Tablet of Contents on This Enchanted Page
502 Lifetime Visits for This Realm, 2 Wizards Have Been Here Today
Affirmation: ‘I can create harmony in any situation. I have all I need to achieve my goals.’
Ruling Zodiac: Sagittarius
Kabbalistic Letter: Samekh
Stones: Amethyst, Malachite
Key words: Balance, patience, healing
Image: An angel stands before us, pouring water from one cup to another, without spilling a drop. The angel is a symbol of healing. It stands with one foot on the ground and the other on water, thus symbolizing that its power bridges the elements. It is pouring the water from one glass to the other as a way of measuring out how much needs to be given. For one cup has been used in collecting the water from the stream, while the other is to be used by us for drinking out of.
TEMPERANCE SPEAKS
‘I am the angel, sometimes called Michael, sometimes called Raphael, depending on who precisely is talking about me. I am a direct servant of God and my function is that of healing. What you see me doing here in this picture is actually collecting water to mix with mud. With this mud I am going to go and cure the eyes of a man suffering from blindness. In a sense, you might be that person, because although you may partially see, yet you do not fully. I represent healing in all its forms. It is noteworthy that before He healed anyone, Jesus would always ask them whether they wanted to be healed. If they replied in the affirmative, he would get them to do something, such as stretch out their hand. Something, no matter how small. Because implicit in this was the symbol that they were doing something to help themselves, that they were taking a first step in their own healing process. That first step is what I represent, which is why you see one of my feet in the water and the other having taken a symbolic first step onto land. So likewise, if you would be healed also, I would have you stretch out your hand, symbolically, and actively seek out the healing processes which are available. In the open road behind me, you see the road which lies behind each and every one of us. So, any process of healing will involve us looking back into that road and seeing what has happened there from a fresh perspective.’
DIVINATORY MEANING
This card is showing an angel standing by a pool of water, pouring water from one cup to another. It shows the movement of the life force from one vessel or body into another. Water, the symbol of life itself from time immemorial, moves from the state of solid, when it is ice, through to liquid, and then from liquid to the state of air, when it evaporates. After a period spent in that form, it condenses, when it comes back down to earth in the form of rain, i.e. the downward motion of water in the card. So, we have a guided tour in this card through each of the elements, but with the essential and eternal quality of the life force remaining absolutely constant. This card is inviting you to recognize the eternal and unchanging aspect of your own spiritual condition, that although you go through the experience of seeing constant change around you, you yourself as a spiritual creature are not whatever body you find yourself contained within in this lifetime. This card is saying that at this point in life we have genuinely experienced a sense of spiritual and personal growth. Now we can begin to look back into our past with an awareness unfettered by the blinkers of ordinary consciousness and see what has really happened there to make us – or at least influence us – become the things which we are in the present. It is a card which suggests great good fortune, if we take advantage of the present to look more closely at the decisions about ourselves which have led us to this present vantage point. It is a period of considerable clarity, enabling us to define more clearly those things which we want to be, to do, and to have in the next cycle of activity as well. This card is saying that it is by looking at our past from this perspective that we will more accurately be able to understand our present. At that point, it will be increasingly easy to determine our life direction, and to begin to move ahead to our goals and objectives. The angel, or, more correctly, archangel which is shown here is Raphael, traditionally associated in ancient texts with healing. Thus the card is suggesting some kind of a healing process which is taking place in your life or which perhaps needs to take place. This card comes up a lot for people that have been involved in counselling, either giving counsel to others or receiving it themselves. Behind Raphael we see a road running into the distance, suggesting the past experiences which we have gone through, which have led us to where we are now. If you look carefully you will see the angel stands with one foot on land and the other on water. This represents the time when we emerged from the waters onto land, and thus became air-breathing creatures with lungs instead of gills. Thus we see from the posture of the angel that this card is all about the important evolutionary steps which we have as yet to make. What is there in your past that you could actively bring forward into present time to help you move forward? What is there in your life which still needs to go through the healing process?
(SHORT) DIVINATORY MEANING
Gaining self-understanding, as you find yourself able to confront the past. A process of moving from one level of maturity to another.
REVERSED MEANING
In reverse, Temperance signifies that you’re in a state of imbalance. You’ve lost track of your path and your center, and you may have been extra argumentative with others recently, too. You’re likely feeling fragmented or torn in disparate directions, and you’ll need to bring yourself back together before you can achieve any sense of harmony. Look to the surrounding cards to find out how to go about that.
WORLDLY ASSOCIATIONS: Self-development, channelling. Broadening one’s perspectives. Travelling, freedom of movement.
POSITIVE QUALITIES: Depth of understanding. Ability to embrace different realities. Hope, breath of fresh air. Inspirational influence.
NEGATIVE QUALITIES: Overlooking pitfalls. Not centred. Little foundation. Dispersed energy pattern.
NUMEROLOGY WITH TEMPERANCE
The Number 14 combines the energies of 1 and 4; it is said to represent a warning regarding money matters and that some test may be coming soon. In the tarot, 14 associates with Kings from the Minor Arcana and with Temperance from the Major Arcana, but the number itself represents sacrifices you may have to make if you desire to achieve your goals. It demonstrates beneficial challenges ahead that will result in lasting successes.
