Updated: Feb 18, 2022
The Temperance Card
"A little magic can take you a long way." Roald Dahl
The Temperance card is the 14th card in the Major Arcana. It comes directly after the intense Death card and before the tricky Devil card. After Death, who wouldn't welcome the beautiful Temperance card? It is a mix of water and firey, the perfect ingredients for a relationship or project. It represents having both passion and emotion.
Temperance is the card of alchemy and balance. It is also the card of merging and of being not too much and not too little, you want to be just right. I always like to think of this card as being associated with magick. With a little alchemy you can make anything happen.
Keywords
Alchemy, water/fire, magick, purification, cleansing, fasting, art, creativity, union, balance, alignment, meeting of opposites, neutral, calibration, spirituality, mixing, cocktail maker.
Timing
Temperance gets assigned to Sagittarius energy so you can look to the Sagittarius season or the next upcoming Sagittarius Moon. This card is also associated with Sagittarius's ruler, Jupiter, whose day is Thursday so this can also be helpful with timing.
Symbolism
Angel which symbolises purity.
Bow, shooting an arrow, Aiming or aspiring to do something, the tension of the bow string and the act of shooting. Having an intention.
Astrological Associations
Temperance is associated with the sign of Sagittarius. It suggests mutable watery energy. The energy that is changeable.
As Advice
Are you burning the candle at both ends? If so, pull back and conserve your energy. If you have been holding back, do you need to be more outward with your energy right now. The advice here is balance. You do not want to stretch yourself too thin. Temperance can also come up when there is a desire to cleanse or do a fast or perhaps a dry month. Especially if this card comes up with the Devil, it can point to a need to get more in balance, if vices have taken a hold of your life.
Temperance Reversed
This emphasises that the balance is out of whack and does need to be realigned. It can be quite literal, maybe you need to mix your drinks better! No more mixing alcohol that don't work together. Perhaps experiment with low or no alcohol cocktails. Alchemise your life and drinks for you a purer and more elevated experience.