Predicting Physical Death

Hello all,

I had read Paul Fenton-Smiths' book Masterclass Tarot and he talks about the death card there with at least 3 of the following cards showing up in a reading can signify a physical death as 10 of swords, 6 of swords, 4 of swords, 3 of swords, The World, Judgement, and the tower in a health reading.
But what if it is not a health reading and it is something else? can you say that the person will die though? I did a reading not related to this but a finance question and the end of the cards was death, judgement, the world and I stopped the reading right then and there coz it freaked me out!! WHAT IF the next card was on those list?? any comments on this???

No, I don't think so. I would have carried on reading happily. Death is figurative as well as literal and for a finance reading I would not worry. If someone asks about health matters for a reading you would have to be prepared to face a combination of cards that might suggest this or not do health readings at all. And if you get that reading be completely discrete.

angelica

but what if your reading for yourself and although you have a different question this thing came up? should the reader be worried since it is telling you something is terribly wrong?

Your quote says "...CAN signify physical death". The possible pitfall with referring directly to the future here is: If you read the combination of cards as physical death and then somebody dies, the tarot (as a system of divination) is proven right. You, the messenger, might get in trouble though for bringing bad news. But if nobody dies, then you, the reader, are proven wrong, because you ignored the "CAN". It's an unfair game. And it doesn't help not to read it as physical death, although suggested. No one dying then proves the divination system right, but someone dying proves you wrong.

My sarcastic undertone comes from the discussions in a another recent thread about readings going wrong: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=177165 where the reader is blamed one way or another for any reading that is not accurate. But who says that divination always works perfectly? Your tarot masterclass carefully avoids to give a clear answer about the meaning for a good reason. Otherwise it would be much easier to find empirical evidence that divination IS fallible. Keeping it vague enough makes it possible to blame YOU for misinterpreting the spread. The physical death could for example refer to somebody having died 10 years ago, but who is somehow related to the question being asked. And if this doesn't work as an excuse then, well, it "CAN" mean physical death.

If you are serious about divination you might prefer to ignore my rambling here, but my conclusion would be: Don't interpret the spread in any specific way, keep it as vague as the descriptions given in the book. Nothing is set in stone, the future is open. It's us and our decisions that can change it.

And finally DON'T WORRY. Although I am not a classical sceptic since I believe that tarot works and that it is a powerful tool indeed, I AM sure that the cards have no clue who will die and who will not. DON'T let your own commons sense judgement and your intuition be overruled by any interpretation of tarot cards.

There is no doubt that 3 of these cards have come together in many readings I have made and no one died. I would ignore books. They are useful for guidance and help but not to dictate interpretation - that is the domain of the reader and their intuition which is personal and unique. The cards help in life and if they don't it is time to stop - for a bit at least. Enjoy the wisdom that is at your hands that you have come across.

""I had read Paul Fenton-Smiths' book Masterclass Tarot and he talks about the death card there with at least 3 of the following cards showing up in a reading can signify a physical death as 10 of swords, 6 of swords, 4 of swords, 3 of swords, The World, Judgement, and the tower in a health reading.
But what if it is not a health reading and it is something else? can you say that the person will die though? I did a reading not related to this but a finance question and the end of the cards was death, judgement, the world and I stopped the reading right then and there coz it freaked me out!! WHAT IF the next card was on those list?? any comments on this??? ""

This is a personal opinion... if it is a reading in regards to health and a combination of cards inlcuding The Death card it very much could be a warning of needing to declutter life so am able to relax instead of getting ill.....of stop doing to much......

Inreagrds to finances it could be about a loss of money in some way a Transformation in the way finances happen....

be very weary of predicting a physical death within any reading it could cause much heart ache unneccessarly to people........ I find if in comes up in a reading it could indicate so many different levels of transformation, loss, totally depending on the cards around it ... Here are some suggestions that may help you to relook at the cards in a new light.....
Death with
10 of swords, Riding through the transformation but so worth it with the renewal
6 of swords, changes happening as you rest within
4 of swords, transformation as you awaken your insight into a situation
3 of swords, Feeling betrayed by the changes taking place
The World, as you let go of the old and allow new doorways to open changes are happening within....
Judgement, Resurrect the true you as you go through major transformations
and the tower , burn down the barriers as you make changes within your life.....

But if you do get serious illness intuitively, or a real clear message within about death, messages like, someone not well, someone doing too much, feeling overwhelmed with the situation, needing to spend more time with family and friends, slow down, time for some quiet rest, find more compassionate ways to deliver a loving messsage.......be ethical when delivering any message within a reading...

I know when new to Tarot or studying someone else's opinions in a book it can be all a bit confusing but i think the one question you need to ask yourself, How would I feel if someone told me I would die or a family or friend member straight out without any knowledge about situation? How would i feel if a reader told me someone was dying but that person actually got better and didn't die and i had gone through all that worry for nothing......please be aware of the messages you are delivering, are they filled with love and compassionor going to cause worry to the client?

just some things to think about.........

(loooking at the Shadowscape Tarot- these are just suggestions one way to look at the cards....)

Tarot doesn't always mean anything. Combinations can mean various things, but it's the entire reading in context and listening to what that little whisper within is telling you that makes the message. Further, the way it speaks to one person may not be the way it speaks to you. So the fact that he writes that these cards in combination speak Death just means that that's the way his Tarot speaks to him, not that it's going to speak to you or any other reader in the same way.

I know, I know. Frustrating, isn't it? But it does all come together with time and practice.

Grizabella said:

Tarot doesn't always mean anything. Combinations can mean various things, but it's the entire reading in context and listening to what that little whisper within is telling you that makes the message.

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That could have been almost my own words, if I only was able to put in such a nice short and precise way Although we might disagree about where "that little whisper" comes from exactely.

Said that because I feel my last post sounded too grumpy. I actually think it's a good thing that meanings are provided as possible ways to understand a situation and not as simple clear statements that could be mistaken as if they were absolute without the need to put them into a context.

Grizabella said:

Tarot doesn't always mean anything. Combinations can mean various things, but it's the entire reading in context and listening to what that little whisper within is telling you that makes the message. Further, the way it speaks to one person may not be the way it speaks to you. So the fact that he writes that these cards in combination speak Death just means that that's the way his Tarot speaks to him, not that it's going to speak to you or any other reader in the same way.

I know, I know. Frustrating, isn't it? But it does all come together with time and practice.

Click to expand...

"LIKE"

The cards are like the music notes on the page...the musician is the one who interpretes it to make it music magic or to make just noise(just play the notes with proper timing). Some people are just born with certain talents. The same with reading cards, it is not what you learn in a book, or at a class, it is what is inside of you, it is intuition...or what ever you want to call it that brings meaning to cards during a reading. Although it is fun to work with the cards academically to play with card combinations and meanings. You will learn what works for you, been reading 40+ years and I am still learning, I am and will always be a student of card reading.

I once did a reading (in absentia) for a friend who was dying of lymph cancer; he died a week later. In that reading there are no Towers or Devils or Ten Swords or anything like that; they were cards of beauty and joy. Reviewing it many times, I still asked 'Where is the DEATH in these cards?' It's right in front of me! The beauty and joy and freedom of pain - there was only one way he was going to be delivered of those worldly distresses: he would have to die to be released from them. This was as close as the cards ever came of predicting physical Death, and I missed it.