Rider Waite (Pamela Colman Smith 1909): Death
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. Goodbyes. Deep change. Endings. Beginnings. Change.
The Death card is often depicted as a skeleton with a scythe, sometimes riding a horse, and trampling peasants, nobility and clergy alike underfoot. He is the grim reaper, and has associations with the medieval plagues. Death is the great leveller, his scythe reaps us all. It is unlikely, however, that this card actually represents a physical death. Typically, it implies an ending of a cycle, loss, a conclusion, and sadness. This may be the end of a relationship, an interest, a business, a job, a pace of life, or a pattern. From this metaphorical death springs psychological transformation and a new sense of self-awareness. Whichever way Death may be interpreted, it always represents deep change.
Reversed Meaning: Resistance to change. Unable to move on.
Reversed, this card can represent a resistance to change, and an inability to move on from events in the past that are beyond the questioner's control.