Art and Balance: The Temperance Card in the Tarot

(Based on the representations found on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.)

Balance, moderation, transformation, alchemy. After a while, it seems like the card meanings all bleed into one another. If the Magician studies the art of alchemy, what role does this angel — alternatively identified as Gabriel, Michael, or Metatron — play in transformation, since he is often described as performing an alchemical act in this card’s depiction?

The image on the card pours water between two vessels. This is said to symbolize the union of fire and water, the balancing of the conscious and the subconscious, or the tension of the opposites first noted in the Lovers card. When we speak of alchemy in the Tarot, we are not always speaking of physical processes per se, but rather mental and spiritual ones. Sometimes, I find that this can make the Tarot a little more esoteric in its meanings, with the Major Arcana, for me, being notoriously difficult to comprehend.

Temperance is identified with the astrological sign of Sagittarius — the archer, or a wise Centaur. Ruled by Jupiter, we see the themes of wisdom further echoed in this planetary archetype, known for its benefic qualities, its higher-mindedness, its connectivity to the Divine mind, and its transcendence of Mercurial intellect. Higher-octave Jupiter knows balance; it is able to achieve the union of consciousness with that of broader collective humanity, and helps us embrace the spiritual path on which Temperance suggests we are on. Yet, all…