Death Tarot Art History: Symbolism Across Decks

BY NICOLE LAU

Death Through the Ages: The Evolution of Tarot's Most Feared Card

Death is perhaps the most iconic and misunderstood card in tarot history. From medieval Italian playing cards to contemporary art decks, this card has maintained its core imagery—a skeletal figure representing the inevitability of endings—while each era and artist has infused it with their own cultural understanding of death, transformation, and rebirth. This journey through Death's artistic evolution reveals not just changing aesthetics, but evolving human relationships with mortality, impermanence, and the cycles of life.

Origins: The Visconti-Sforza Tarot (1440s)

The earliest known depiction of Death appears in the Visconti-Sforza deck, though interestingly, the Death card is missing from most surviving versions of this deck—perhaps deliberately removed due to superstition or fear.

Key Features (from reconstructions and similar period decks):

• Skeletal figure wielding a scythe or bow
• Bodies or figures falling before Death
• No horse in earliest versions
• Emphasis on Death as reaper or hunter
• Medieval memento mori imagery
• Often depicted harvesting souls like wheat

Historical Context: In 15th century Italy, Death was a constant presence—plague, war, and high mortality rates made death a daily reality. The card reflected medieval "memento mori" (remember you must die) traditions, serving as reminder of mortality and the need for spiritual preparation. Death was not metaphor—it was literal, ever-present reality.

The Marseille Tradition (1650-1930)

The Tarot de Marseille established Death (La Mort) as one of the most visually striking and consistent images in tarot, with remarkable uniformity across centuries of production.

Iconic Marseille Features:

• Skeleton wielding a scythe
• Harvesting human body parts from the ground
• Hands, feet, and heads sprouting like plants
• No horse in most versions
• Active, dynamic pose—Death is working
• Numbered XIII (13)
• Often unnamed (just the number, no title)
• Bright colors despite dark subject (yellow, red, blue)

The Harvesting Imagery: The Marseille tradition emphasized Death as harvester—cutting down life like wheat, with body parts growing from earth like crops. This agricultural metaphor suggested the cyclical nature of death and rebirth: what's harvested returns to soil, nourishing new growth.

The Unnamed Card: Many Marseille decks left Death unnamed, showing only the number XIII. This reflected superstition about naming Death directly—to name it was to invoke it. The number 13 itself carried ominous associations.

The Rider-Waite-Smith Revolution (1909)

When Pamela Colman Smith created Death for the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, she made revolutionary changes that transformed how modern tarot readers understand this card.

RWS Death Innovations:

• Skeleton in black armor riding a white horse
• Black banner with white rose (mystical rose of immortality)
• Figures of all stations before Death (king, child, maiden, priest)
• Rising/setting sun between two towers in background
• River flowing in background (river of life/death)
• Emphasis on transformation rather than literal death
• More dignified, less gruesome than earlier versions
• Clear symbolism of endings and new beginnings

The White Horse: Smith's addition of the white horse was revolutionary. White symbolizes purity and spiritual power—Death is not evil or malicious, but a natural, pure force. The horse suggests Death's unstoppable momentum and nobility.

The Democratic Death: By showing figures of all social stations before Death—king, child, maiden, priest—Smith emphasized that Death comes for all equally. No status, age, or spiritual authority exempts anyone from transformation.

The Rose Banner: Perhaps Smith's most profound addition was the white rose on Death's black banner. The mystical rose represents immortality, beauty, and life eternal—even Death carries the promise of rebirth. This single symbol transformed Death from ending to transformation.

Thoth Tarot: Crowley and Harris (1938-1943)

Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot, painted by Lady Frieda Harris, took Death in a radically different direction, emphasizing alchemical transformation and the scientific reality of decay and renewal.

Thoth Death Features:

• Skeleton wielding scythe in dynamic, dancing pose
• Serpent imagery (ouroboros, transformation)
• Scorpion (Scorpio zodiac connection)
• Eagle (transformation, rising from death)
• Fish and other life forms emerging from decay
• Bubbles suggesting fermentation and chemical change
• Abstract, symbolic rather than literal representation
• Emphasis on putrefaction and regeneration

Alchemical Death: Crowley connected Death to the alchemical process of putrefaction—the necessary decay that precedes transformation. In alchemy, substances must completely break down before they can be reformed into gold. Death is not ending but essential stage in transformation.

Scientific Perspective: Harris's art emphasized the biological reality of death—decomposition, fermentation, the return of complex forms to simple elements. But this decay is not tragedy—it's the mechanism of renewal. Death feeds life.

The Danse Macabre Influence

Many tarot Death cards draw inspiration from the medieval "Danse Macabre" (Dance of Death) tradition—artistic and literary works showing Death leading people of all stations in a dance.

Danse Macabre Themes in Tarot:

• Death as equalizer—taking rich and poor alike
• Death as dancer or active figure, not passive reaper
• Procession of figures following Death
• Memento mori message: remember death, live accordingly
• Death as teacher about what truly matters

This tradition influenced tarot's portrayal of Death as active, dynamic force rather than passive ending—Death doesn't wait, it comes dancing.

Feminist and Revisionist Decks (1970s-1990s)

The feminist spirituality movement brought new interpretations of Death that challenged patriarchal fear of endings and emphasized natural cycles.

