FOUR PILLARS SOCIETY TAROT: Death

Notes on Death

(The Innocence of Death)

Artist’s Note on Death:
Death to me is a child eager for life. It wants to understand both the gift it gives and the gift it takes.
To others, it is a skeletal figure upon a white horse.
All will view Death differently, whether as a Threat or as a blessing or perhaps as just one more challenge to surpass and by doing so to grow
With each  person, a key is involved
How easily the key will move all depends on how open each person is to change,
Death, The Persona of Transformation is everchanging. Yet it is also one of the rare beings who can be said to be constant
 
About the Archetype:
 
In the Rider-Waite tarot deck, Death is shown riding a white horse. In its wake are the destroyed remains of a king and in its path is a praying clergyman, a young maiden with her body supplicating itself to the rider while her head is averted, and a young child offering death a flower. All of these are indicative of the various ways and stages in which we react to major life-altering changes. The king, by power and position, thinks he can command Death to stop only to get trampled. The Priest believes that prayer can avert the need to change and he is next to get trampled. The maiden offers herself to Death but only half-heartedly. She won’t survive so well either. It is the child who accepts whatever comes with an open heart that will survive.
 
Death is the transformation to a new stage through the purification of the old. We all go through these transformations. Our jobs become obsolete. Our relationships end. Our viewpoints and our lifestyles evolve as we grow. We have spiritual experiences that transform us. We fall in love. How we accept these changes goes a long way towards determining how far we can grow as people and as spiritual beings we are. The more we resist change, the harder the changes tend to be when they come, and the more we stagnate. It is only by being open to the flow of these changes that we can be open to the flow of life and spirit itself.
 
 
Astrological Correspondent:
 
Scorpio (♏︎)-The Scorpio energy is one of intensity. It is passionate and lustful and yearns for knowledge. It is a secretive force and has a strong attraction towards the transformative. As such it has an attraction towards the mystical and may be drawn towards the mysteries of sex and death especially. While the scorpion with its regenerative powers and sting is well known as a Scorpio symbol, the snake and the eagle also are used to represent this energy. The snake represents both the sexual energy and the knowledge of life and death and the eagle which represents the spiritual life beyond transitory form. Scorpio is known for both its ability to see things through and its ability to see through things, penetrating them to their core.
 
 
In a Reading:
 
When Death turns up in a reading, it usually indicates a major transformative change in the querent’s life or circumstances. Usually, one that demarcates a new chapter in their lives. These changes may include a peak experience, a divorce or break-up, the death of a loved one, or even a near-death experience itself. What is important is how the querent deals with the experience. Do they fight to kick and scream to hold onto life as they have known it or do they accept the changes and move on? Usually, when the Death card shows up it is a change that the querent cannot alter so coming to terms with it is necessary. The card can also indicate a fear of dying on the part of the querent. Carlos Castaneda’s teacher Don Juan, among many others has suggested that we keep in mind that we all will die someday and use our Death as an advisor and indeed it is just one more stage. Seldom tho does the card refer to the querent’s own Death tho it can often refer to the ending of a stage of their life. It can refer to a need for the querent to release the life they have lived to now in order to embrace the life they have.
 
 
 
Death reversed or badly aspected can often show a dramatic resistance to change. The querent may have grown complacent and lazy in their life holding back on living fully in order to stay safe and comfortable. It may also represent the querent refusing to acknowledge changes that have already happened and move on. It is almost as if they are haunting their past rather than living their present. It thus indicates the necessity for change. The reversed Death card can also represent a feeling of loss and grief. In this instance again it is mourning for the way things were.
 
–GR
 
 
Fate’s Whisper:
 
Life and Death have always been dance partners who were inseparable. The aspect of life was usually depicted by a feminine figure while the aspect of death was usually represented by an asexual or masculine figure. Just like a dance, there is an equal push and pull as it persists. The idea of reincarnation was birthed from this philosophy. While it is argued what happens after death not a lot of physical proof exists to back a solid claim.
 
While it is obvious we will all die eventually it is overlooked that we have an enormous amount of micro deaths while we live our lives. Every change for better, or worse, requires we lose something so we can make room for it. This means every change we undergo is the death of part of our being or ego. This card shows that a part of our life is coming to an end. So this begs a question. How are you changing for better or worse?
 
