Death Tarot Card Meaning: Love, Career, Money, and Health

As a tarot reader, there is one question I get asked over and over, “What happens if the death card comes out, does it mean I’m going to die?” While death can be intimidating, painful, and enough to get you shaking in your boots, it rarely represents physical death.

Here you will uncover the death tarot card meanings, upright, reversed, in different contexts (love, money, career, health, spirituality), important death tarot card combinations, and whether it’s a yes or no card. This is a card that asks you to see beyond your initial fear and dig a little deeper.

Death Tarot Card Keywords

Upright Position : Transformation, Transition, Change, Endings, Releasing,

Reversed Position : Resisting Change, Inability to Move Forward, Decay, Inner Work, Drawn Out Ending

Death Tarot Card Description

An angel of death rides on a white horse. His armour symbolizes the idea that no one can destroy death. We’re all at the mercy of its inevitable fate. The white horse is a symbol of purity, as death acts as purification force for all of us. His black flag features a rose with 5 petals. 5 being the number of change and the rose a symbol of beauty. This showcases how death does not just mean the ending of life, it’s also a meaningful transformation.

A young woman, a pope and child, beg this dark horseman for their life. Unfortunately, death spares no one. Regardless of achievements, class, race or gender, we all face inevitable endings and change. In the background, the sun sets over two towers (mirroring the moon card), This signals that brighter days are still ahead.

In the major arcana, death is the 13th card, following the hanged man. The Death card is the zodiac sign of Scorpio. Click here for more on the death card’s connection to astrology & Scorpio.

Upright Death Tarot Card Meaning

The upright death card represents a significant transformation in your life! After a temporary period of struggle, you will be stepping into an amazing new beginning. Embrace the discomfort of change, as everything that is occurring right now is for your personal development. No one loves endings, however as one door closes, another is sure to open. A beautiful new path is appearing on the horizon.

With all the darkness associated with the death card, it’s easy to forget about the beauty it brings. In the background of the card, you will notice the sun. Shining as a reminder that brighter days are ahead of you.

When death appears, a significant phase in your life is occurring. Old patterns are being destroyed, and you’re becoming new! Take some time to grieve the past version of you. Death is a process, and it’s natural for a few tears to be shed on this journey.

Reversed Death Tarot Card Meaning

You’re resisting an ending. When the reversed death card shows up in a tarot reading, change is imminent, and you’re dragging your feet in the sand. Intuitively, you know it’s time to let go. So what’s holding you back?

Many tarot readers, myself included, attempt to ease the fears associated with the death tarot card. However, the truth is, death kinda sucks. Pain, fear of the unknown, and difficult emotions are deeply intertwined with the experience of this card. Still, your resistance to the process leaves you stuck, feeling as if you’re in limbo, while the quality of your life decays around you.

Embrace change. What can you do to get on board with this ending?

With all this resistance in your body, you’re likely stifling your emotional expression. Allowing yourself to cry will release the tension you’re experiencing.

Death Card: One card Pull

The death tarot card meanings can be easily condensed in a one card pull. Transformation, change. These are your themes right now.

Is The Death Tarot Card Yes or No?

Interpreting death in yes or no tarot readings, is not as straight forward as with other cards. When you ask your question, use your intuition. Does what you’re asking relate to transformation, change, and endings? Than death is a definitive yes.

However if your question relates to reconcillation, going back to the past, continuing with the same old pattern, this card is NO.

What Does Death Mean in Tarot in a Relationship?

Upright Death Tarot Card Love Meaning

Something isn’t working in your romantic life when death shows up in a love tarot reading. If you’re in a relationship, the emotional dynamic between you is getting tiring. One or both of you is constantly bringing up past mistakes, or hurts and it’s time to let go. If you’re otherwise happy in your relationship, then your problems can be solved by taking a new approach. Connect with your partner to discover how you can make this change together. It may be as simple as trying relationship counselling.

This is one of those tarot cards that can mean there is a need for you to end the relationship. If you’re feeling done, or like old patterns aren’t changing, than it’s time. Use this card as confirmation, when your internal knowing is telling you to leave.

When you’ve recently experienced heartbreak, drawing this card in a tarot reading suggests taking time to mourn your past hurts. This difficult time is changing you in ways you may not even imagine. You’re becomming a brand new person. Congratulations, because you’re successfully using the pain you’ve experienced as fodder for personal growth.

On the search for love, it’s only your past holding you back. Transform the way you relate to romance and relationships. Than, it will be much easier to find a partner aligned with your soul.

Alternatively the death card can indicate a person who is mysterious, sexy, deep, and powerful. A romantic connection that will surely transform you. This card’s connection to the astrology sign scorpio can indicate a scorpio, or water sign entering your life.

Love and Relationship (Reversed)

Death reversed in a love reading signifies that holding on to past heart break or pain is affecting your love life. If you’re struggling to move on from a betrayal, or bad experience, it’s bleeding out into new romantic connections & relationships.

The death tarot card meanings all relate to change, and this time, it’s no longer them, it’s you! If you’re holding on to negative beliefs and outlooks on love, ask yourself what is the purpose of doing so?

Right now all it’s doing is blocking love from coming in.

Alternatively if you’re already in a relationship you might be punishing your partner over and over again for past mistakes. When you do this, you restrict growth in the relationship. If they’ve done their best to make amends and it’s not enough for you, this might mean it’s time to let them go.

Listen to your heart, if you’ve been wanting to leave for a while and sticking around due to comfort or fear, than the death card is showing you it’s time.

Career Meaning – Upright Death

New beginnings in your career are on the horizon when the death upright appears. If you’ve been wanting to make a change in your current job, or business, this is your confirmation. Now is the perfect time.

