The Year of the Hierophant and the Need for Temperance
As a new year advances, I took a deep dive into Major Arcana numerology.
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As a new year advances, I took a deep dive into Major Arcana numerology.
Read MoreI did a one-card reading for my relationship with tarot in 2013 and got my favorite card, Temperance. This told me a lot about my work as a tarot reader, and also my ability to nurture other creative tarot-related ventures like my internet TV show "Christiana's Psychic Café" as well as designing new classes and writing new blogs and new books.
For me, Temperance is about emotional health - finding the right blend to make life work. It's about the patience and caution required to create one's life to one's satisfaction. In a tarot reading I like to help people do exactly that.
Over the past few years I have been slowly adopting a new business model - one that allows me to read for more people but still allows me time to write, teach and be creative with tarot.
For all that Temperance is about emotional health it is also about creativity. Sometimes I think our mental health is dependent on our ability to nurture our creativity.
While many modern tarotists simply see Temperance as a card of balance, it is traditionally the card of alchemy - the ability to create something greater than its ingredients - the ability to transform one thing into another.
Tarot has been so transformative in my own life over the years. It is my goal to help others find the transformative power of tarot whether through having readings, studying tarot, performing readings or simply using tarot as a tool for guidance.
Other traditional keywords for Temperance are Art and Time. These are two of the ingredients we all need to put into the mix when we are seeking our own perfect blend.
A funny thought occurred to me when I pulled this card today. I thought about those two keywords, Time and Art, and said "I need to make sure I make time for art!" I have never used that specific interpretation for Temperance before, but it surely makes sense. I'll be thinking about that the next time Temperance comes up in a reading!
Another keyword for Temperance is patience. When we have patience with tarot over a long period of time the cards will begin to reveal new meanings and deeper secrets, just as Temperance did for me today.
The word “solution” has so many meanings! A solution can be the answer to a puzzle or a mathematical equation. It can be the answer to a problem in life. Many businesses are using the word “solution” to describe a helpful product or service. In this context, there are “toenail solutions,” “transportation solutions” and “weight loss solutions.”
In chemistry, a solution is a homogenous mixture of two or more substances.
If we blend (or make a solution of) all of these possible meanings, we find that we can solve our problems by mixing different things together.
That brings us to the “cosmic bartender” of tarot, Major Arcana 14, Temperance. In the RWS image, we see an angel pouring from cup to cup. The angel is mixing a solution, without spilling a drop.
Traditionally, Temperance is the card of art, time and alchemy. Common keywords for this card include caution, patience and balance. But there is something deeper here. There is a deeper…solution.
Temperance reminds us that nothing is ever perfect. But if we blend a little of this and a little of that, we will find the right balance and the perfect blend. By artfully and patiently mixing different aspects of our life, our skills, our knowledge and our resources together, we find the perfect blend, the perfect balance, and the right solution.
Here is a poem I wrote for this card.
Temperance
Water poured from cup to cup, and metal turned to gold
Sorrow turned to patience, and ego turned to mould.
One foot on the water, another balancing on land
Not a drop is spilt by the angel's gentle hand.
Caution guards the recipe, stirring grace with balance
Art and time make alchemy with these select ingredients.
Change forged of disappointment, mingling with hope
Built on tragic lessons learned that gave us skill to cope.
Expectation and assumption gone, accepting what will be
Still the angel blends the cups, creating perfectly.
Perfect are the cups' contents, and perfect is the measure
And perfect are the woes and joys, blended into treasure.