  — NF

 

Playing Chess Fellini’s Way – A Consciousness Stream

 

“Today, however, we are having a hard time living because we are so bent on outwitting death.”
– Simone de Beauvoir

 

I asked a friend to give me a quote to blog about and she replied with the Simone de Beavoir one above. It brings to mind both Emily Dickinson and Fellini’s chess playing grim reaper. Playing a final game to give us a bit more time in our form. Yet isn’t that an analogy for life from beginning to end for some. Yet quality is more important than quantity and I would rather live well than live long if given a choice tho ultimately both would be my preference. Castaneda talks about using death as an advisor–holding on to the awareness that one day we will die adds significance to each action and reaction we have. If we do everything as if it was the last time we had the chance to do it, then we will live richer much more intense lives tho it would play havoc on long term planning. I spent most of my twenties and thirties doubting that I would live much beyond forty and now I am more than ten years past that. I have discovered much to live for and now would just as soon stick around longer. Yet still Death sits and moves his pieces around the board and I follow suit. One day I will topple my King in acknowledgement and the act will be over and the stage cleared. Until then there are songs to be sung, sunrises to be enjoyed and good friends to enjoy them with.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Memories of Annabel LeeMemories of Annabel Lee by G A Rosenberg

 

Complex EquationsComplex Equations by G A Rosenberg

 

Tarot Post – Death

 

XIII-Death (♏︎)

 

Death (F)Death by G A Rosenberg

 

Caterpillar dies
His burial shroud builds up
Transformation now!

 

Rotting in the decay of stagnation
my old self putrefies
I await the awakening
as new energy infuses my being
Tho in the moment not
in the next risen
in new form, I accept
what is to come
rather than be swept away
by life’s flow.

 

I crawled for so long
feeling earth and bark beneath
my body
Gravity kept me slow
then one day I heard your call
stepped through your door
and died..
Ecstatic darkness
points of light
and then a new awakening
Emerged, I could fly
and such beauty have I
the wind against my wings
bringing me closer to the light.
Today I heard your call again
and I prepare to enter
What will become of me now?

 

In the Rider-Waite tarot deck, Death is shown riding a white horse. In its wake are the destroyed remains of a king and in its path is a praying clergyman, a young maiden with her body supplicating itself to the rider while her head is averted and a young child offering death a flower. All of these are indicative of the various ways and stages in which we react to major life-altering changes. The king, by power and position thinks he can command Death to stop only to get trampled. The Priest believes that prayer can avert the need to change and he is next to get trampled. The maiden offers herself to Death but only half-heartedly. She won’t survive so well either. It is the child who accepts whatever comes with an open heart that will survive.
Death is the transformation to a new stage through the putrification of the old. We all go through these transformations. Our jobs become obsolete. Our relationships end. Our viewpoints and our lifestyles evolve as we grow. We have spiritual experiences that transform us. We fall in love. How we accept these changes goes a long way towards determining how far we can grow as people and as the spiritual beings we are. The more we resist change, the harder the changes tend to be when they come and the more we stagnate. It is only be being open to the flow of these changes that we can be open to the flow of life and spirit itself.
 

Astrological Correspondent-Scorpio (♏︎)-The Scorpio energy is one of intensity. It is passionate and lustful and yearns for knowledge. It is a secretive force and has a strong attraction towards the transformative. As such it has an attraction towards the mystical and may be drawn towards they mysteries of sex and death especially. While the scorpion with its regenerative powers and sting is well known as a Scorpio symbol, the snake and the eagle also are used to represent this energy. The snake representing both the sexual energy and the knowledge of life and death and the eagle which represents the spiritual life beyond transitory form. Scorpio is known for both its ability to see things through and its ability to see through things, penetrating them to their core.

 

Runic Correspondent-Ansuz(‘Woden’ ‘Breath’)ansuz-100x100Ansuz is a rune of shattering transformation that brings clarity. It represents the breath of life that runs through us from birth to death. Breath deals with how we communicate and what we keep inside. Ansuz also can influence how we hear the voice of the universe and how we can transform in a flash when we become attuned to it. Other runes associated with the Death trump are Berkano and Daggaz

 

Path on the Tree of Life-Path 24-Nun-Nun means fish. The waters that the fish swim in are the dark waters of the unconscious. Nun is the path of transformation of consciousness. It connects the sephiroth of Tiphareth (“Beauty”) and Netzach (“Victory”). It is referred to as the Apparitive Consciousness and it is said to provide form and appearance for all beings according to their stature. This ties in with many thoughts on reincarnation and rebirth.

 

When Death turns up in a reading, it usually indicates a major transformatory change in the querent’s life or circumstances. Usually one that demarcates a new chapter in their lives. These changes may include a peak experience, a divorce or break-up, the death of a loved one or even a near-death experience itself. What is important is how the querent deals with the experience. Do they fight kicking and screaming to hold onto life as they have known it or do they accept the changes and move on? Usually when the Death card shows up it is a change that the querent cannot alter so coming to terms with it is necessary. The card can also indicate a fear of dying on the part of the querent. Carlos Castaneda’s teacher Don Juan, among many others have suggested that we keep in mind that we all will die someday and to use our Death as an advisor and indeed it is just one more stage. Seldom tho does the card refer to the querent’s own Death tho it can often refer to the ending of a stage of their life. It can refer to a need for the querent to release the life they have lived to now in order to embrace the life they have.

