Atu XIII - Death

Death

Seldom does the appearance of this card signal physical death, but rather a dramatic, inevitable life change.  While it ,may seem "out of control" this is more a return to one's original alignment.  The idea of "what is death to the caterpillar is birth to the butterfly" a transition to a more appropriate way of being, a freedom in being released from ways that no longer work.

from the original website: 

 XIII - Death.
"I believe that death does not mean dying in the physical form. I think that death means a part of your life that wasn't good for you will die. Maybe a relationship that worried me and wasn't good for me...maybe a part of me that has become what I don't like...either way, death is good. It means the dying of a less desirable part of my life, and allowing room for growth in that part."
Mae

"My personal interpretation is that the daeth card is positive. It relates to relationships and that the ones were stagnated or not meant to be or all over. It's time to "Clean the room" and allow space for something bigger and brighter to lighten up my life, rather than hanging onto the dark past that shadows the future. It's now time and something is coming, something better."
Liz Tyrrell

"Harvest of matured thoughts, acitons, behaviours, patterns. Clearing away the old to allow the new some space to develop. The earth may be fertile or exhausted, but in any case, it cannot hold any more. The natural time has come to reap and put an end to the old. Compared to 10 swords and the Tower, which can be arbitrary in nature, this card calls the querant to undertake the task of harvest."
Tania

"Death- It is best card in the deck. It fortells of transformation, from the end or leaving of the lower realm into the beginning or entrrance into the higher realms. It often tells that old forms of destruction which we inflice on ourselves are at an end a new infusion of spirituality is born. Those who really desire the Higher Planes must experience death and attachment to the things of the earth. Most people fear that the dearth card means someone is going to physically die. I have never had that in a reading but my instruction was that physical death in a reading would be the Nine, Ten, and Death card all touching. So we welcome the Death card as the card of transformation and a giant step along the path of life."
janice cottrill

"DNA! - Each strand of DNA is unzipped by death so that it can recombine in the egg and the sperm. Death creates anew. Pretty obvious really, and quite interesting as it was painted before the double helix was elucidated."
adam

"This card is about the circle of life. Everything in life dies and is born. Death and Rebirth, cycles. This card does represent the end of something, but with that begins another. I suppose it depends on the situation for each person. It is all in how you look at the world and how you look at life. If you are negative this card can have negative conentations...if you are possative the same."
Taylore

"Death,,the first card i dreamt about,,laying on the floor, i saw wild dogs coming to eat me,,i felt them biting and chewing my ears and cheeks,,then i raised my right hand knowing that death was coming to take me , he was flying towards me , dressed in pale grayish blue. he took my hand,surprisingly,his hand felt warm and fleshy,, took my hand and lead me, first we went pass a luminous ladder leading downwards, then on the left was a second ladder, totaly dark and he lead me in and sat at the entrance.Well the rest of the dream only counts for me and i wont explain.. But as far as i could understand,, death has a meaning for each person,,i thought i was going to feel an icy cold hand instead of a warm one,, i could also see that there is a physical death and a spiritual death,, and that one doesn't imply the other,death is change ..change in jewish is jave,, jave is a way to name god ,,it means the one who is always changing,,or the one whos always dying??"
carla smith

"Men fear death, as if unquestionalbly the greatest evil, and yet no man knows that it may not be the greatest good."
-William Mitford
Lisa Lovejoy

"For starters this card doesnt refer to physical death. Its external meaning refers to the end of something: whether it be a relationship, job,..etc. (it is dramatic,swift and abrupt end). Internally, it refers to the different levels of death experienced by the mind. The highest form coming in the shape of a complete shcizophrenic crackup, (the shamans experience) here the individual is opened up up to the experience of the larger forces of the mind.(very dangerous)
I dreamt last night that a skeleton walked into the room I was in and asked:
"Are you ready to die" so i am preparing for it. "Should be interesting."
Aleister

"Death represents a balance to the universe. All things must be in balance or the unverse would be chaos. Death is the counterweight to life."
Sheila Holloway

"One way to think of this card is as the Reaper routine in Tom Ray's "Tierra" artificial-life simulation. Roughly, the Reaper clears out the old matter so that evolution can take place.

If you see the Trumps in order as representing the cycle of initiation, then it's of some importance that Death follows the Hanged Man. As Gautama Buddha discovered, sometimes it is the process of sacrifice that needs to be cleared out of one's mind! Death can represent the clearing-out of old Osirian/Piscean sacrificial concepts of Illumination in favor of something else --- but, remember, the "something else" is not defined in Death".
Frater K

"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is just a dream."              
Hilmar

"Death is an entrance aka a portal to the next level once someone dies they release enough DMT so their brain can achieve communication with the superior entities in the next dimension aka once able to be their metaphysically with the natur(BODY)they are allowed entrance to the hall of tests. If you can pass,the being THOTH will grant passage to the after life:)
So death is actually new life for the one that KNOW and are ready for the tests. HINT faith is not required,only in your ability;)"
THomasOTH

"Life and experience bring about pattern and consistency. We do this because it is useful and one of the few ways that we may extract meaning from the chaos. After an unspecified period of time, the pattern, the ties to the environment, may bring about more restriction than utility. Death makes it his duty to sheer off these ties when they reach the point of stagnation. He frees the Hanged Man from his suspension over the abyss, wherein he plummets. The event is usually catastrophic, given the radical change from suspension to free-fall, but it serves to loose him who is bound, thereby once again creating the possibility of change."
Clay Fouts

"Death represents natural change. Evolution from one state to another. A counterpart to the divisive and conflict-ridden change of The Tower, Death can be seen as the shedding of one of the layers of hubris and ego in the Magus.
Leo (essexpagan@hotmail.com)

Samadhi. This card represents the obliveration of the ego. The Pheonix myth applies here, as something more glorious and beautiful rises out of the ashes of the old."
Gerald del Campo

"Unlike the Hanged Man, this is transformation without control. Rebirth. Doing away with the past...move to a new beginning. Changes cannot be controlled. Expanded consciousness. Let go and move on. No debating. Never means physical death."
Alison

"Something or some part of your existence is over. Change is eminent. This may be a good thing. Life is change. For life to continue, there must be change."
Connie MacAlpin