The Dust Of Death

The Radiant Waite Smith Deck

The death card is one of the scary trumps in tarot and yet when we put aside our fear of it, "Death" has a lot to show us as the card image brings together many of the other trump designs to suggest that death is present throughout the tarot journey. He slowly rides upon a majestic pale steed with glowing red eyes, skull and cross bones are depicted on the reins he holds in his right hand, in his left hand we see the black Mystic (Rosicrucian) rose flag stretched out  in front of and before him, being flown in the stillness atop a measuring pole (stick). His red feather of passion is held steady and downward in the still of the moment, he is the one we find engulfed and suspended in the pause between inhaling and exhaling, the stillness that is forever present with us. Death is the one that guides us onward and forward, the bridge between inhaling and exhaling, it is he in whom we meet each night as we suspend and travel with him into the next morning, he is ever so faithful and absolutely nonjudgmental in his steady passage and strides forward.

With each pause, Death gives us the opportunity to measure ourselves with his measuring stick before he carries and guides us onward and forward into the next breath or the next morning being depicted in the background of the card, the familiar two pillars with the Sun suspended in the rising and setting position. In the card we also find our Emperor has been struck down and the crown of our Tower has been toppled, was our Emperor waging war against our ever so present companion we have in Death, did he wear himself out completely with planning and devising strategies to thwart our steady rider? 

There is our Hierophant, standing before the pale steed praying and negotiating, is he making promises? Is that what the hidden PE on our armoured death skeleton in the Radiant deck symbolizes, for what does that P/E stand for today? 

Price Earning, like in the stock market? 

Or is it an old symbol? 

Greek or Hebrew?

 PE, mouth or better said "speech".   

A look at one of the original copies of the card where Pamela Coleman Smith painted the Hierophant crying tears of blood in his praying before death.  In the original card image Pamela captured the stillness of the scene yet maintained the constant flow and motion of the water, even having the turbulent and separated pond waters to wash over our Emperor's body and continue its flow toward our child (Sun), in which one of our "Keys of Heaven" has calmed the waters before it clothes our Sun.    

Next we have our lady of Strength on her knees with her head laid back and on her left shoulder, her eyes closed in the stillness and quiet of peaceful submission, resting in the pause before the next breath. Then we have our child (Sun) gathering his own strength from his mother, holding on to her right arm firmly with his right hand enabling him to fearless look up and see the smiling face of a familiar and ever so present friend, the Knight of Change.