Temperance

Like most other Tarot readers, I pull some cards (almost) every morning. I have, in the past year, adopted the practice of pulling two and reading them in tandem. With my coffee and my astro planner, I shuffle and just breathe. This little ritual is so dear to me. In that planner is an ongoing record of my cards, and any musings I have in the moment.

Unsurprisingly, this makes it very easy for me to notice repeating cards. And this Summer I have been stalked by Temperance - now tied with the High Priestess for my most frequent card. When a card keeps coming up, day after day, despite plenty of shuffling (or, sometimes using a different deck altogether), I take that as a sign to dive deep.

The Research

I like to start with correspondences and associated symbols and stories. My favorite references of late are Tarot Correspondences by T. Susan Chang and Tarot Deciphered by T. Susan Chang and M.M. Meleen, and their podcast Fortune’s Wheelhouse. They are a powerhouse of information!

The Daughter of the Reconcilers

The Bringer Forth of Life

Each card has other names, titles, astrological and mythological connections, colors, sounds, and symbols associated with it. Temperance is no different: linked to the mutable fire sign of Sagittarius, centaurs, alchemy, and rainbows - just to list a few. For me, this was a card that felt too nebulous, too big and undefinable when I started learning. And, honestly, anything that comes after Death must be at least a little difficult to comprehend!

Mulling and Meditation

Temperance is the alchemy beyond death. Death is about the mysteries of undoing and rebirth, aka transformation. It is the unknown (and unknowable) pieces, the things we fear because we don't understand them or know what to expect. Temperance is the result of that transformation – it is transcendent by nature. One foot in sea and one on shore, as it were.

It is the newness forged in depths of Death's uncertainty. There is a knowing and sureness at the heart of Temperance – because in this card, we have seen behind the curtain. We have seen the gate of truth, even if just briefly. Obviously this isn't some sort of all-seeing or all-knowing card. It is more like watching an illusion after learning the trick. The mystery has been revealed, but in that moment you realize that there was (and is) so much more happening, wrapped up in misdirection and showmanship. (Temperance can get caught up in all of that too – it is followed by The Devil, after all.)

“Maintaining balance requires both tension and attention.”

- Tarot Deciphered

Tempering, of steel or of will, is refinement. It is an eternal questing for the reconciliation of extremes – all alchemy at heart. Fire and water; day and night; life and death. This balance and transmutation requires certainty of both skill and faith. It is not for the meek or the undecided. We must go through the undoing before we can reforge ourselves.

An Affirmation

In truth, this is perhaps more for Sagittarius than Temperance, but I have found it useful either way:

I aim for the path of Truth

I perceive all the gifts and challenges laid out before me

I seek to make my own way