The death card signals that everything improves when you’re willing to transform. The unknown may produce images of fear, or serve to trigger your low self-esteem. Let nothing stop you. The difficulty inherent in this major arcana card is fertilizer for life. Growing pains are real. Yet, you can handle them.

Welcome the ending before you. Whether it’s your choice, or forced by external circumstances doesn’t matter.

Finances Upright Meaning

A different approach is required in regards to your financial dealings. This can mean a literal ending to a way you’ve been using your money. Such as ending a subscription(s), a relationship to a bank that is overwhelming you with hidden fees, a financial investment or manager who is taking advantage, or an old pattern of spending that is choke holding your finances.

Shifting your relationship to money needs to happen now, pulling a follow up card for your tarot reading can help you determine exactly what this relates to. Repeating negative patterns at this time will only result in financial loss.

Reversed Death Tarot Card Career and Money Meaning

Career Meaning – Reversed Death

Something in your professional life needs to change. Are you holding on to your current job, even though the environment is unhealthy, and the money’s not what you want? If your growth has become stagnant, you will start to feel more and more drained.

Face it, humans are not meant to wake up every day hating life! Change, while often uncomfortable, is a necessary force. You need to embrace change in your career, or your own business.

Remember, as one door closes, another is sure to open. By keeping yourself stuck in a position that is unfulfilling, you’re also keeping your happiness away. Suffering doesn’t make you a hero.

Finances Meaning – Reversed Death

This reversed card signifies financial loss. Losing money is never easy. You may be forced to look at how you use your financial resources at this time. Changing how you spend your money is difficult, however, resisting change in the financial context, will leave you even more strapped for cash than you’re now.

If you feel you’ve lost hope, remember, in terms of the death reversed, when you accept change, new beginnings are sure to come. A brighter financial future is on the other side of this difficult time.

Upright Death Tarot Card Health Meaning (Not Physical death)

When the death card appears in your health reading, don’t panic! It’s unlikely saying that you’re dying. This card suggests that you need to undergo a serious transformation in how you look after yourself. What unhealthy habits need to change now?

When it comes to the death card, you’re required to let go of something to achieve optimal health. What negative patters need to end in your life? This is your sign that repeating negative patterns is causing a sudden decrease in your health. Pay close attention to how the habits you have, are impacting you.

Reversed Death Tarot Card Health Meaning

If death reversed, shows up in a health context, your resistance to change is affecting your wellbeing. It’s likely that a health care professional has talked to you about the adjustments you need to make, and you’re internally refusing to do so.

On the other hand, it’s incredibly probable that you’re avoiding the medical system all together. Many illnesses, conditions and diseases can be stopped in their tracks, if support is received quickly. Ignoring symptoms until they’re out of control, often leads to seeking help when it’s already too late.

Change needs to happen for you to be in optimal health. Resisting it will only lead to a deeper issue down the road. You’ve been warned!

Spirituality and the Death Tarot Card

The death card is profoundly spiritual. All religions and spiritual practices centre around the question, what happens when we die? And how should that inform the way we live?

Drawing this card in a spiritual context represents a major phase on your path.

Upright, the death card signifies a very literal connection to death. You’re able to contact past loved ones, spiritual beings (such as angels), and guides at this time. They’re supporting you on your spiritual journey, don’t be afraid to ask for help or guidance. The spirits around you have your best interest at heart.

The upright meaning also indicates your perspective on life and spirituality, is undergoing a massive shift. This spiritual transformation will greatly impact how you interact with the world around you. It might’ve been triggered by the physical death of a loved one, or simply a personal change. If you feel drawn to learning about religions, spiritual practices, or philosophy at this time, follow the call.

Death reversed is greatly tied to spiritual healing. It represents a time when you may feel called to withdraw from the world and focus entirely on the health of your soul. Inner work, spiritual purging and energy healing are all indicated for you at this time. If you’re drawn to journeying with plant medicine, this is your confirmation to go for it. Spiritual transformation on a massive level is occurring for you.

You’re likely feeling inclined to experience this personal growth in private, or with only a few trusted people. Honour that desire, share only when you’re ready.

Important Death Card Tarot Combinations

Drawing a follow-up card when death appears in your tarot reading will help you get a better understanding of what it means for your life. Below are some important death card combinations to pay special attention to.

Death and the Lovers or the Hierophant

The lovers adds a spark of positivity to the death tarot card meaing. Together they indicate a critical choice needs to be made, often in regards to the future of a relationship. The end of an unloving, difficult relationship, is sure to lead to the birth of a positive harmonious one. Full of love, trust and compatibility. These cards together show that letting go of the past, and embracing the new can be done with a positive attitude.

When the tarot combination of Death and the Hierophant come out of your tarot deck, their meaning can be complicated. Together they suggest a spiritual evolution is taking place, and old ways are no longer working for you. The hierophant tarot card meaning relates to traditional systems, highlighting that you may be questioning you faith, or trust in what you once believed. Estabilished instuitions such as religion, goverment, or education are no longer meeting your needs. A change in how you relate to these systems, or rely on them, must occur for your growth.

Go Beyond Tarot Meanings

Now that you’ve looked into all the meanings of the death tarot card, ask yourself this question. “What does death mean to me?”

Beyond beautiful ideas of transformation, spiritual growth, and change, this card provides the unique opportunity to come close to the great mystery of life. The only question that can never truly be answered, until it’s your time.

The more deeply you can connect to death itself, the more meaning you will find unfolding from this mystifying card.

“Everybody should do in their lifetime, sometime, two things. One is to consider death…to observe skulls and skeletons and to wonder what it will be like to go to sleep and never wake up-never. That is a most gloomy thing for contemplation; it’s like manure. Just as manure fertilizes the plants and so on, so the contemplation of death and the acceptance of death is very highly generative of creating life. You’ll get wonderful things out of that.” Alan Watts