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Temperance Tarot Card Meanings

Temperance is the fourteenth Major Arcana Tarot card, coming as a moment of respite and integration after Death. It represents balance, moderation, and the co-creative balance that is present in nature, the constant micro-adjustments to reach a state of homeostasis. It can be seen as a blessing and reminder that things are always working themselves out, we are but in the midst of a lifelong cycle.

Read on for more significations of the Temperance Tarot card, including its Astrological and numerological correspondences, what it means as a reversal and in a general, career, and love reading:

What Does The Temperance Tarot Card Mean?

Temperance is a symbol of harmony, it can represent patience and a re-balancing of things. I am always called to mind the Oscar Wilde quote “everything in moderation, including moderation”. Temperance is just like Goldilocks, not too much and not too little. After the powerful and transformative change undergone in the Death card, we need a moment of coming back to centre, of recalibration.

In the Thoth deck this card is called Art, a call to alchemy, the “noble art”. To temper in alchemy, and baking, is to amalgamate at the perfect temperature, to prepare two separate substances to mix together to form something new. We have learnt something and grown in ways that there is no going back from the Death card, what is present for us here now- what new product has been created? Once we have tempered and mixed, there is no separation to the original state. On the card the figure is uniting fire and ice, both sides of themselves, to create a new substance.

In the Rider Waite Smith deck, the card shows an angelic figure is resting with one foot on land and one in water, one in the earthly plains and one in the emotional and ethereal. They are pouring water between chalices in a way that defies gravity, we are always stronger and more resilient than we may think we are, able to defy our preconceived notions. They have an upward triangle on their chest, symbol of fire and the yang principle, as well as three being a call to creation and harmony. The circle on their head can represent unity and completeness.

In the distance, a path leads to a valley (two mountains being natural representations of towers seen elsewhere in the deck, such as Death and The Moon). After a Death moment, sometimes we need the reminder that indeed the sun always rises and we are able to find peace, healing, union, balance, and completeness now. At least for a while, before we encounter The Devil hah.

Historically temperance is one of the 4 cardinal virtues, along with prudence, Justice, and courage. It is thought that courage represents the Strength card and that prudence may have been an earlier edition in unknown Italian Tarot decks later dropped for the Visconti-Sforza, the oldest surviving deck (in the Thoth deck, the Eight of Pentacles is called Prudence). Sometimes, it is ascribed to The Hermit, an introspective seeking for answers. Court de Gebelin, one of the mystics who influenced Tarot to become more occultist rather than parlour game, claimed it was The Hanged Man.

Astrologically, this card is related to Sagittarius. This calls in the inherent optimism and expansiveness of the archer, on a constant quest for truth and betterment, using everything as growth material. It is a reminder to follow our beliefs and lean into faith, finding an inner peace that can only come from within- no external guru can ever give it to us.

Numerologically, number 14 reduces down to 5, connecting in to The Hierophant. This also brings up the questions of faith, belief, spirituality, and potentially religion, doctrine, and dogma. Who do we receive our spiritual teachings from? The Hierophant is a reminder that we are eternal students and teachers, we always have wisdom to share and we always have knowledge to learn.

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Temperance Reversed

As a reversal, Temperance can represent a resistance to calm, sometimes we seek chaos for the adrenaline or familiarity. It can be an invitation to lean into stillness and allow the pendulum to stop swinging in extremes. A reversed Temperance card can also indicate a lessening of peace in general, some quiet and moderation may be exactly what we need.

Temperance in a General Reading

In general, an upright Temperance can be an invitation to find more balance in life and seek harmony within, to unionising the moving parts. It can be a call to patience, trust, or integration. It is a reminder that things are constantly readjusting themselves to the centre point and that we can tap into this place of homeostasis and replenishment, this union of moving parts.

Temperance in a Love Reading

In a love Tarot reading, Temperance can be a message of needing to find common ground and peace for a moment, to rest and absorb any changes we may have undergone if we went through a Death cycle. It can be an invitation to be more level-headed and not stray into extremes, or that a union is being achieved. As with all Tarot readings, the actual signification will heavily depend on the question being asked and the context of the situation, where in the spread it has fallen and the cards surrounding it, as well as your intuition- sometimes it can be something totally unrelated to traditional meanings!

Temperance in a Career Reading

In a career reading, Temperance may be a call to find a more balanced work-life balance, perhaps the scales have been tipped in one way or the other. It may indicate a time of relative peace, quiet, balance, harmony, or cooperation. It can be an invitation to seek out moderation in an approach, perhaps an attitude at work or in relation to a project. It might indicate a need for more patience, that things are working themselves out in due time and not to micromanage.

So those are some of the meanings of the Temperance Tarot card, I hope they’re insightful for you! Let me know in the comments section below if you have anything else to add or any questions.

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