: endings, transformation, transition, release. Reversed: resistance to change, stagnation, clinging, decay.

Death — the Rider–Waite–Smith tarot card
Rider–Waite–Smith, 1909

Death upright meaning

  • endings
  • transformation
  • transition
  • release

Something is genuinely ending, and letting it go clears space for what's trying to begin. Stop trying to revive what's already over this week, the change feels heavy now but it's making room.

Death reversed meaning

  • resistance to change
  • stagnation
  • clinging
  • decay

You're holding on to something already finished, and the grip is what's keeping you stuck. Name what's over and let the goodbye begin, clinging halfway drains you more than a clean ending would.

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Arcana
Major
Number
XIII (13)
Deck
Rider–Waite–Smith

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