When the Death card comes up in a reading we automatically think the worst. This is not usually the case. To embrace the death card means that we are on another journey, a point where lessons have been learned and we are emerging stronger and focused.
It is not of physical death but of a symbolic one. In a reading it may be that you are aware of situations, friends, patterns of thinking that you need to let go to move on, this card asks you to address the issue to be able to move forward. This can be hard to break as often to be familiar in a situation whether good or bad can be easier then changing and moving forward. Meditating on this card can help you become aware of how this may be possible. If we don’t address the issue sometimes this can be forced upon you.
A personal example is that I always took my mother for granted and one day she had an extremely bad fall, which scared me and made me consciously change my actions and thoughts towards my mother for now we are even closer. So the Death card represents my mind set and has transformed me into a more loving and giving daughter.
The death card is also represented by the number thirteen and this has always had negative connotations but there are some interesting facts about the number thirteen. The number 13 is important in its symbology, there were 12 disciples and one master (Jesus) who at the last supper were told that the bread was his body and the wine his blood. The bread and wine represented the transportation of life and his short lived life represents eternal life.
Man finds the concept of eternity hard, as for him it is, you are born therefore you die. In this country and others we have been told through the years that 13 is an unlucky number, even to the extent that in the U.S. some hotels do not have a floor 13 but go to 14 instead. In Roman catholictism the apparitions of the virgin of Fatima was said to appear on the 13th for six consecutive months.
There are 12.41 lunatations per solar year therefore twelve true months and one small but significant month, so the 12 astrological signs are the universal order and the 13th which means a re-generation or a renewal. The moon also moves 13 degrees each day therefore reflecting the biological and cosmic cycles.
Another note on the number thirteen is the fear surrounding the end of the world as predicated by ancient Mayans, it is my belief that it is not the ending of all earth but the ending of man living life with greed, ego and materialism and if we take on the meaning of 13 in the death card it will mean a rebirth in 2013 of man living more spiritually and consciously aware of the rhythms of life.