在近代塔罗牌中，第13张牌被称为“死神”，但在早期的马赛塔罗牌中它是没有名称的。这个挥着镰刀的骷髅头是典型的死神形象。它并非中世纪的死亡天使，因为死亡天使的身体上布满了眼睛，但显然这张牌代表了某种死亡的化身。镰刀出现在希腊第二代天神：克洛诺斯（罗马的土星）的手中，他是时间和收获的象征，曾是至福乐土的国王。在希腊和罗马文化中，骷髅象征着不可避免的死亡，带有一种享乐主义的信息：“既然明日将死，今日就应吃喝玩乐”。在中世纪基督教，骷髅却代表着相反的含义：尘世的生活是短暂的，所以我们应该更好地为来世的永生做准备。
card 13 cuts the past
13号牌切断过去
The skeletal image, the big blade of the scythe, the scattered body parts, and the overall dark appearance of the card suggest the idea of death cutting and terminating life. The yellowish shade of the black ground above the scythe’s blade expresses the total nature of the cut, as it colors everything where it passes. Still, it is a traditional rule that we should observe — never to predict the death of somebody who is alive. At most, the card can indicate the influence of a death that has already occurred on those who are alive. For example, it can describe coping with loss or a period of mourning.
骷髅形象、大镰刀、身体碎片，整张牌面都是暗黑的氛围，暗示了死亡对生命的杀伐和终结。在刀刃上方，镰刀挥过之处，黑色地面覆盖了一层黄色的阴影，体现出切割的本质。不过，我们应该遵守一个惯例规则——它不用于预示活人的死亡。最多，这张牌可以代表已经发生的死亡对活着的人的影响。比如，它可以代表承受失去或者一段哀悼的时间。
More generally the card can represent the end of something. For example, it may be the end of a chapter in life, cutting off a relationship, moving away to start a new life elsewhere, resigning or being fired from a job, and so on. The sharp and decisive character of the card indicates an abrupt termination rather than a gradual decline. It also gives a feeling of inevitability.
更为通常的情况，这张牌可以代表某件事的结束。例如，它可能是生命中某一阶段的结束，斩断一段关系、搬去新地方开始新生活、结束一份工作，等等。这张牌的尖锐和果断的特点代表的是一个突然的终止，而非渐渐发生的改变。它也给人一种无可奈何的感觉。
The pair of male and female heads on the ground, one of them crowned, can represent the parents or other figures of authority who were significant for the querent. Stepping on the woman’s head and passing the blade on the man’s head may indicate a rebellion against their influence or cutting off emotional dependence on them.
地上的一对男女头像，其中一个戴着皇冠，可以代表问卜者的父母或其他重要的权威人物。骷髅踩着女人的头，刀架在男人的头上，可能代表对长辈掌控的反抗，或者是切断对他们的情感依赖。
card 13 is coping with change
13号牌应对改变
The black ground, the skeleton with the scythe, the severed limbs, and the grim significance of the number thirteen all give the card an unsettling and fearsome character. This expresses the fact that any meaningful change in life always involves an emotional crisis. Even when it is a positive change, such as cutting ourselves off from a situation that is bad for us, it is still a move away from the known and the secure toward a new and scary domain of uncertainty. This aspect is made stronger when the card is inverse, with the black ground on top signifying the querent’s difficulties in facing the change.
黑色的地面、挥着镰刀的骷髅、被砍断的肢体，以及严肃的数字13，这张牌令人恐惧不安。它体现了一种真相：生活中任何意义重大的变化总会带来强烈的情绪起伏。哪怕是积极的改变，比如离开一个对自身不利的环境，意味着失去熟悉感和确认感，步入一个新的、可怕的未知领域。当这张牌出现逆位的时候，这种情绪就更强烈了，上面的黑色地面象征着问卜者在面对改变时的困难。
The gloomy appearance of the card can be unsettling for a querent who is new to tarot cards. Therefore, if card 13appears in the reading, it would be better to refer to it right away and clarify that it is about change and not necessarily about death. For a person wishing to disengage from past patterns and start something new, card 13 is a good sign. We can also notice that the skeleton is wielding the scythe not in front of a live person, but over heads and limbs already spread on the ground. Thus, it may indicate the end of something that has already lost its integrity and vitality.
这张牌阴沉的外表会让刚接触塔罗牌的人感到不安。因此，如果13号牌出现在占卜中，最好一开始就提到它，解释清楚它代表变化，不一定代表死亡。对于一个希望斩断过去并开始新阶段的人来说，13号牌是个好兆头。我们还可以看到，骷髅的镰刀对着的不是活人，而是摊开在地上的头和破碎的肢体。因此，它可能代表残缺失活的事物的终结。
card 13 highlights the essential
13号牌凸显本质
Card 13 is the first card in the suit showing a completely naked figure, but it is in an extreme and blatant way “naked to the bone.” The skeleton, which remains when other parts of the body have decayed, is a constant and stable element. The neck bone is divided into four parts and may thus represent the stability of matter. Old Jewish scriptures speak about the Looz(essential) bone, which remains after the decay of all the others. This is the seed from which the body will grow once again in the final resurrection. Some identify it with the neck bone and others with the base of the spine, which is marked red in the card.
13号牌是塔罗牌中第一张完全裸体的牌，但它极端地、明目张胆地 “裸露透骨”。身体的其他部分已经腐烂，骨架仍然存在，恒远而稳定。颈骨分为四部分，从而可以代表物质的稳定性。古老的犹太经文谈到了Looz（基本）骨，身体其他部位腐烂后它依然存在。在最后的复活中，基本骨是身体再次生长的种子。有些人认为它是颈骨，有些人认为它是脊柱的底部，在牌中被标识成红色。
The card may describe a shock or a crisis that exposes the true nature of things. It can also symbolize maintaining the essential and giving up the superficial. For example, it can be a financially difficult period that makes it necessary to relinquish luxuries and superficial pleasures. The hardy skeleton also may be a sort of “moral backbone” that reveals itself in a time of crisis.
这张牌可能描述了一种冲击或危机，暴露了事物的真实本质。它也可以象征保持本质和舍弃虚表。例如，在经济困难的时期，不得不放弃奢侈品和肤浅的享乐。坚韧的骨架也可能是一种 “道德脊梁”，在危机时刻显现。
card 13 puts things in perspective
13号牌洞察透彻