Life, death, and fate have always fascinated humankind. These mysterious forces that shape our existence often leave us full of wonder and questions. Riddles that explore these themes can help us reflect on the deeper mysteries of our lives. Here we have collected 65 thought-provoking riddles about death and fate for you to ponder.
Death Riddles
1. What gets broken without being held?
Answer: A promise
2. I have cities with no people, forests with no trees, mountains with no rocks and water with no fish. What am I?
Answer: A map
3. What belongs to you but other people use it more than you?
Answer: Your name
4. People make me, save me, change me, raise me. What am I?
Answer: Money
5. What gets wetter the more it dries?
Answer: A towel
6. What can you catch but not throw?
Answer: A cold
7. What question can you never answer yes to?
Answer: “Are you dead?”
8. What belongs to you but is used more by others?
Answer: Your name
9. I make two people out of one. What am I?
Answer: A mirror
10. What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?
Answer: A river
11. What starts with “e” and ends with “e” but only contains one letter?
Answer: An envelope
12. People buy me to eat but never eat me. What am I?
Answer: A plate
13. What gets broken without being held?
Answer: A promise
14. What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
Answer: A piano
15. What has hands but can’t clap?
Answer: A clock
Fate Riddles
16. I am free for the taking through all of your life, though given but once at birth. I am less than nothing in weight, but will fell the strongest of you if held. What am I?
Answer: Breath
17. I give you a group of three. One is sitting down, and will never get up. The second eats as much as is given to him, yet is always hungry. The third goes away and never returns. What are they?
Answer: Stove, fire, smoke
18. What belongs to you, but other people use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name
19. I am rarely touched but often held. If you have wit, you’ll use me well. What am I?
Answer: Tongue
20. The more of this there is, the less you see. What is it?
Answer: Darkness
21. I have towns but no houses, forests but no trees, water but no fish. What am I?
Answer: A map
22. What is broken every time it’s spoken?
Answer: Silence
23. I am weightless but you can see me. Put me in a bucket and I’ll make it lighter. What am I?
Answer: A hole
24. I have cities but no people, mountains but no trees, and water but no fish. What am I?
Answer: A map
25. What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
Answer: Silence
26. I am not alive but seem to grow; I have no muscles but can clench; I have no body but can die. What am I?
Answer: A flame
27. Forward I am heavy but backwards I am not. What am I?
Answer: The word “ton”
28. What breaks yet never falls, and what falls yet never breaks?
Answer: Day breaks, night falls
29. I shave every day but my beard stays the same. Who am I?
Answer: A barber
30. What goes up and never comes down?
Answer: Your age
Death and Fate Riddles
31. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name
32. I’m tall when I’m young, short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A candle
33. I make you weak at the worst of all times. I keep you safe, I keep you fine. I make your hands sweat, and your heart grow cold. I visit the weak, but seldom the bold. What am I?
Answer: Fear
34. What goes through towns and over hills but never moves?
Answer: A road
35. What is broken every time it’s spoken?
Answer: Silence
36. What is weightless but can be seen by the naked eye?
Answer: The wind
37. Two bodies have I, though both joined in one. The stiller I stand, the quicker I run. What am I?
Answer: An hourglass
38. I am always hungry and will die if not fed, but whatever I touch will soon turn red. What am I?
Answer: Fire
39. I have seas with no water, coasts with no sand, towns without people, and mountains without land. What am I?
Answer: A map
40. What’s black when you get it, red when you use it, and white when you’re all through with it?
Answer: Charcoal
41. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name
42. I am free for the taking through all of your life, though given but once at birth. I am less than nothing in weight, but will fell the strongest of you if held. What am I?
Answer: Breath
43. Men cut me down and split me to burn. What am I?
Answer: A tree
44. I am free for the taking through all of your life, though given but once at birth. I am less than nothing in weight, but will fell the strongest of you if held. What am I?
Answer: Breath
45. I’m tall when I’m young and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A candle
Conclusion
Pondering riddles about life’s deepest mysteries can be quite thought-provoking. The riddles above highlight how death and fate are integral parts of our existence, shaping our lives in profound ways. Though the answers to these riddles may seem simple once revealed, the questions themselves call us to reflect on the nature of our lives, our limited time on earth, and the forces beyond our control.
Riddles encourage us to think critically and from different perspectives. Wrestling with the imagery and metaphors in these puzzles engages both sides of our brain. When we actively meditate on a riddle, we are driven to make sense of its paradoxes and uncover its hidden truths. Contemplating such riddles can open our minds, inspire awe, and give us new insights into life’s strangest wonders.
While riddles may not provide definitive answers about death and fate, they can point us toward deeper reflection. As we consider their thought-provoking questions, we are reminded to appreciate the blessings we have in the present moment. Facing the mysteries of existence with openness, gratitude and a little humor can help us live our lives more fully, even in the shadow of death’s inevitability.
