Embracing Temperance - Lessons from the Tarot

The Temperance card reflects a sense of serenity. An angelic being in its quiet repose passes the elixir of life from one vessel to the other symbolizing the interplay between the material and spiritual worlds. Flanked by flowers with the rising sun in the background, our lovely angel is the symbolic reference to the feminine principle of cooperation, balance and harmony.

Each card in the major arcana symbolizes a stage in the journey of life – an experience that a person must process to realize wholeness. Temperance is about moderation.

When the Temperance card appears in your reading, depending on its position in the spread, you are being cautioned to have patience, which may be difficult under the circumstances. So, let nature take its course and wait for things to move in their own time. The key here is to use your idle time constructively. Learning to refrain and doing nothing mindfully is a milestone achieved on the spiritual path to wholeness.

This card can also indicate a need for balance and equilibrium. In conflict situations, temperance suggests that compromise and cooperation are vital. Temperance is the card of good health in all areas – physical, mental and emotional. When illness is a concern, Temperance brings forth the promise of well being and vitality.

Reversed, the Temperance card suggests that things may be stalled. Patience is the key in allowing nature to re-establish harmony and equilibrium when opposing forces clash. This may be a time to temper whatever inner conditions you have that make you feel out of balance.

Getting a Tarot reading can help you expand your perceptions about your capacity for personal achievement and spiritual fulfillment! Exercise the clarifying energy of temperance, and marvel at how well things seemed to have worked themselves out.