Skull in tarot
The skull has been the plainest reminder of mortality in Western art since the Middle Ages, the memento mori of tombs, still lifes and portraits of saints at prayer. In the Waite-Smith deck small skulls and crossbones decorate the bridle of Death's white horse, and in the Seven of Cups a skull is drawn on the bowl of one cup beneath a laurel wreath, victory and death offered together among the visions. Readers do not take a skull as a literal death. It points to endings, the passing of time and the vanity of things that seem permanent.
Cards that show skull
-
Death
Death: The white horse
A tall pale horse with a red eye steps forward, its bridle decorated with small skulls and crossbones. The image echoes the pale horse of the Book of Revelation. White is also a colour of purity, which softens the card's terror.
-
Seven of Cups
Seven of Cups: The wreath and the skull
A green laurel wreath rises above a cup on whose bowl a small skull is drawn. Laurel is a victor's crown; the skull is a reminder of mortality. Success and its cost appear in the same vessel.