Motherpeace Tarot (1981):

• Death as natural cycle, not punishment
• Emphasis on seasonal death and rebirth
• Connection to menstruation and life cycles
• Death as transformation, not ending
• Less frightening, more organic imagery

Daughters of the Moon Tarot (1984):

• Death as crone goddess wisdom
• Connection to dark moon and winter
• Emphasis on necessary endings for growth
• Death as wise teacher, not enemy

Cultural Critique: These decks questioned why Western culture fears death so intensely, suggesting this fear serves patriarchal control. They reframed Death as natural, necessary, and even sacred—part of the eternal cycle rather than tragic ending.

Contemporary Art Decks (2000-Present)

Modern tarot has exploded with diverse Death interpretations, from minimalist to elaborate, from terrifying to beautiful.

The Wild Unknown Tarot (2012):

• Minimalist black and white aesthetic
• Bare tree or natural death imagery
• Emphasis on natural cycles and seasons
• Death as winter before spring
• Less frightening, more contemplative

The Fountain Tarot (2014):

• Sleek, modern, almost sci-fi aesthetic
• Abstract representation of transformation
• Emphasis on energy transformation rather than physical death
• Minimalist, elegant approach

Santa Muerte Decks:

• Based on Mexican folk saint Santa Muerte
• Death as protective, loving figure
• Colorful, ornate imagery
• Death as ally and helper, not enemy
• Cultural reframing of death as friend

Afrofuturist and Decolonial Decks:

• Death reimagined through African diaspora traditions
• Connection to ancestor veneration
• Death as transition, not ending
• Emphasis on continuity rather than cessation

Consistent Symbols Across All Traditions

Despite vast artistic differences, certain symbols remain remarkably consistent across Death cards:

The Skeleton: Universal symbol of death, appearing in virtually every Death card. Represents what remains when all else falls away—the essential structure.

The Scythe or Weapon: Death as harvester or warrior. The tool that cuts life down, appearing in most traditional decks.

The Number 13: Consistently associated with Death across all traditions. Thirteen's reputation as unlucky number stems partly from this card.

Figures Before Death: Whether king, peasant, or priest, most Death cards show that all must face endings. Death is democratic.

Symbols of Rebirth: Whether rose, sun, or new growth, most Death cards include hints of renewal—death is not final.

Cultural Variations in Death Symbolism

Western Christian Influence: Death as judgment, punishment, or test. Emphasis on spiritual preparation and afterlife. Death as enemy to be feared.

Eastern Philosophy: Some contemporary decks integrate concepts of reincarnation, impermanence (anicca), and death as illusion. Death as teacher rather than enemy.

Indigenous Traditions: Modern decks incorporating indigenous wisdom often emphasize death as return to earth, connection to ancestors, and natural part of life cycle.

Mexican Día de los Muertos: Death as celebration, remembrance, and connection. Death as colorful, joyful, part of life rather than opposite of it.

The Unnamed Card Tradition

One of the most interesting aspects of Death's history is the tradition of leaving it unnamed:

Why Death Was Often Unnamed:

• Superstition about naming Death directly
• Belief that naming invokes or attracts
• The number XIII was considered sufficient identification
• Respect or fear preventing direct naming
• Understanding that Death is beyond naming

Modern decks have largely abandoned this tradition, but some still honor it by using alternative names like "Transformation," "Rebirth," or simply leaving the card unnamed.

Artistic Techniques and Their Meanings

Gruesome vs. Beautiful: Medieval decks emphasized death's horror. Modern decks often beautify death, emphasizing transformation. Both approaches serve different purposes—confronting fear versus accepting change.

Color Symbolism: Black (death, endings), white (purity, rebirth), red (life force, blood), gold (transformation, alchemy), green (decay and new growth).

Active vs. Passive Death: Death as active harvester/rider versus passive symbol. Active Death emphasizes inevitability and momentum. Passive Death emphasizes contemplation.

Literal vs. Metaphorical: Realistic skeletal imagery versus abstract transformation symbols. Literal approaches confront mortality directly. Metaphorical approaches emphasize psychological/spiritual death.

Choosing Your Death: Deck Selection

When selecting a tarot deck, consider how Death is portrayed:

For traditional readings: Rider-Waite-Smith offers balanced symbolism—serious but not terrifying, clear transformation message

For confronting mortality: Medieval or Marseille decks provide stark memento mori reminder

For gentle transformation work: Modern minimalist or nature-based decks emphasize cycles over endings

For cultural connection: Santa Muerte or culturally specific decks honor different death traditions

For alchemical work: Thoth or esoteric decks emphasize transformation science

The Constant Unification Perspective

In the Constant Unification framework, the evolution of Death's imagery across centuries and cultures reveals a profound truth: while artistic expression changes, the underlying constant remains. Whether depicted as medieval reaper, armored rider, alchemical transformation, or natural cycle, Death always represents the same universal law—all forms are temporary, all things must end, and transformation is the only constant.

Different artistic traditions are not contradictory interpretations but different calculation methods revealing the same constant. The Marseille Death, the RWS Death, the Thoth version, and contemporary reimaginings are all pointing to the same invariant truth: nothing in the material world is permanent, everything is constantly dying and being reborn, and resistance to this process creates suffering while acceptance creates peace.

This is why Death remains one of the most recognizable and consistent cards across all tarot traditions. You can change the costume, the culture, the artistic style—but you cannot change what Death represents. Impermanence is impermanence, transformation is transformation, endings are endings, regardless of how you paint them.

The art changes; the law doesn't. And that law is this: All things must pass. All forms must dissolve. All that is born must die. And from that death, new life always emerges. This is not tragedy—it's the mechanism of existence itself, the engine of evolution, the promise that nothing is ever truly lost, only transformed.