The common depiction of Death as a mounted 

figure comes from the Book of Revelation where, 

in a vision, the prophet John sees a figure on a pale horse and reveals that his name is Death. 

 

In different regions of the world, Death is pictured 

as everything from a skeleton to an old woman to a

non-threatening youth. The medieval representation

of Death used by Waite was that of Death as a Black Knight mounted on a white horse.

 

 

 

In front of the white horse appears a bishop dressed in

ceremonial robes and a mitre headdress. The mitre

headgear is an ancient association with the fish-god

Dagon, who figured prominently in the Philistine

concepts of death and the afterlife. Here the horse

represents the journey of the soul to the land of the

dead, and is often seen as an omen of death.

 

The esoteric title of Death is Child of the Great

Transformers, Lord of the Gates of Death. We often

refer to physical death as "passing on" or going to

"Heaven's Gates" to pass into the eternal. This

is one possible meaning of the title.

 

But in a reading, Death rarely refers to a physical

death, although it could. A more profound meaning

behind Key XIII is transformation, a change to a new

and better condition. It also points out the variety of

attitudes about dying and loss. Sometimes when this

card appears, it is not about what is dying out or

leaving your life but more about what you are trying to

keep from dying and fighting to preserve.