← Encyclopedia of Tarot · lesson 15/121
Temperance
Temperance is the card of balance and of mixing things in the right measure. It describes patience, moderation and the slow work of bringing opposites together until they settle into something new. After the ending of Death, it is often read as healing and recovery taking their time.
The image
A winged angel stands with one foot on the bank and one in a pool, pouring water from one cup into another. A square with a triangle inside is marked on the robe, irises grow nearby, and a path leads away to mountains under a crown of light. The flowing water is usually taken as feelings and energies being blended, the foot on land and in water as balance between the practical and the emotional, and the far path as a longer journey.
Upright
Moderation, harmony, patience and good management. Waite gives "economy, moderation, frugality, management, accommodation". In practice it can point to compromise, finding a rhythm that works, cooperation between people who are very different, or recovering steadily rather than all at once. It tends to favour the middle way over extremes.
Reversed
Waite lists disunion, unfortunate combinations and competing interests, and matters to do with churches and religion. Modern readers often see imbalance: excess, impatience, being pulled in two directions, or a mixture that is not working. Some readers do not use reversals at all.
Correspondences
Major Arcana card XIV. In the Golden Dawn system, which most English-language decks follow, it is the Hebrew letter Samekh (the prop), the 25th path on the Tree of Life, and the sign of Sagittarius; its element is fire. French (Papus) tradition attributes some Majors differently.
In a reading
In the past, it can describe a time of rebalancing that is still bearing fruit. As an obstacle, it may point to too much of something, or too little patience. As advice, it asks for moderation and steady effort; as an outcome, harmony reached over time. Beside Death it is often read as the healing that follows an ending.
In astrology
The Golden Dawn's correspondences, which most English-language decks follow (French, Marseille-based tradition differs for some Major Arcana).
Sign: Sagittarius
Element: Fire — the element of Aries, Leo and Sagittarius
Mode: Mutable — Sagittarius is a mutable sign