The Temperance Tarot Card - Major Arcana Meaning

Discover the meaning of The Temperance Tarot card, the indications she gives when it comes upright, reversed or combined with other cards and its possible application to the various facets of life and everyday issues.

The Temperance is the fourteenth card of the Major Arcana in occult Tarot decks. Represented by an Angel who pours the liquid from one amphora to the other, without spilling a single drop. It symbolizes discipline and self-control. The spilled liquid is the essence of life, just as the past flows into the future through the present. Discover the meaning of The Temperance Tarot card, the indications it gives when it comes upright, reversed or combined with other cards and its possible application to the various facets of life and everyday issues.

The Major Arcana number tells you what stage you are in for a particular situation or problem. Ask the Tarot your question and interpret the Arcana according to its number and its position in the deck. These cards follow a storyline that tells of the spiritual travels taken from the innocent wonder of The Fool to the oneness and fulfillment of The World. In other words, these cards tell the story of humanity's spiritual evolution into enlightenment and individuation - when his life experiences are complete, he returns to zero, The Fool. Despite the divinatory meaning of the cards, think of the Tarot as a journey. If you look at the cards that come out in this way, with each question you ask, it becomes easier to intuitively interpret the cards and see their messages as a life story.

The Temperance Tarot Card Description

  • Major Arcana XIV
  • Zodiacal Affinity - Sagittarius
  • Keywords - Self-control, discipline, adaptability, virtue, moderation, change, evolution, harmony, balance, understanding.
  • Key Expressions - Fusion of ideas, moderation as the key to success in various areas of life, respect for cooperation, therapeutic energy, advises calm, patience and a planned and strategic action.
  • Advice - Pay close attention. Find the balance and you will be successful.
  • Reversed Meaning - Being a martyr to the demands of others, being emotionally overwhelmed, waste, debt.

The Illustration

The illustration in this card depicts a woman with two large wings, dressed in a long skirt, half blue and half red. In each hand he holds an amphora, whose liquid pours from one to the other. The Temperance is with the cards The Force and The Justice, one of the designated "cardinal virtues". In the Tarot, all three are represented by a female figure. Among them, The Temperance is distinguished by angelic aura conveyed by the wings.

This card symbolizes the eternal circulation on the cosmic plane, the balance of the life force. It also symbolizes the need to find the balance between spirit and matter that coexist in each of us. After the card The Death, The Temperance implies a new harmony that should be done gradually. 

According to Numerology, the number 14 is also a karmic number, which represents the ability to channel change logically. In Kabbalah, it corresponds to path number 25 of the Trees of Life: the beauty of the foundation.

The Symbology

The Temperance is a moderating card. Placed in the Tarot deck between the dramatic influences of The Death and The Devil, it shows careful control of particularly difficult circumstances and the ability to deal with uncertainty and change. This card represents the archetype of harmonious partnerships, joining and combining efforts to achieve the right results. Its most favorable characteristics are self-control and the ability to adapt to changing and unpredictable circumstances.

The Temperance Tarot Card Meaning

Upright Temperance Meaning

  • Upright Love Meaning - Careful and considerate with love, being patient with love or lover.
  • Upright Career Meaning - Success from patience and moderation, steady and slow progress.
  • Upright Finances Meaning - Diligent saving, slow and steady growth.

The reading of this card is associated with the moment that the consultant is living. If you have gone through a difficult phase, loss of material or emotional, The Temperance is a positive sign. Peace of mind will soon be regained, ills alleviated and obstacles overcome. Your life will find a new balance.

This card indicates that moderation is the key to solving any problems and obstacles. Common sense and calm are good strategies to follow. Direct confrontation and open warfare will not produce good results.

Reversed Temperance Meaning

  • Reversed Love Meaning - Going to extremes for love, all or nothing romances, impatience.
  • Reversed Career Meaning - Work-life imbalance, all or nothing at job, rushed job, reckless decisions.
  • Reversed Finances Meaning - Failure to balance long term needs with short term happiness.

When The Temperance is reversed, it predicts loss of harmony. Lack of time to carefully assess where you are, where you want to go and the path you are taking can lead to deviations and loss of focus on the goal.

There may be a rival nearby that undermines the querent's confidence. Discussions and conflicts can arise, making understanding even more difficult. It advises calm, patience and a planned and strategic action. Impulsiveness and response conditioned by negative emotions will only aggravate the problem and the conflict.

The Temperance Combinations with Other Tarot Cards

In combination with The Magician, The Temperance, it can signify deep understanding and great wisdom. in a joint reading with The High Priestess, it has the same meaning, although more intuitive. When it is close to The Fool, it announces inner peace and tranquility. Close to The Devil can mean illness while, combined with The Star, it shows the need to be more energetic in actions and frank in opinions.

The Major Arcana Tarot

The Major Arcana, or Great Mysteries, are seen as symbols of great issues, moments or people. Each card represents a human archetype, evoking the most varied feelings, moral positions and behaviors.

Reading, Meanings and Interpretation of the Tarot Major Arcana

Tarot is used as a tool for self-discovery and self-knowledge. In this sense, more than guessing the future, it serves to read and interpret all the elements of our life: it describes the current moment, clarifies the motives, desires and intentions, pointing out the path and the energies present in our life.

The possible readings for each Tarot card are practically infinite. There is no unique interpretation for each card, for each layout of cards or for each reading method. Tarot is based on intuition. Each person who reads the message of a card, or a set of cards, intuitively unravels the meaning of the card's message and how it connects with their own reality and circumstances of life.

The word "arcana" comes from Latin and means "secret" and, in the Tarot, the Major Arcana are considered universal, symbolic and figurative: they are considered symbolic of great issues, moments or people. They are archetypes, that is, they represent the most diverse feelings, moral positions and human behaviors. When they appear in a reading, it indicates an important event or decision, whether practical, spiritual, or emotional. They also establish correspondence with the astrological signs and planets.