Temperance: Modern RWS Tarot Card Meanings
‘Key XIV: Temperance’, Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
Temperance Upright
Keywords
Balance, Moderation, Patience, Integration, Harmony, Healing.
Compare to Strength.
Correspondences
Zodiac Sign
Sagittarius
Element
Fire
Yes/No
Yes (but with moderation)
Generally
This card relates to a period of balance, patience, and moderation. Finding the perfect middle ground in a conflict, a successful act of alchemy or blending, a period of calm after a storm, a successful long-term plan.
In a Love Context
This card can signify a harmonious and balanced relationship. A partnership built on compromise and understanding, a successful blending of two families, a patient and gentle approach to resolving conflict.
In a Money/Career Context
This card points to a balanced and moderate approach to work and finance. A stable, long-term career path, a successful collaboration between different departments, a well-managed budget, finding a healthy work-life balance.
In a Spiritual Context
This card is about the alchemical process of aligning the higher and lower self to the will of the Divine Soul. A balanced spiritual practice, a period of healing and integration after a major spiritual event, the path of the "middle way."
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, Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
Temperance Reversed
Generally
Reversed, Temperance can point to imbalance, excess, and a lack of patience. A period of extreme behaviour, a hasty decision with negative consequences, a project that is out of balance, a lack of harmony.
In a Love Context
This card often signifies a relationship that is out of balance or in conflict. Constant arguments, a partner with extreme emotional reactions, a lack of compromise, a relationship that is all-consuming.
In a Money/Career Context
This can mean a lack of work-life balance or a reckless financial decision. Burnout from overwork, a hasty and ill-advised investment, a conflict between colleagues, a project that is dangerously off-balance.
In a Spiritual Context
This can mean a spiritual practice that has become extreme or unbalanced. Fanaticism, a "spiritual bypass" where you ignore real-world problems, a lack of grounding in your spiritual life.
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 in Key Card 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 ‘Temperance’ Card
Where in my life do I need to practice more moderation and patience? What two opposing parts of myself do I need to bring into greater harmony? Am I seeking a balanced middle path, or am I leaning towards an unhealthy extreme?
