And behold a pale horse: and his name that sat upon him was Death

The traditional Rider-Waite “Death” card in Tarot is the most frequent depiction of the card. Death is typically portrayed on a white horse, symbolizing purity, that moves at a steady pace and points forward, never stopping, even for those pleading with him – he comes for all, including kings (who lay beneath his steed), and even the pope!

There is no pleading, bargaining, or escaping him – someday we will all die.

Frequently depicted with a grinning skull, this symbolizes a home for mortal thoughts and the subsequent death of unnecessary/unwanted thinking. Although grim and frightening, Death holds a flag with a white rose proclaiming rebirth! A reminder that new life cycles, new mindsets and spiritual rebirth cannot occur without the end of something first. Although we focus on the grisly foreground, in the background the sun rises on the horizon between two towers, a hopeful indicator that the sun will rise again, tomorrow is a new day and the spirit, outliving our physical self, is truly eternal.

The death card has long gotten a bad rap from those unfamiliar with tarot. Seldom does the card indicate an actual “death”, but rather a significant time for rebirth (although, sometimes the events leading to the rebirth can be sharp and painful). Often, it indicates spiritual rebirth and self-transformations or realizations. For example, one might pull the death card when doing a relationship reading. Perhaps the querent is wondering what the future holds with a significant other – the death card could indicate the querent is holding onto a relationship that no longer serves them – it’s time to move on, learn from the past, and move to a "new day" like the sun on the horizon. The heartbreak may be sharp and painful, but something better lies ahead should we learn from the past (not live in it) and take our lessons learned to the next endeavor. It’s time to let the old ways of thinking wither away and die! There are so many splendid things on the horizon!

Michael, the most excellent artist apprentice there ever was

I decided to do an interpretation of the death card from more of a forensic/autopsy-esque perspective. Initially, the piece was drawn out with pencil and then pen was added. Finally, after many hours of researching symbolism and brainstorming how to translate it into a more literal crime-scene setting and many more hours of drawing, I finished the hand-drawn piece and photographed it to be edited and colored in Photoshop. Lucky for me, my cat Michael was very adamant about reminding me to take breaks and make dinner (on his schedule).

In Photoshop, I removed some rogue lines, cleaned up the composition, and added bright colors to be reminiscent of the traditional Rider-Waite tarot deck. After some redos and a lot of swearing, I finally finished the piece!

In keeping with the symbolism of the Rider-Waite card, the skull is prominent, indicating trapped mortal thoughts, however, I included a monarch butterfly who perches delicately on the corpse’s forehead, reminding us of transitions and rebirth and seeing the world in a new way. Small white butterflies (purity, like death’s horse) skitter about and pass over the corpse, unaware of the grisly scene beneath them. The corpse points forward, reminding us that we must not dwell in the past and that the essence of the card is to move on to new endeavors and new life. Three crows (trinity/triangle) feast on the corpse’s flesh for sustenance while they themselves are also symbolic of death and transformation – their predation stripping away the physical form to sustain their own lives. Despite the gruesome and grotesque scene, the foliage beneath and around the corpse grows much greener and robustly than the rest of the greenery in the scene, revealing that the end of a life has sustained new life. Maggots crawl in and out of the exposed innards and will soon transform into flies. The sun reflects on the water above the corpse’s head between two fallen trees – a reminder that despite the carnage, the sun rises and another day has dawned and so the cycle of life continues.