I also sometimes think of Temperance in terms of tempering (chocolate, glass, steel). I think it brings together the ideas of everything in moderation (including moderation), Aristotelian happy medium, and alchemy. Alchemy seeks to change from one element to another and while tempering doesn't achieve that, it has to potential to alter the properties and characteristics of a substance, including appearance, texture, strength and structure. While a happy medium is desired, that doesn't mean being obstinate and remaining completely stationary; some movement is good. Tempering is very controlled heating and cooling, not going all the way to extremes. Similarly, everything in moderation, including moderation, recognizes that sometimes moving away from the middle with thoughtfulness and purpose can be beneficial. I see a connection between the Lovers card and Temperance (in the RWS I believe it is the same angel), and I think this illustrates the difference between blending and joining that was mentioned. Lovers I see as the existence of polarities or opposing forces, and the attempt to join them, but advancement through the major arcana cards in between (Chariot, Strength, etc), means that by the time we reach Temperance, that joining is being perfected into the art of blending/tempering/balancing. In terms of correspondences, the Lovers is associated with Gemini which is an air sign, and the angel is depicted in the clouds. At this point it is more of a thought or idea, rather than something that has been accomplished or manifested. Temperance is associated with Sagittarius, a fire sign, and the symbol for fire is depicted on the angel's chest. But as noted earlier, the angel has one foot in the water and one foot on land, which relates to the phase changes between liquid and solid that occur during the tempering process. Fire is the heat or energy needed to facilitate those phase changes. Editing to add: There is also the temperance movement which is about abstaining from alcohol and led to prohibition in the US and other countries. If we think about Temperance in terms of balance and control, alcohol can lead to the loss of balance and control. Temperance can serve as a warning about that loss and the temptations and bad influences coming up in the Devil card.

Two puzzles, and they're the same one from opposite ends. Which card was the question. In your daily, Snake turned out to be yarn — after the fact. Which means the card didn't tell you. You told the card, and it agreed. Every Lenormand reading I've watched get confirmed got confirmed backward. What I can't settle is whether that's the system doing its job (the cards hand you a surface to read your own day honestly) or whether the system is simply never wrong. What a wrong reading would even look like. This is the one that keeps me up. Tarot can at least fall badly — a card in a bad seat, a spread fighting itself. Lenormand's vocabulary is small and fixed, so a reading bends to fit almost any day. I want a worked example of the deck being wrong: you did the thing described, or you didn't, and afterward it was plain the cards hadn't been talking about that at all. I haven't got one. I don't think I've seen one. I read people, not spreads, which is why it bites. Same question applies to me. If nothing can count as a bad read, then "I read people" is a flattering way of saying everybody agrees with me afterward.

AI is definitely out as far as I'm concerned. I have one but it was a gift so it stays in my collection. I'll never read with it. I own one horizontal deck, The Pastoral Tarot by Lisa Hunt. I haven't read with that either. Not because it's awful, or awkward, but because when I looked through it it made me feel sad so I packed it up and haven't looked at it since. I'm put off by artists/authors that whine about cultural appropriation while force fitting a concept onto European tarot cards. Unfortunately, I never find out how they feel until I've purchased the deck kit and read the book that came with it. Vampires are out. I was never a fan of the explosion of vampire tv series and movies. And I loathe bright swirly colors, that's just too much of a distraction and gives me a headache. There are others that just don't interest me. Thankfully, these days a person is spoiled for choice of decks. There's something for everyone who is out there looking.