The Death card is a very scary card. Most people I read for gasp when it falls in a reading. I quickly explain that the card does not mean death but change and transformation, but I suspect many people still fear that impending doom is imminent. Besides its title, the images on the Rider/Waite/Smith card are also scary and confusing. The main symbol is a skeleton dressed in armor and riding a white horse. He holds a black banner. The horse appears to be stepping over the body of a fallen king. There is also a priest, child and maiden, and a sun rising/setting between two pillars. When these images are studied and understood the meaning of the card becomes clear but Expanding Dimensions, the creators of Today’s Journey Tarot, chose to demystify the symbols and depict an image that would not instantly invoke fear. We call our card Transition and it shows a beautiful golden bridge surrounded by clouds. It still conveys the idea that changes are occurring and that transformation takes place as we cross from one idea, place, cycle, or whatever is occurring in our lives. Does it ever express physical death? Death is definitely a transition. But in Key 13, Transition leads to a renewal of the spirit, not a dark and scary place.