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T.14 Temperance

Activity

XIV. Temperance

Name: Temperance
Hebrew Letter/Meaning: Samekh (ס) / Prop, Anger (crushing pressure)
Element/Planet/Zodiac: Sagittarius / Jupiter
Name of Path: Probation (immunity from temptation)
Type: Middle Pillar
Connecting Sefirot: Beauty (6) & Foundation (9)


Tidbits: Forehad marked by the sun (Beauty), feet in the Water (Foundation. The path between is marked by Sagittarius, the Centaur, who harmonizes the opposite aspects of its nature in an endless pursuit of perfection. Sagittarius relates to Jupiter, which evokes Mercy – the home of each suit’s creative, stable, primary manifestations. Temperance is the mature woman, the Full Moon, between the Waxing World and Waning High Priestess. This card represents the middle stages of meditation (jhanas 3 & 4)

The hexagram makes another appearance, indicating the totality of the Higher and Lower Self, in this case, harmonized and regulated through tempering and channeling the structures of Mercy, Severity, Victory, Splendor, and Foundation in Beauty.

All of this comes together to evoke meanings of moderation, focused attention, balance, realization, and success after a long effort.

Reference Note:

Spend time with each of the Trumps to generate your “tarot encyclopedia” notecard for each.

Working with the Trumps is slightly different because they represent forces of subjective experience instead of forms and objective structure. The symbolism in the cards is more complex, subtle, and profound. For this reason, we will slow down our pace to only one Trump per day (except today when we do two).

You are encouraged to only engage with one Trump per day. This will hopefully allow you to relax a little, spend more time exploring each trump, and catch up with any minor arcana you had to skip over the last few weeks.

In case it’s still helpful, here is the recommended process.

  1. Look at the image on the card and examine its details.
  2. Read the page in the companion book for that card.
  3. Read the description provided here.
  4. OPTIONAL: Read other descriptions of that card online or in other books.
  5. Reflect on the questions posed.
  6. Write down the details of the image that have meaning to you and the 2 or 3 interpretations (perhaps 1 heavenly, 1 upright earthly, and 1 reversed earthly) that resonate most strongly for you.
  7. Reflect on whatever correspondences you can find, such as relationships to other cards, astrological associations, and anything else. Include notes on anything specific that stands out.

    Feel free to write down your own interpretations based on what comes to you!