Temperance Tarot Card Meanings
When I first started learning about the tarot, this was the card that gave me the most problems. It took me a while to grasp its meaning and then how to interpret it in a reading. The word ‘Temperance’ means restraint or moderation, to restrain from excess which speaks to me of balance. But another meaning would be the act of tempering; to combine different elements and make something new.
There is a pervasive peace and harmony to this whole scene. We see an angel with one foot in water and the other on land. The angel holds two cups and water flows from one to the other and I use the word ‘flow’ not ‘pour’ because it does not seem to me that water is being transferred from one cup to the other, but that there is a connection between the cups. Look at the angles of the cups, if the liquid was really being poured from the upper cup to the lower, would it not be spilling out? The whole action seems to almost defy gravity. This would seem to illustrate balance and the creation of something new.
The two sides of the image are very different; the flowers growing on the right and the path and the sun on the left. The angel straddles both these sides, while stepping in two elements, and combines two liquids, from two vessels. The dichotomy in the image is clear and yet the angel combines and connects to both these.
The story seems to be saying that rather than choosing one or the other, all or nothing, it is advisable and definitely possible to find the balance; to find a third way that combines elements from both of the other ways. When this balance is achieved, then we too can share the peace and harmony that is apparent here.
These are the Temperance tarot card meanings we use in the Free Readings on Aquarian Insight:
Key Words: Moderation, Balance, Combination, Grounded, Patience
General: Today is a day of moderation and balance. You should feel calm, balanced and in control. No matter what you have going on today, you will have the necessary composure to make the impossible possible.
Love: The inner peace and harmony you feel today may well be reflected in your relationship. Focus on this inner balance and your partner will more than likely also respond to this.
Work: Bring a sense of balance and reasonable expectation to your job today and you will accomplish much. Your patience and stamina will affect those around you and your accomplishments will be recognised.
A card of harmony and balance. You may be faced with opposing forces or situations, but you will find a way to blend these into a harmonic and balanced solution. The Temperance card makes the impossible possible; smoothly combining fire and water. Moderation in all things is also indicated.