Death: The Fear of Certainty

I believe in reincarnation and a form of an afterlife. Yet sometimes I have doubts if what I believe is true or I fear the process of dying. Of the pain and the numerous ways one can die. We can't, after all, choose the way we die. We can't plan out the day it will happen without any uncertainty.

I live in Florida which means there is a chance a hurricane could lead to my death. I live in the United States of America where gun violence is on the rise. Don't worry, I don't live my whole life in fear of what could happen. But in the quieter moments fear can seep in.

Deciding I needed some help with my fear, I turned to one of my various tarot decks. I have a problem with buying them whenever I go to my local crystal shop.

Instead of using a premade spread, I made an extremely simple three card spread with the Crow Tarot. Each card told me a reason I feared death. I gave myself around a day to look, observe, and make notes about my results.

There was one card that stuck out to me over all the rest: the Eight of Swords.
I think the reason the card stuck out to me is the imagery on it. It has a crow trapped by eight swords that are in a circle around it. There's a cloth over its eyes so it can't see. So the poor animal is blinded and trapped with no way out. There is no escape for it.

The card has imagery of loneliness and something that I can't escape from. I fear death because it is something I can't escape from. There is no way to win any fight against it. It will happen and I will be as trapped as the crow.

To beat this fear and become more at peace with death I'll have to learn to accept what can't be changed. It is one thing to write that and another thing entirely to make that change.