empress or temperance?

[no_moon]

Today when I was reading, temperance clarified the empress as the outcome of a spread... and I kind of got to thinking about the possible similarities between the cards that I'd never thought of before.

A process of nurturing to bring unlike people/elements together... but the fact that it's not about the "elements" but the sum of their parts, especially where interpersonal relationships are concerned, kind of spoke to me as "motherly power necessary here" or something. I went out to my balcony and looked at my garden and thought about how the dirt and soil work together to make the plants stronger (which I guess isnt temperance because they're not exactly melding together, but anyway).

What would you guys think if you saw these two cards next to each other or clarifying each other in a spread? How do you see their energies interact? Would really like to hear people's thoughts on this.

 

[Mellifluous]

It makes me think of nature and time (and patience). Everything has a cycle or season. There's an almost infinite amount of wondrous things, but nature's also orderly - with everything blooming and thriving in its own time, when the conditions are right.

 

[balenciaga]

I can see it as "toning down one's femininity" or "toning down one's urge to mother, to nuture" - either way Temperance cools the Empress off - if I were reading for someone, I would need to see the overall context to get a better feel for what, why these cards turned up. I say this because they are both trumps, therefore Big Thoughts - like one's personal philosophy or lesson they need to deal with.

 

[le fey]

The two together remind me of what mothers of multiple children have to do (or nurturing leaders of any sort who have to manage and care for multiple people who may be feeling rivalry toward each other). In their deep down little hearts, every kid wants to be the Only One and the Empress/Temperance blend would find a way to make each separate person under their wing simultaneously feel individually special but also special by virtue of being a part of the same family/tribe/group.

 

[willowfox]

Giving care and love but done in moderation.

Enjoying life and what it has to offer but in moderation.

 

[no_moon]

Thanks for your replies everyone!! I think, from what you all are saying, that I should probably consider the actual name of the card "temperance" more when I see it. As for the empress, yes, timing... well, everything does happen in the proper season, doesn't it.

 

[Grizabella]

I went out to my balcony and looked at my garden and thought about how the dirt and soil work together to make the plants stronger (which I guess isnt temperance because they're not exactly melding together, but anyway).

Yes, the soil and seeds are melding together and becoming one because elements of the soil mix with the plant at the level of the cells and/or atoms. In one respect, it's a natural occurence. But in another, in scientifically altering "stuff" to bring about hybridization or resistance to disease or seedless varieties, etc. so you could say it's both Temperance and Empress.

However, with the Empress, her pregnancy was at that natural level, with the cells of sperm and egg uniting to create another life. That was something that naturally occurs. In Temperance, there's a man-made kind of mixing going on that's trying to force the co-mingling of the elements in ways that wouldn't happen naturally. Temperance would be in vitro fertilization, while Empress would be pregnancy done the natural way.

 

[Nova]

had that

I just had that combination of [3] and [14] in my basis position, the bottom of the Celtic, as in had passed recently. in early March I had just had a hand injury that rendered my right hand useless for days or I'd loose the flesh off my knuckles. For a house of 7 children, everything had to be deligated and mom had to lay off. The Atop (or summit) card answered this with a 5 Hearts reversed of supportive kindness. So there is one practical answer for that combo. It is a memorable one.

 

[no_moon]

Nova, I think your response is probably closest to the situation... thank you so much for sharing.

Grizabella, hmmm yes. Definitely. So perhaps... forcing a natural process? Or giving a natural process a helping hand? If temperance is like alchemy, those two elements can indeed be brought together, but only by an outside force....

Anyway. In the end, perhaps, I think the number of the Empress was more important than the Empress herself. It turns out that the person in question is going to be sent away for the next three years for job training, so the process of bringing him and the querent together would take a lot of patience between them and time, nuturing the relationship carefully, and possibly some outside help. All of these seem to apply to seeing the Empress and Temperance in combination as the outcome for them in the near future. Still, the spread feels optimistic to me, if she is engaged enough to be in this for the long haul....