13 Days of Shadow Work Challenge

Heal the Negative Qualities in Your Psychological Blind Spot to Avoid More Pain and Difficulty

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Scorpio Season is the Time to Review
 
 
These are aaalllllll the things that come up at this time of year. And of course, these are all things that fall under the domain of the Death card. When Death comes up in a reading, a seeker is usually not too pleased! Even the most level-headed seeker who knows "Death doesn't mean a literal death" gets a little uncomfortable when that card comes up. Because it often means something is changing and we humans fear change. We, as a whole, fear things we can't control. We fear things ending or going away or losing something. And Death brings all of these things.
 
 
Why This is a Good Thing
 
 
However as card readers, we know that Death is not a card to be feared. Often, the very thing that is ending is something that we NEED to let go of or let end, for our own highest good. Often the thing that is ending is something that's no longer serving us, that we likely should have already let go of or gotten rid of. We only have so much room in our lives, and energetically, we need to make space. We need to make room for new and better things to enter, and we can't do that without letting go of the things that AREN'T serving us anymore.
 
 
The Universe will always give us more of what we are fixating on or actively thinking about and focusing on. So that thing in our life that we "can't" let go of, or we are constantly obsessing about? Well, the Universe is going to give us MORE of that thing, because we are making ourselves an energetic match for it. Another reason why it's so important to let go of the things that are no longer serving us, and in this way, we are also making room for something better.
 
 
The Natural Order of Things
 
 
The Death card follows The Hanged Man and precedes Temperance. There is a reason this card falls in between two seemingly very peaceful and placid cards. Removing things from our lives does not always have to be the painful event we imagine it to be. It can be easy if we let it be. In The Hanged Man, we spend time in contemplation. We see things from another perspective. We give things time. We mull them over. So that in the next card, Death, we are prepared to remove what no longer serves us.
 
 
This is followed by Temperance, where we find ourselves restoring the balance. Because before we removed what was no longer working, our lives were likely getting OUT of balance. We often hold onto things (both physical and otherwise) well past their prime and long past their usefulness to us. With the Death card brings a bit of unknowing, and we are all just a little bit afraid of the dark.
 
 
On Death and Rebirth
 
 
When it comes to Death and rebirth, these are not the same things, and both death and rebirth are not necessarily indicated in this card. Many a tarot reader are quick to assure a client or seeker that the card means that something else, something BETTER is coming. That this card means transformation. Transformation, yes, to a degree. The law of energy says that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only change forms, so in theory, yes, transformation of some sort is indicated by this card.
 
 
But what the reader is really doing is seeking to appease the fears and apprehension of the client, to make it seem "not as bad as it appears". But I challenge that maybe it isn't bad to begin with? This card does not suggest something new is coming. It says something is ending. And that is all. We need to stop sugar coating that for our clients, or worry that we will upset them or scare them. Because all endings aren't bad. Maybe your seeker would be happy to hear that a certain situation is coming to an end, and she is not even LOOKING for a replacement, or something else.
 
 
Endings are not evil. They are a necessary part of life for our growth. Now yes, to make room for new and better things, the old and stagnant must go, but they are neither mutually inclusive or exclusive. The Death card indicates something is ending, and that is all. Death and rebirth are not always hand in hand. Sometimes it's just Death, and that's an important distinction.
 
 
The Mighty Phoenix
 
 
The phoenix is also associated with the Death card and the sign of Scorpio as well. The mighty phoenix is a bird associated with the ancient land of Phoenicia and is known to live 500 years before its death. After it's death, the bird will rise again from the ashes and be re-born. So there is often a rebirth after the Death card as this bird illustrates, but it is not always immediate and should not be used as a way to placate our seekers or to try to minimize the message of the Death card. It is ok for things to come to an end, it is natural. In life, all things must end, it's our attachment to them and the fear of the unknown that makes it uncomfortable for us. And it's ok to sit in that discomfort. According to Buddha, our attachment is the root of all suffering.
 
 
This time of year, Scorpio season, is the greatest time of year to look at what things we can let go of in our lives. I invite you to join our shadow work challenge to see what you can purge emotionally and psychologically, Scorpio LOVES the deep stuff. And as the Death card comes up in your readings, I invite you to see it as an opportunity and a gift to you or your seeker, to release what is no longer of greatest value for you, and welcome not necessarily what comes next, but to sit in the interim of what is.
 
 
Join us in our Facebook group Tarot for the Modern Reader right now!
 
 
Other posts in the Ocktoberfest: Embracing the Darkness Series:
 
 
Week 1: Autumn and the Suit of Swords
 
Week 2: How to Use Halloween to Catapult Your Tarot Reading Business
 
Week 3: The Shadow Self: How to Own and Heal Our Shadow Qualities
 
Week 4: Death and Rebirth- Letting Go During Scorpio Season
 
Week 5: Halloween Rituals for Tarot Readers