Death - Thirteen

Tarot of Marseilles

Thirteen, that dreaded number, is considered unlucky by many, but why? The number is associated with the moon in all cultures, because there are approximately 12.4 lunations per solar year. This means that there are always twelve lunations in a year, from which we derive our twelve months, but there is one lunation which straddles the old year and the new year. Thirteen therefore represents an inbetween time. In the Anglo-Saxon calendar, the number of full moons was counted from winter solstice to winter solstice. Most of the time there would be twelve full moon but sometimes there would be thirteen. If there were thirteen then an extra month of the year was inserted at the time of the summer solstice, making the summer a whole month longer than usual. The Summerland is a concept of an afterlife paradise where good souls live inbetween incarnations. This concept was devised in the 19th century by a Spiritualist called Andrew Jackson Davis. The concept of a Summerland, and a thirteenth month at Midsummer, both speak of an inbetween time, something transitional or liminal. 

There are times when we go through a metaphorical “death” or transition time, during which we recognise that the person we used to be has "died" and we are reborn in our new role. Most of us experience this transitional period between childhood and adulthood, during which we must prove ourselves capable of living independently from our parents. This inbetween time can be confusing and difficult, with many challenges, mistakes, and lessons learned. It is a period in which we must "find ourselves", question our life's purpose, and make important decisions about the career or lifestyle we wish to pursue. Passing from childhood to adulthood is not the only transition we make, as there are several more rites of passage as we change over the years. What the thirteenth card represents to me is an moment of between-ness. The card indicates an opportunity to cut away the past and make way for the future.

This card depicts a Grim Reaper, carrying a scythe. Death is personified in many ways by different cultures. In Roman Catholicism, the archangel Michael is viewed as the good Angel of Death. His feast day, Michaelmas, is the first sunday after the autumn equinox, or the 29th September. The autumn equinox is when the days begin to get shorter and the nights grow longer. This is a gradual death of the year, before its rebirth at the winter solstice. Michaelmas is a Harvest Festival, celebrating the reaping and gathering of grain. Just as humans harvest crops, the Grim Reaper harvests human souls. This card reminds us that things are always changing, nothing ever stays the same, and we cannot fight the passage of time. The Grim Reaper is coming for us whether we like it or not. Death is all around us, as the plants wither away in autumn and winter, leaving the earth bare and frozen. But this is just an inbetween time before the spring, and new life will emerge. To me, this card represents letting go of the things we cannot hold onto, and making way for the new.