Temperance: Modern RWS Tarot Card Meanings
‘Key XIV: Temperance’, Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
Temperance: Upright RWS Meanings
Keywords
Restraint, Virtue, Alchemy, Peace, Equanimity
Generally
This card relates to a period of divine alchemy, balance, patience, and moderation. Temperance is the art of the master, signifying a profound integration of opposing forces to create a new, more potent "third." It represents the calm and equilibrium that arrives after a storm, often following a karmic upheaval like that of The Tower. It is the sign of a successful long-term plan coming to fruition, one that required not a reckless charge of will, but the slow, deliberate application of skill. When Temperance appears, it affirms you are on the correct path of finding the perfect middle ground. It is a time to avoid extremes and act as the alchemist in your own life, consciously mixing energies until you find the precise, harmonious solution. This card is one of divine synthesis and the deep, quiet power that comes from true equilibrium.
In a Love Context
In a love reading, this card signifies a relationship that has achieved a rare state of spiritual harmony. This is a partnership built on a deep foundation of compromise and understanding, where both individuals are actively and consciously blending their distinct energies into a stable, integrated union. It can signify the successful blending of two families, a difficult alchemical task that requires immense patience and a gentle, non-reactive approach to conflict. This card advises that the path to a lasting bond is not through dramatic passion, but through a patient and moderate hand. It is a sign that the connection is healing, balanced, and evolving to a higher, more stable state. This is a mature partnership, one where the goal is not to win arguments, but to restore a state of loving equilibrium.
In a Money/Career Context
In a career or financial context, this card points to the virtues of a balanced and moderate approach. This is not the card of a risky, high-yield venture; it is the card of the stable, long-term career path, the "master artisan" who builds success over time through discipline. It signifies a successful collaboration between different, and perhaps even opposing, departments, an alchemical blending that creates a single, profitable, and harmonious result. On a personal level, it points to a well-managed budget, where income and expenses are held in a perfect, stress-free equilibrium. It is a sign that you must find a proper balance between your professional obligations and other parts of your life by skillfully integrating them, ensuring that neither is allowed to overwhelm the other.
In a Spiritual Context
This card is the very essence of the "Great Work." It is about the sacred alchemical process of aligning the higher and lower self to the will of the Divine Soul. The angel on the card is the Higher Self, pouring the life-giving influx between the two cups of duality: conscious and subconscious, spiritual and material, logical and intuitive. This card signifies a profound period of healing and integration, especially after a major spiritual event. It is the process of gently healing the rifts within the self, blending all your parts into a single, cohesive, and illuminated whole. This is the true "path of the middle way," a disciplined spiritual practice that avoids the extremes of both severe asceticism and mindless indulgence. It is a sign that your spiritual practice is balanced, grounded, and leading to a state of true inner peace.
In Common Spread Positions
As Advice
Find the middle path. Act with moderation. Be patient. Seek harmony and integration.
As (Ultimate) Outcome
A successful and harmonious resolution. A perfect balance will be achieved. A period of peace and calm.
As Obstacles
A need for moderation is being ignored. A situation requires a more extreme approach. A fear of taking a side is causing stagnation.
As Hidden Energy
An unrealised potential for harmony and integration. A hidden path to compromise is available.
As Resources/Alliances
Your own patience and ability to compromise. A calm and balanced person. A successful mediator.
Temperance: Reversed RWS Meanings
Generally
Reversed, the Temperance card signifies a failure of the alchemical process. The divine synthesis is lost, resulting in imbalance, excess, and a severe lack of patience. This is a period of extreme behaviour, where the "middle way" is abandoned in favour of one radical extreme or the other. It warns that a hasty decision, made without the deliberate moderation of the upright card, will almost certainly lead to negative consequences. This energy manifests as a project that is dangerously out of balance, or a life that is plagued by a lack of harmony. It is a sign that you have lost your connection to your higher, moderating genius and are now acting from a place of fragmented, unrefined impulse. This is a time of discord and internal conflict, where nothing seems to blend or integrate correctly.
In a Love Context
In a love reading, this card points to a relationship that is severely out of balance and rife with conflict. The harmonious blending of the upright card is gone, replaced by constant arguments and discord. This often signifies a partner, or perhaps both partners, given to extreme emotional reactions. The patient, gentle approach has been lost, and there is a stubborn lack of compromise that makes any real synthesis impossible. This card can also warn of a connection that has become all-consuming, an obsessive or fanatical attachment that is itself a form of extreme imbalance. It has completely overtaken all other areas of life, creating a vortex of energy rather than a stable, harmonious union. It is a sign that the relationship has lost its center.
