78 Weeks of Tarot: Temperance

[Trogon]

For information on what these threads refer to, see this thread;

 

78 Weeks of Tarot - Informational Thread

 

The above linked thread gives suggested dates for the cards as well as links to the individual topics.

 

Some of us may be working through the study in a different order and using different decks. If you have general questions or comments regarding the 78 Weeks of Tarot study group, please post in the topic in the above link.

 

Have fun.

[Bookworm]

Deck: Fairytale Tarot

 

Card name: Temperance

 

First impressions:

 

A beautiful woman stands smiling in front of a king holding a silver pitcher and a gold container that I assume contains salt. She looks supremely confident. She wears a gown that is half blue, half greenish brown. A silver veil loosely covers her long hair. She is the main focus of the card.

 

We can’t see much of the king’s face. He has gray hair and a dark beard. He wears a crown and sits in an armchair.

 

They are in what must be a state room in a palace. From the little we can see, it’s elaborately decorated.

 

To the side of these two, there is a long table at which we can see six important looking men standing or seated. They are watching the woman and the king with great interest, almost as if they are judging the proceedings.

 

From the book:

 

Keywords and phrases: Striking a healthy balance, moderation in all things, synthesis of elements that are contrary or opposite, a willingness to compromise, order and harmony, strength through flexibility -- in the Zen manner

 

The King lacks temperance. He bases everything on asking his daughters a foolish question. He can’t appreciate his youngest daughter’s moderate answer. He is so out of control that he wants her put to death for not giving him a flattering answer to his ridiculous question.

 

The story is about learning to understand and appreciate the value of the ordinary in life. The daughter’s answer to her father’s question is similar to a Zen koan. The king has to go through two experiences of very different kinds: one of horror and intense regret at thinking that he has put his favorite daughter to death and one of  of eating food without salt to season it or water to drink with it to understand the value of simple but essential things.

 

Histrionic, emotional statements can be used to mask the truth, whereas restrained and unpretentious language may reveal a truer depth of feeling.

 

The Temperance card should be considered in a broad context when it appears in a reading. It can call for emotional, practical or behavioral restraint and balance.

 

The original story:

 

"Water and Salt," from Italian Popular Tales, by Thomas Crane

 

http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/crane/waterandsalt.html

 

Traditional meanings:

 

Harmony, balance, synthesis, moderation, blending, synergy, alchemy, being temperate, blending opposites, angel communication, connecting with your guides, merging, looking for divine intervention, imbalance, the onset of illness, tempers flaring, lack of patience between people, angry outbursts, feeling that god/the angels/your spirit guides have forsaken you, always giving and not receiving.

 

My impressions of the card/story combination:

 

The image is a clever blending (appropriate for this card!) of the traditional image of Temperance -- a beautiful woman (often an angel) holding two vessels -- and the story, in which an angelic young woman tells her father that she loves him as much as water and salt.

 

The story is a good take on the meaning of the card. I like that not only Temperance but its opposite -- in the person of the father -- is illustrated by the story. Also, the father’s experience in trying to eat without the addition of salt and something to drink shows how our experiences need to be “tempered” in order to be palatable. Experiences can often be improved with the careful blending of one thing and another.

 

My take (what I make of it/what I might see in a reading where I drew it):

 

I think I might be likely to see the card as an appeal to moderation, balance and honesty. The daughter’s answer to her father’s question is much more restrained, and also much more true, than her sisters’ obvious pandering to their father. Unfortunately, it takes the father a long time to understand the wisdom and the love in what his youngest daughter has said. So maybe I would see the card also as encouragement to devote some time to thinking about what you have heard, read, etc., before acting on it. You may not understand something right off the bat.

 

I might also see it as encouragement to improve either a situation or one’s behavior or creation by adding something to it, or by balancing its disparate elements.

[Hemera]

Temperance (Everyday Witch Tarot, Llewellyn 2017)

 

Description:

A young witch is balancing in a yoga pose with a table full of her favourite things behind her. A cat is licking her paw on the floor next to her.

 

What action is going on:

A witch stands rooted in the Tree Pose of yoga. She has one eye open and one closed.

 

Images and Symbolism:

-Sweets and vegetables, alcohol and water, books and laptop, open eye, closed eye.

It feels slightly like a division to good and bad. But what I love about this is the text that says, have a bit of both. Don’t go to either extreme. “Moderation in all things, including moderation”. - Yes. Excellent.

 

-Tree Pose: (Mythology from Wikipedia)

kidnapped Queen Sita…. every day she stood under the ashoka trees, breathing slowly, chanting Rama's name at every beat of her heart, and focusing on her drishti. Being the daughter of the Bhumi Devi—the Earth itself—she felted rooted and one with it. Symbols of patience, standing firm in times of change, and growing from within, the trees stood with her, until finally one day Rama sent Hanuman to find her.

 

Colours:

-Lots of pastel shades: green, blue, purple, pink. Why pastels?

Pastel colours are soothing", "soft", "near neutral", "milky", "washed out". So maybe they are colours that are in balance in a way; not too strong, not too weak, but neutral?

 

This card encourages:

Make Art and Beauty visible

Let go of anger

Relax and go with the flow

 

Warns against:

Neglecting the Goddesses of Love and Beauty

 

Traditional meanings (J. Bunning):

-Be temperate; find middle ground

-Maintain balance; achieve equilibrium

-Experience health; recover, heal

-Combine forces; join with others, create synthesis

 

From the Book:

-The key to this pose is the same as to life: get rooted in the earth and to your own core, stay calm and composed and do not struggle too hard

-Strive for balance in all things.

-Reach your inner strength and take a deep breath.

 

Sallie Nichols: (in Jung and Tarot. An Archetypal Journey. Weiser 1984)

-Nichols speaks a lot about the RWS Angel image which is perhaps not relevant for this image. But she stresses the reconciliation of opposites which is also addressed in our picture. It is not a matter of logic and reason, says Nichols. Opposites can only come together through, and at the point of experience.

-Rituals are important. They combine the philosophical with the practical. (As does yoga)

-This card is the Realm of Equilibrium.

-Temperance is a Dancer

 

Notes:

-This card takes balance and moderation to a very personal level. You must balance your diet and exercise etc. and think about balance from your own perspective.

- This card is not showing the traditional Angel of the RWS and this particular card does not care much about Universal balance. This is all about the balanced life of this one individual. On the other hand, it all starts with individuals, doesn’t it? You can only work with yourself and try to become a better and more individuated (as Jungians say) person.

-Nichols says Temperance is a Dancer and I associate that Bharatanatyam, the ancient Indian Temple Dance. And that together with her Tree Pose reminds me of Shiva Nataraj, the Indian God of Dance.

 

Quote:

Where the Spirit does not work with the hand there is no Art.

(Leonardo Da Vinci)