AUTHOR’S NOTE: Tarot beginners are usually told that attempting to predict someone’s death is unethical (although divining the “end of something” isn’t). The assumption is that it is inadvisable from a “self-fulfilling prophecy” standpoint (what we think, we become, and conscientious readers don’t want to inadvertently promote destabilizing anxiety or vulnerability to suggestion) or that it contravenes the “Will of God.” But for late-Renaissance horary astrologers like William Lilly it was a feature of normal practice.

What I’m proposing is that it is legitimate to use the tools of divination to examine risk potential as a function of environment or atmosphere surrounding events or circumstances that may carry an increased exposure to fatality without trying to place a quantitative value on that likelihood. We are analyzing for elevated susceptibility, not degree of predictive accuracy. The proactive thrust would be to identify opportunities for intervention before the adverse momentum becomes too great.

In these readings a small number of cards would be best since the analysis is only slightly removed from “yes-or-no” territory. I think three cards would be appropriate, with the middle card showing the overall “risk environment” and the two adjacent cards adding detail regarding the qualitative nature of the exposure.

Regarding what to look for, we might take our cue from playing-card readers who won’t acknowledge the feasibility of death unless there are two or more indicators like the Ace of Spades accompanied by the 7 of Spades. In tarot, we could expect to see Death or Judgment joined by the 3, 5, 7, 9 or 10 of Swords (“Sorrow, Defeat, Futility, Cruelty, Ruin”) , and perhaps by the Tower for accidental decease. There are no hard-and-fast rules for this, but some cards are more dire than others. Trump cards in the middle position would tend to be stage-setters or theme-builders, and positive cards in any of the positions would argue against imminent demise.

There are a number of typical candidates for this assessment. This list is not exhaustive and some of these conditions may exist concurrently.

The disgraced public figure who contemplates the severity of his or her faux pas and decides that it can’t be borne with dignity. Watch The Age of Samurai documentary for a number of instances where suicide in the face of certain defeat was considered an honorable (if brutal) extinction by self-disembowelment.

The person with a chronic illness who can’t face the inevitable (and painful) decline. A subset would be the terminal-illness scenario where the outcome is certain but the timing isn’t. In these cases the reading can be more about when than if.

Those at-risk patients who are about to undergo challenging medical or surgical procedures.

The desperate itinerant who has reached “rock-bottom” with no hope of recovery any time soon. (In these situations the impact of homelessness and depression may loom large.)

The reckless individual whose behavior is a “ticking time-bomb” in that they drive too fast or get behind the wheel while intoxicated or distracted. (A similar “time-bomb” would be the indiscriminate use of dangerous drugs, if that liability is known by the diviner.)

The adventurer who insists on undertaking activities with an unfavorable risk profile of the “man-against-nature” kind (mountain-climbing; sky-diving; extreme skiing; deep-sea diving; wilderness survival initiatives; etc).

The unstable prisoner whose status could reasonably justify a “suicide watch” while incarcerated. (The sad case of musician Roy Buchanan is an instructive example.)

The person who is undertaking a long journey and wants to know what threats to his or her well-being might be encountered. (Some of these may be avoidable if identified, while others – like air or road travel – obviously aren’t.)

The seeker of a career in a “risky business” with known health-and-safety hazards.

Participants in “mass movements” of a potentially violent nature (i.e. protests, riots, take–overs, rebellions).

Involvement with individuals of questionable character or unsound mind and sinister habits as demonstrated by a past history of transgressions (the “your mother never liked him” cautionary tale.)