Godfather Death

As I was asked an interesting question on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum about how this deck differs from The Whimsical Tarot, I thought I'd show the "Godfather Death" card. I did answer the question properly (to me the essential difference is that The Fairytale Tarot is for adults - after all, fairytales were mostly not ever intended for children, as you can see clearly if you read the old stories). So, to illustrate this a little better, here is Godfather Death. Not a "making it easier" version of Death, but oh so memorable, wickedly funny and TRUE. By the way, Rachel Pollack, as I've mentioned, wrote a fantastically dark and sexy and strange version of this story in her "Godmother Night" novel. XIII Death: Godfather Death The Brothers Grimm Once there was an old man who had twelve children, and when the thirteenth was born he did not know where to turn for help. He went into the woods in desperation and there he met the Good Lord who said to him, “Let me lift your child from his baptism and take care of him. I will make him happy on earth.” But the man answered, “No, you aren’t the godfather I want. You give to the rich and allow poor people like me to starve.” With that, he continued on his way. Soon he met Death, who said to him, “Let me be godfather for your child. I will make him into a physician and make sure that he lacks for nothing.” “That sounds a good offer,” said the man, “And I like you, for you treat rich and poor alike. Come to the child’s baptism tomorrow.” The next day Death arrived and acted as godfather for the child’s baptism. Years went by, and when the child was grown into a man, Death came again and took his godchild into the woods, and said to him, “Now I will teach you how to become a physician. When you are called to a sick person you must look carefully to see if I am standing at his head. If so, then without further ado ask him to smell the fluid in this flask, and then rub his feet with its contents, and he will soon be well again. But if I am standing at his feet, then there is nothing you can do for I will soon take him. If this is the case, do not attempt a cure.” So Death gave him the flask, and the young man became a famous physician. People were amazed by his skill, because he could immediately predict whether a patient would regain his health or die. One day he was called to the king, who was suffering from a serious illness. When the doctor walked into the king’s chamber, he saw Death standing at his feet, and knew that his flask would be of no use. But he desperately wanted the benefits that would come to him if he cured the king, so he devised a way to trick Death. He took hold of the king’s bed and turned it around, so that Death was now standing at his head. This simple move succeeded, and the king regained his health. But a few days later, Death came to the young man. He was very angry and threatened him, “If you ever again attempt to deceive me, it will be the end of you.” Soon afterwards the king’s beautiful daughter fell ill, and no-one could cure here. The king was distraught, and finally proclaimed that whoever could save her life could marry her as a reward. The young doctor came, but when he entered her bed chamber he saw Death standing at her feet. Amazed by her beauty, he ignored the warning and turned her bed. Then he let her smell from the magical flask, and rubbed the soles of her feet with the liquid. The moment he returned home Death appeared, looking terrifyingly angry and seizing him, carried him to an underground cavern where thousands of lights were burning.”Look!” said Death. “These flames are all the living. But here is a light that is flickering and will burn only a little longer, before it go out. This is your life!” Horrified, the young man begged Death to renew his candle, and finally the grim godfather agreed. However, as he took out a new candle and held it to the flickeringcandle he pretended to stumble and fall forwards, and this put out the thin flame completely. With that, in an instant, the young man’s life ended. Aarne-Thompson type 332 KEYWORDS AND PHRASES The death of a strong part of one’s identity • A physical or spiritual death • The absolute closure of a cycle or phase in your life • A difficult transition, but one that prepares you for new ways of living. Godfather Death is one of those stories that reminds us that in the past death has often been regarded with humour as well as fear. The trick that the boy plays to try to defeat Death is somewhat silly, and makes us smile, even while we shiver with the certainty that it will have horrible consequences. One moral of the story is, clearly, that death can never be defeated in the long term and that if we try to cheat ‘him’, rather than simply accepting the inevitability, then we may only make matters worse. As the old man says at the beginning of the tale, Death treats everyone, rich or poor, exactly alike - an undeniable truth that we all have to learn to live with. In a reading, this can be a startling and disconcerting card. But it’s important to realise that although this Major can indeed stand for a physical death (something that I think we would deny to our cost) it much more ocmmonly indicates the death of one aspect of our identity - and a move from one life to another. It’s strongly transitional and as such is likely to point to a phase that may be difficult to pass through, but that may also result in a real change for the better. The imporant thing that “Godfather Death” can teach us is not to deny or try to cheat such life-changes when we see them on the horizon...