Archetypes of the Tarot - Death

 

As an archetype Death is a difficult card to satisfactorily explain in a way that  is simple to understand so bear with me as we delve into the issues that apply.  Death is the all powerful and implacable destroyer.  A person who would shut down the only employer in a region and tear down the buildings to satisfy a selfish desire thereby devaluing the property and devastating the local economy may well be represented by Death. 

 

It is true that this card is often used to signify dramatic or catastrophic change and is often found when sudden medical emergencies occur.  It is also true that the dramatic nature of the change is as terrifying as Death.  Yet ask yourself if you have ever met a person who is so assured of their power in this life that they have no regard for anything or anyone other than themselves.  Or a person who is so totally a sociopath that they can not see beyond their personal greed may be associated with this card.  Any time there is a person who is so wholly self-absorbed, greedy, antisocial and has an utter disregard for anything other than their own demands it is the Death card that warns of the danger to beware this individual for their is indeed much to fear from their relentless, destructive progress. 

 

This is the antithesis of the Hermit.  This is a bringer of destruction to the lives of all it encounters.  The Ender of Life to all beings.  This person is involved in the lives of many others and encounters everyone sooner rather than later.  Death comes both announced and by stealth, there is no hiding from the inevitability of encountering this unstoppable force; there is a lot about the concept of "Big Brother" that has the same sense about it.  Perhaps it is this unidentifiable quality that links the two.  In a later article we'll encounter the Devil who is so much more personal than Death, for now it is enough to comment that while the Devil is Evil personified Death is unconnected and while it is frequently negative in one sense it is a transformation to another level of existence too.  Death is an absence of life through destructive transformation when it acts as the Grim Reaper; yet as a personality it is the extreme sociopath.