Temperance 🏹

Temperance, #14, has quite the position in the major arcana!

At 14, Temperance comes after Death and before The Devil. So, how does she occupy this space and survive?

With temperance: the virtue of self-control mixed with a bit of optimism and a high tolerance for delayed gratification. Take a look at what Temperance is doing: she's carefully, conscientiously maintaining the water between two cups. In tarot, water is emotion, and the suit of cups is all about our emotional lives. The figure is controlling her emotions, preventing them from spilling out—and unlike The Star, who's pouring emotional support into the collective whole without dipping any parts of herself into it, Temperance is keeping her own emotions close while dipping a foot into the bigger pool. Perhaps Temperance is willing to be part of the emotional zeitgeist, but also careful to examine her own feelings, separate from the collective?

Whatever she's doing, she's maintaining balance: one foot in the water, the other on the ground, the alchemical symbol for fire at her heart center, and wings to fly freely and attain a higher level of understanding. All four elements are present in this card, much like in The Magician. But unlike The Magician, which references the elements through the four symbols of the minor suits, Temperance has the elements in their pure, literal forms. 

🌳Instead of a pentacle, she has hills and tall grass. 

☀️Instead of a wand, she has the sun rising above the horizon and fiery life force in her heart. 

🪽Instead of a sword, she has angel wings. 

💧And yes, she has a cup…two, in fact. But she's also got a literal pool of water at her feet. 

Let's examine that fire symbolism more closely. Temperance is associated with Sagittarius, the last fire sign of the zodiac ♐

If Aries is a lighter and Leo is a roaring bonfire, Sagittarius is a smoldering charcoal that keeps glowing for hours and can ignite any kindling it touches. Sagittarius is the wanderer of the zodiac. Nothing is off-limits to Sagittarius, who views every obstacle as a puzzle dressed as an adventure. Eternally optimistic and ruled by Jupiter, Sagittarius seeks expansion. Bringing it back to Temperance, we see that adventurous spirit represented in the long road on the right-hand side of the card (the figure's left-hand side). It stretches over the bills and into the mountains, toward the sun.

But what else do you need for an adventure, beyond snacks and good shoes? A willingness to pace yourself. Temperance is about pacing yourself, carefully considering your circumstances, and seeing how you can transform what you have into something that serves you better, even if it takes some time and sweat equity. Temperance follows Death, after all, so she's picking up where Death leaves you at a crossroads. 

When Temperance shows up in a reading, it often means you need to practice some restraint. Be careful to pace yourself, know your limits, and don't overextend your effort. It can also ask you to stay the course, setting your sights on big goals instead of short-term pleasures, and that if you need to make some adjustments to your environment to make that happen, make 'em. Take a moment to stop and smell the flowers, because any meaningful journey is a series of valuable moments, not a beeline to the destination. 

This could mean you should take the gap year. Or if you're newly out of work, getting hired again ASAP won't provide as satisfying a payoff as taking this time to really consider what you want and need next in your career. So give yourself time to really figure out the best way to move forward. Remember, it’s about the journey, not the destination.

Interested in learning more about Temperance? Listen to the podcast episode here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/uTdD6xuFKKb