Tarot — XIII Death

The Rider–Waite–Smith tarot was first published in London by William Rider & Son in December 1909. Its 78 cards were drawn by Pamela Colman Smith between April and October 1909, to the instructions of A. E. Waite. Arcanum XIII, Death, is the most gothic card in the deck.

On this poster the card fills almost the whole height: a skeleton in black armour rides a white horse and carries a black banner marked with a white rose. At his feet lie a fallen body and a dropped crown; a figure in a gold robe and mitre stands facing the rider, a girl and a child kneel, and in the distance a sun rises between two towers. Above, "Arcane majeur · XIII"; below, "La Mort" in blood-red blackletter, then Waite's own line: “The mysterious horseman moves slowly, bearing a black banner emblazoned with the Mystic Rose, which signifies life.”

Black, bone and red

A pale-gold rule and a red rule frame the card, with art-nouveau corner brackets, and the dot pattern of the original print is kept. It belongs to the same family as our Poe "Nevermore" poster: hang it in a gothic bedroom, above the table where you lay out your cards, or in a dim hallway.

Card by Pamela Colman Smith, from a cleaned scan of the "Pam-A" deck on Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

The other cards are on the Tarot & Occult page, with the whole Gothic world next door.

Printed in Tunisia, paid on delivery.