Death
- XIII -
"Beyond the beaten path, lies the absolute end."
"It matters not who you are, Death awaits you."
Description
Death is often feared and maligned. While this arcana does signify endings, they are endings that are necessary for the transition of old material into new. Nothing lasts forever, and this is a lesson that Death knows well. While its transformations are rarely gentle and always powerful, what is torn down is built up into something more lasting and stronger... until the time the next change must come by. Those who exemplify Death well must use care in their lives, for all destruction must have a purpose, and the creation of the new must not be neglected. Not even Death itself is exempt from change.
Death reversed is the purest example of why endings are needed. That which doesn't end drags on indefinitely, clinging and hanging in there despite the fact that all the joy it had granted is already gone. No closure is to be had; pain and suffering from loss are never fully dealt with. Those marked by this reversal of Death may stubbornly refuse to end things or let go, or perhaps what they need to let go and start over is unavailable or missing to them.
Sample Personae
- Pale Rider, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
- Hel, the Norse goddess of the underworld
- Alice, the ghost of a young girl
Example Persona-Users/Shadow-Possessed
Upright Traits
Ending of a cycle, Loss, Conclusion, Sadness, Transition into a new state, Psychological transformation, Finishing up, Regeneration, Elimination of old patterns, Being caught in the inescapable, Good-byes, Deep change. The mercenary who fights wherever there are wars to be waged, leaving for the next battlefield whenever they reach their conclusion.
Reversed Traits
OPPOSITE: Downward spiral, Not quitting while ahead, Refusing to end gracefully, Caught in an endless loop. One who takes a good thing and stretches it out long after it should have concluded.
BLOCKED: Stagnation, Inability to grieve, Inability to surmount loss, Refusal to change, Holding off a conclusion. One who has lost something or someone, but either is in unhealthy denial or is not allowed to grieve properly.
UPSIDE-DOWN: Inability to make transition, Inability to say good-bye, Repression, Nursing old wounds, Loss is mocked or disrespected, Receiving no compassion. One who has lost something or someone, and that loss is belittled and/or quickly forgotten by others around them.
