I feel like I should be greeting you today in a parlor suit, grim and somber. If you'll please follow me, your casket awaits... Just kidding! Today's card may be Death, but it's not literal; no grim reaper will be knocking on your door when this card rears its boney head. The premise (and promise) of death is all around us. Every day, a little death.
The Death card is probably THE card in Tarot that causes people to shy away from Tarot. Its use as a "calling card" in various unsavory, historical acts and its representation in movies gives it a bad name. But its negative connotations could not be farther from the truth. Death represents cyclical transformation. Where there is death there is rebirth; when winter ends, spring arrives. Death shows that change is unavoidable, and - like death - it happens to all of us.
Worth noting, Death is often interpreted in a variety of ways in different decks. In the Sex Positive Tarot, it's represented as "coming out," which is a complicated and complex representation of Death, but a true representation of "transformation" for many queer people. On the other hand, Terra Volatile offers an alternative card to Death called "Rebirth" (and another called "Misery Collector") which focuses on the renewal that comes from endings.
The Death playlist is available on Spotify.
Message of the Day: I am actually not going to say a lot today. Death, as a process of transformation, is deeply personal. It is the ultimate card in shadow work, bluntly identifying the need for something to end. This could be unhealthy or abusive relationships; it could be childhood trauma that is holding you back and keeping you from establishing new and healthy relationships. It could be unseeming behaviors that need to end.
The transformation process could be as simple as closing a door, but it could also be deeply rooted and take time, personal honesty, and communication to work through. Death is something that should be embraced. Just as a snake sheds its skin, we should welcome the concept of death as a force for primal growth.
Glósóli by Sigur Rós shows the call of death, the uncertainty, and the freedom that comes with acceptance.
But many people are scared of facing change. No one really likes to deal with the unknown and unexpected (that's partly why we have such a physical reaction to intense movies); that's our humanity insisting on control. When we refuse change, we get mired in stagnation and blocked progression. There are countless examples I could give of how refusing change leads to further pain and consequences, but I'm sure you can think of plenty.
Run Boy Run by Woodkid shows how sometimes we must leave behind and be willing to fight to find the growth we require.
(I also need to share a live video of Run Boy Run because it gives me the vibes today. Run, boy, run.)
Run Boy Run by Wookid, a live performance with orchestra and chorus. The rhythm alone makes this worth listening to.
Find your change. Be willing to become a new and more powerful you. Accept the decay of that which has held you back, and allow it to feed and nourish the you that will blossom from the mud.
Decks shown above:
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