 

Death reversed can often show a dramatic resistance to change. The querent may have grown complacent and lazy in their life holding back on living fully in order to stay safe and comfortable. It may also represent the querent refusing to acknowledge changes that have already happen and move on. It is almost as if they are haunting their past rather than living their present. It thus indicates the necessity for change. The reversed Death card can also represent a feeling of loss and grief. In this instance again it is the mourning for the way things were.

 

Ch-Ch-Changes

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
― Alan Wilson Watts

 

The world is in upheaval. Not only the external world but for many of us, it seems that changes are happening more rapidly. It takes boldness to surf through those changes instead of feeling thrown by them. It takes even more courage to welcome the changes that come with wonder. I’ve been fighting the changes in my life strongly. My son’s growing up. He has become a teenager with a teenager’s need to question authority and fight the inner battles that hormones bring. My parents are older with the attendant health issues that often come with that. My areas of focus tend to move around and sometimes they ricochet. More and more tho rather than standing against the wind and either being in denial or resistance of the changes, I am letting them buffet me towards new ways of being.
The Death trump in the Rider-waite tarot shows the figure of Death on a pale horse. Death of course does not represent literal Death as much as transformation and the card itself speaks of different approaches to transformation. The trampled King on the card believed that his power and wealth would save him from having to change and he got trampled. The Priest, next in line believes that the dogma that he adheres to is eternal and he is soon to suffer the same fate. The maiden sits in surrender to the horseman tho her face is turned away. She still resists the idea of change no matter how inevitable she finds it. The child hands Death a flower. In innocence, we face change with the same wonder that we face everything else. It is only when we become older, we lose that innocence. May we each return to it.
Blessings, G
 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Abstracted Spirits in the stormAbstracted Spirits in the Storm by G A Rosenberg

 

ExpansionExpansion by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – October 3 2011

“When you have come to the edge of all the light you have
And step into the darkness of the unknown
Believe that one of the two will happen to you
Either you’ll find something solid to stand on
Or you’ll be taught how to fly!”
–Richard Bach

Off to Connecticut soon for the memorial service and to see family. Once more a farewell tho I feel in ways my mother’s presence closer than I have in years. Today I went to Shine, the tea restaurant and wellness place that I go to for Kambucha and yoga. The owner put her hand on my arm and said “You’re happy right” and I realized she was correct.
Mourning feels somewhat farcical when I realize that my mother now exists without the pain that has been part of her existence for the past 10 years. Unencumbered by the physical, she now embarks on whatever the next stage may be and knowing my mother, she travels first class (but then when it comes to spirit, don’t we all?)
Can I share this with my family? They showed so much fear in the hospital, of sickness and death and wish to mourn in the traditional Jewish way (the irony of it being called Shiva does not escape me, every culture shares connections) I honour their grief and the expression of it tho find elements of it uncomfortable, i guess lessons to be learned for all of us. Namaste

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The Stuff that Dreams Are Made of by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – September 18 2011

“I died a mineral and became a plant.
I died a plant and rose an animal.
I died an animal and I was a man.
Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?
Yet once more I shall die as man, to soar
With the blessed angels; but even from angel hood
I must pass on. All except God perishes.
When I have sacrificed my angel soul,
I shall become that which no mind ever conceived.
O, let me not exist! for Nonexistance proclaims,
“To Him we shall return.””
–Rumi

Heavy Thoughts and feelings running through tonight. On love and death. In the next day or so, as in the proceeding few days, I will have to say goodbye in this lifetime to my mother. She’s been very sick for quite awhile and I know that it in many ways is a good thing. She will slip this physical shell , that is the least important part of her and go on to the next great adventure. Still those of us left behind will miss her greatly. Many people, including myself find her to be an extraordinary woman and much of who I am comes from her. Elements of my sense of humour, my impatience with foolishness and my passion comes from her for sure.
Still as I said, it has been evident for some time that she has been ready to go on, emotionally, mentally and physically.
I have to say all in all I disagree with Dylan Thomas. Going gently into that good night can sometimes be the best thing possible. Asking someone to rage against it out of a desire to hold someone here when their bodies and minds are suffering seems cruel. Sorry about the heaviness of my words but I won’t apologize for the heaviness of my being. I will miss being able to call my mother up whenever I have something on my mind or just to say hi. I will miss our political discussions and I will miss her greatly. Of course she lives on in my heart and in my memories and I don’t believe that there is EVER a dying of the light but that the light continues its journey through eternity ever becoming. Namaste. –G A Rosenberg

 

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Pulled into Love’s Orbit by G A Rosenberg