Were this Hollywood, I might get a bit nervous with Death's regular appearance. The Death card though very rarely has to do with physical death (thank goodness, otherwise it might time to beef up my health insurance policy). We're all going to get there sooner or later, one of the blessings or curses of being human. Death's appearance though doesn't suggest I need to worry specifically.
The Death card is about endings, completing a chapter, concluding unfinished business. It urges you to put the past behind you and it reminds you that you have to close one door before you can open another (apparently Death is a bit of a stickler for manners). I do have one bit of unfinished business I cling to, rather willfully I must say. I'm pretty obedient, until I'm not. No telling what will make me dig in my heels but when I do there's no real moving me. This bit of old business has been a sticking point for me for a few years now. Although I'm pretty sure genetics played the biggest role in my recent health issues, I suspect this stubborn holding on to what no longer serves played its part too. Maybe it is indeed time to let go, move on, and don't look back.
The Death card also comes up when you're going through a transition. I have to laugh because really, as human beings, when aren't we transitioning. We think we're stable, sure. We think the foundations we have built are firm, capable of withstanding any shock. And life comes out of the blue and knocks you off your feet. It can be a wonderful tumble or the worst, it's still change and it still messes with us. The Death card can signal a change in status, moving from the known to the unknown, being cast adrift. Recently I heard a song from a band called Frightened Rabbit. The song, "Swim Until You Can't See Land," made me wonder if sometimes we don't just swim, cast ourselves adrift, hoping we can find our way back. I get the feeling that's just what I did and all this foundering and floundering has nothing to do with the gods but with myself. I needed to change, to find my way, and I had tried every way but this one last trust in the ocean to save me. It always has before so why not now, when I'm as lost as ever been, even situated as I am in a marriage, family, work, world.
The Death card can also be about eliminating excess, cutting out what isn't necessary. It asks us to shed our old attitudes, concentrate on essentials. Get down to your bare bones and I suppose sing them back to life, at least that's what the Wild Woman
would do. I have had for the last few months, since my heart surgery actually, a desire to winnow, to shed, to find what my essentials are and focus on those, to let go of all this inconsequential stuff and concentrate on what matters.Finally, Death is about experiencing inexorable forces, and I suppose I would add, accepting those forces. There is a difference. When the Death card comes up you may find yourself in the path of sweeping changes, being caught in the inescapable (this pretty much sums me up the past few years). It tells you what has come cannot be avoided and so your only choice is to go through, ride your fate, and see where it takes you. I've been doing this, more or less gracefully, more or less willingly (grace and willingness are directly proportional) for a while but apparently need to do more. And I may be coming to the place of accepting the inevitable and moving on. If I want a card other than Death, I better get to it.
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