XII- Death (RWS)

[TheLoracular]

I have always been fascinated with depictions of death as a person in literature. The Grim Reaper, Death in Gaiman's Sandman comics, and definitely the knightly Death on its pale horse in the RWS tarot card. Everyone who publishes anything on the tarot talks about how rarely does drawing this card touch on literal death, that its a card about Change and how endings have to happen to allow for beginnings. I agree.

But change and closure and starting over is often really hard and really painful. I often have "It is darkest before the dawn" moments when I am looking at this card. When this card comes up in a reading I'm doing for someone else, I try and pause and look over the bigger picture to look for the positives in what I'm going to say and make sure its sincere but doesn't come across as just a platitude. That rising sun just behind the priestly figure in the robe often draws my eye and pulls my gaze up from the figures on the ground, past the rider and the priestly figure to the gray sky that my mind tells me isn't going to stay gray for long.

The white "Tudor Rose" on the black flag has a long history in Catholic iconography as a symbol of purity and mysticism, especially associated with the Virgin Mary and her title as "Mystical Rose of Heaven" according to something I read somewhere. I keep that in mind as part of the message that the rider is bringing with him. While no one is immune to death and no one is going to experience it the same (each figure is reacting to its approach in dramatically different ways), there is no reason to be without hope. Death is symbolically destroying material existence to provide the opportunity to rejoin with the divine, which is why the priestly figure (as one in touch with the divine already there in their golden robes directly beneath the golden dawn) is so welcoming.

And even as I type this, it occurs to me how much this card is really talking about the entire Western esoteric Initiatory experience and what Waite & Pixie might have been trying to say in symbol by having a Golden Dawn as part of this card specifically.

[A-M]

My take on the symbolism of this card:
The three figures in front of the horse have made themselves worthy of the grace of mystical death through diligent spiritual practice. The bishop refers to the card of the Hierophant: in him duality has merged into the oneness of the divine. He has conquered matter. The woman with the wreath of flowers on her head can be found on the Strength card: she has mastered and sublimated her emotions and animal instincts. The child is a symbol of wholeness and can also be found on the Sun card. All three of them radiate surrender. They are willing to let go of their ego; an inner attitude that takes courage.

A dead king lies under the horse. This is probably a reference to a well-known esoteric theme: “the death of the old king.” The archetype of the old king represents the ego, that rules in the spiritually unconscious man. He must die first to make way for a new king, who is connected to the divine. The king’s blue cloak and red shoes on the RWS card represent the feminine and masculine in him, that have become one (the energetic impulse to his death). His gray hair indicates old age (old king).

Petrus Bonus Series, emblem 2 (14th century):
"The son stabs the father as he sits on the throne."

https://www.anne-marie.eu/en/tarot-13-death/