In a Money/Career Context
In a career or financial context, this card warns of a dangerous lack of balance. This can manifest as a complete failure to integrate work and life, leading to a state of profound exhaustion and depletion from overwork. It is also a strong warning against reckless financial decisions. A hasty and ill-advised investment, made from a place of impatience rather than careful planning, is likely. Within a team, this card can point to a project that is dangerously off-balance, perhaps with all resources focused on one area while others are neglected. This imbalance often leads to conflict between colleagues, as the lack of harmony in the project creates friction for the entire team.
In a Spiritual Context
Spiritually, the reversed Temperance card is a warning against an unbalanced or extreme practice. The "middle way" is lost, and the seeker has fallen into fanaticism, a rigid and dogmatic adherence to one aspect of their path while neglecting all others. This can also signify a dangerous tendency to use spiritual concepts to ignore real-world problems or responsibilities, a state where the "spiritual" is disconnected from the "material" rather than being properly integrated with it. This points to a fundamental lack of grounding in your spiritual life. You may be "flying high" in your practice but have no stability, leaving your work ungrounded and, ultimately, useless in a practical sense.
In Common Spread Positions
As Advice
A warning against excess or imbalance. It is time to find a middle ground or to avoid a hasty decision.
As (Ultimate) Outcome
A period of discord and imbalance. A project will fail due to a lack of moderation. A situation will be made worse by extreme behaviour.
As Obstacles
Your own lack of patience or moderation is the primary hindrance. A person with an extreme personality is blocking progress. A situation is fundamentally unbalanced.
As Hidden Energy
A hidden imbalance is undermining the situation. A secret extremism is driving events.
As Resources/Alliances
Help comes from recognising an imbalance. A necessary course-correction. A rejection of a harmful extreme.
The RWS Temperance Card in Combinations
Combinations with Major Arcana
Temperance & The Chariot
Temperance (↑) & The Chariot (↑): A successful journey that is both well-planned and balanced. A victory achieved through moderation and willpower.
Temperance (↓) & The Chariot (↑): A successful but aggressive and unbalanced approach. A victory that comes at the cost of harmony.
Temperance (↑) & The Chariot (↓): A balanced plan that fails due to a lack of willpower or direction. A patient approach that is too passive.
Temperance (↓) & The Chariot (↓): A project that fails due to both a lack of balance and a lack of direction. A chaotic and extreme situation.
Temperance & The Tower
Temperance (↑) & The Tower (↑): A sudden, shocking event that forces you to find a new sense of balance. A crisis that ultimately leads to healing and integration.
Temperance (↓) & The Tower (↑): A period of excess and imbalance that leads directly to a catastrophic event.
Temperance (↑) & The Tower (↓): Using patience and moderation to narrowly avoid a disaster. A calm response to a crisis.
Temperance (↓) & The Tower (↓): A situation where a lack of balance has you trapped in a state of ongoing crisis.
Combinations with the Suit of Pentacles
Temperance & The Two of Pentacles
Temperance (↑) & The Two of Pentacles (↑): A masterful act of balancing multiple projects or financial commitments. A period of harmonious multi-tasking.
Temperance (↓) & The Two of Pentacles (↑): Juggling too many things at once, leading to a state of imbalance and stress.
Temperance (↑) & The Two of Pentacles (↓): A patient and balanced approach that is being undermined by a lack of focus.
Temperance (↓) & The Two of Pentacles (↓): A situation of complete chaos and imbalance, where nothing is getting done.
Additional Notes On Temperance
A.E Waite’s Temperance Card Meanings:
Upright: "Economy, moderation, frugality, management, accommodation. Reversed: Things connected with churches, religions, sects, the priesthood, sometimes even the priest who will marry the Querent; also disunion, unfortunate combinations, competing interests." Pictorial Key To The Tarot (1911).
Question: What is the spiritual meaning of Temperance?
In an esoteric context, Temperance represents the alchemical process of "Solve et Coagula" (dissolve and coagulate). It is the art of breaking down opposing forces (like the two cups) and blending them into a new, higher synthesis. It is a card of profound spiritual integration and the creation of the "philosopher's stone" within the self.
This alchemical theme appears throughout Waite’s Major Arcana.
Meditations On The RWS Temperance Card
Where in my life do I need to practice more moderation and patience?
