Death (Tarot Card) - Rider-Waite Symbolism

Rider-Waite Symbolism

• The king is trampled by a reaping skeleton horseman, as the Pictorial Key to the Tarot describes him, which appears to be a personification of death. The fall of the king may represent the importance and magnitude of the critical event of this card, or that death takes us all equally.
• The reaper carries a black banner emblazoned with the Mystic Rose, which according to Waite symbolises life or rebirth.
• As in other cards, the gray background may indicate uncertainty surrounding this event.
• The bishop may represent faith in the face of death, faith in the divine plan, and faith that "God works in mysterious ways".
• The maiden seeming distraught by the fall of the king represents the sorrow and great pain that often accompanies death.
• The child, seemingly entranced by the occurrence, may represent bewilderment or curiosity.
• In the darkness behind, according to Waite's PKT, lies the whole world of ascent in the spirit.
  • Although some believe the New Jerusalem appears as a silhouette across the Sun, it does not appear clearly enough to be certain and may instead be the tops of The Moon's mountains.