Welcome to Tarot for Scholars, a resource that helps you weave the deep wisdom of tarot into your daily life and work. In each post, we offer reflections and prompts for exploring your own inner world and unlocking the unique creative power of your scholarship.
Death
About this card
Change, especially that difficult moment when the old thing has passed away and the new thing has yet to emerge. The Death card refers not just to endpoints, but to the evolution points that are through-lines in any life: those times between phases when all is in flux. Such liminal moments are opportunities for meaning-making, as we decide how to interpret them within the larger narratives that are continuing to unfold. Death invites us to recognize and acknowledge changes large and small, scary and joyful, so that we can fully integrate them.
Other interpretations
Margy’s cards, clockwise from top left: Radiant Tarot; New Chapter Tarot; Cosmic Slumber Tarot; Shining Tribe Tarot; Elemental Tarot; Navigators Tarot of the Mystic Sea; Spolia Tarot; Tarot of the Spirit.
Helen’s cards, clockwise from top left: Moon & Stars Tarot; Light Seer’s Tarot; Japaridze Tarot; Canes Arcanae; Star Spinner Tarot; Muse Tarot; Tarot of Mystical Moments; Forest of Enchantment Tarot.
Questions and prompts
Which element in this complex and enigmatic image catches your eye first? Make your own meaning of it: what could this element represent in your scholarly process?
What is passing away in your scholarly life right now, or has recently passed away? Which of the four figures (the king, priest, child, or young person) best represents how you feel about whatever changes are unfolding?
How does your sense of mortality help you calibrate your long-term priorities for your body of work as a whole? What projects have you shrunk in size, or released entirely, to make way for those that are most important to you for this lifetime?
Thanks for joining us for Tarot for Scholars! Your hearts, restacks, and comments brighten our day. 💫
Yours in scholarship,
HELEN SWORD is a scholar, poet, award-winning teacher, and founder of the WriteSPACE, an international writing community with members in 30+ countries. Her research-based books, articles, and online tools empower scholarly writers to write more clearly, confidently, prolifically, and with greater pleasure.
Visit Helen’s website here.
MARGY THOMAS is the creator of ScholarShape, a body of work dedicated to elucidating the patterns of Story-Argument across genres, disciplines, and life itself. Through services and DIY resources, Margy helps scholars use Story-Argument patterns to design their work — and to find its deeper meaning and higher purpose.
Visit Margy’s website here.
