Temperance

Richard

I just can't seem to get a comfortable handle on this card. Waite is more obscure than usual on this one. Crowley renames it Art, gets into some obscure (at least to me) alchemical stuff, and does Waite-like dodges such as "cannot be expressed in language suited to common comprehension." Any enlightenment?
 

Richard

It's okay. Wang's Qabalistic Tarot has come to the rescue.
 

Teheuti

Here's the text from Waite's Portal Ritual from around 1910:

And now as to the via media, the Path of Samech which you have traversed, and wherein the Key of Temperance, the 14th Tarot Key, is discovered for your encouragement and support. It is the way of combination and equilibrium, of providence in desirable change, as for example, in the transit from the material that is without to the spiritual that is within. It is also the principle of sacramental life, the ascent of human nature that the Divine may come down therein. As here depicted, the Key of Temperance is really a synthesis of Tiphereth and of the Path which leads thereto. That Path in the Sepher Yetzirah is called the Intelligence of Temptation or of Trial, because it is the test of merit which God applies to those whom He calls to His service. The sacred name of Tiphereth is bound upon the breast of the figure before you; the star of the Hexagram is beneath it. The splendour of her five-pointed crown is drawn from the five under Sephiroth, and she directs with her hands the influences of Chesed and Geburah upon the Sephiroth that are below. She is the symbol of the purified life in spiritual consciousness, and he that has attained thereto shall draw, my brother, all the parts of his personality into the redemption of the higher nature. This is illustrated by Zoharic tradition, which says that the letter Samech receives increase from Binah, so that it may raise up the fallen Sephiroth, including Malkuth.
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—in Secret Inner order Rituals of the Golden Dawn by Pat Zalewski.

I think that "the principle of sacramental life" is especially important here. At a more mundane level, I associate it with healing and compassion.
 

Richard

Thanks, Teheuti. That text is very helpful. The card is beginning to come into focus.
 

tarotcognito

Temperance for me is similar to Justice in the whole balancing thing, though Justice is black-and-white while Temperance is accepting of shades of grey. Justice resonates with "either/or", whereas Temperance says "both." Both cards work with the notion of duality. Justice's is polar and causal; Temperance's is integrative and accomodating. Justice is blind and impartial. Temperance is perceptive and holistic. Justice is concerned with fairness. Temperance is concerned with mercy. Both are spiritual cards: Justice in a "you reap what you sow" karmic way, and Temperance in a "blossoming into your higher self" way.

I find in many ways that these two cards are often two sides of the same coin.
 

Richard

Interesting take on the concept of balance in Justice and Temperance. I like that.
 

MusicalPisces

I like that take on it as well, Canadian Girl.

Temperance actually showed up in the first reading I ever did and it's been a bit of a confusing card for me as well. But I think of it as balance as well....quiet and centered. But I also think it has to do with self-control, and finding middle ground. (kind of like how you said choosing "both," Canadian Girl) I mean, if you look the word temperance up in the dictionary, here is the definition:

moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control.

For me that's kind of how I look at it. In my reading I got temperance as my past, and for me that's very accurate; I tend to not tell people my feelings or opinions on things and have a lot of self-control....maybe too much, as other cards in the reading seemed to be telling me. :p

Anyways, that's just my tid bit about it. :)
 

Teheuti

I see Temperance as having flexibility—the ability to keep adapting as conditions change. Sure, it seeks a center and yet is rarely there (and is okay with that). For instance, it can act as a thermostat—where the goal is to maintain a certain temperature, but it does it by going over and under the set degree, within a certain range. It's like making a soup: you decide it needs more salt, but if you add too much then you simply add more non-salty items (water, etc.). It's constantly adjusting to the needs of the moment and tends to incorporate rather than to eliminate. It's also a very creative card, in that combining things often creates something new. That's just my take on this card.
 

Topsy

I must admit, I used to have trouble with Temperance when I read the traditional meanings in Tarot books. It seemed like a bit of a "weak" and vague card compared to the powerful, profound meanings of the other Majors (although Canadian Girl's explanation makes a lot more sense than anything I've ever read in a book!). I just couldn't identify with the card, so I went by my own intuitive interpretation instead.

Both the decks I use - the DruidCraft Tarot and the Fey Tarot - have non-traditional images for Temperance, and DruidCraft even renamed it "The Fferyllt" (The Alchemist). Both the images look magical to me, and I associate the card with creativity and synthesis of something new. I also, like Teheuti, associate Temperance with healing, because both people in the images look like they could be brewing a healing concoction or casting a healing spell (to me, at least).

If you're having trouble identifying with the by-the-book meaning, just be creative and see what the image says to you personally.
 
RWS The Stars flowers & bird RWS 7 Swords - there by clouds/trees/ or smoke?