LEARN TO DO YOUR OWN TAROT READINGSTemperance - Card 14 in The Major Arcana
An angel with tawny wings and a halo holds two golden cups. She is pouring a liquid (water?) from one cup to the other. She wears a long white robe with a triangular golden symbol and she stands at the edge of a lake or pond with one of her feet in the water. Flag irises grow at the edge of the lake and a road disappears into the distance of the barren landscape towards mountains lit by a bright sun.
The transference of the liquid from the full cup to the empty one symbolises the redressing of the balance between the conscious and the subconscious mind. The cups are a version of the Minor Arcana sign of the same name.
Temperance is another of the Virtues and is the virtue thought by Plato to be the most important to the ordinary man.
The most likely source for the Tarot figure of Temperance is Ganymede with whom Zeus fell in love. Eventually Ganymede became Zeus's cup bearer.
In the Rider Waite deck one of Temperance's feet is in the water, the other on the land. This is Waite's interpretation of Eteilla's Temperance who had one foot on a triangular block and the other on a sphere.
This card in a reading:
Upright: If the querent is facing some sort of conflict this card suggests the need for moderation. This could mean not taking rash action in one extreme direction. It can also signify the need to rein in spending or to allow someone close to the querent a little more freedom.
Reversed: Things connected with churches, religious sects, the priesthood, the priest who will marry the querent, disunion, unfortunate combinations, competing interests.
Summary: Take the middle path.
|
BACK TO TAROT INDEX | 
|