Temperance

Finding balance

Temperance is about bringing your life into equilibrium and keeping the pendulum from swinging wildly in either direction. 

Traditionally, this card shows an angel gently pouring liquid from one cup to another, symbolizing balance, patience, and spiritual harmony. The figure stands with one foot on land and the other in water, bridging the tangible and the emotional. The message is that harmony is created through mindful blending, patience, and trust in divine timing. 

This holds a lot of meaning, but life can be messy, unpredictable, and balance isn’t always realistic. Things break, things spill, yet somehow we manage to piece things back together. 

A nuanced take on moderation

Temperance can be a somewhat challenging card to interpret, so I’ve taken a lot of creative liberties with my depiction, while honoring the traditional meanings of the card. The core symbolism is the same, but thought it would be interesting if the card told a new story and sparked more relatable personal exploration.

My illustration is set in a bar, a place filled with intimacy and vulnerability. I see this as a snapshot into an evening that didn’t go as planned, perhaps a first date that didn’t end well. A single rose, a classic romantic gesture, has been pushed away and abandoned. Two wine glasses are on the bar: both are empty, but one has been spilled. It feels as though this was intentional, an abrupt ending. We are viewing this scene from a woman’s point of view who seems to have remained. Her purse is still on the bar in front of her, but her date has left. Something was definitely off balance. 

The unexpected angel in my illustration is the bartender, calmly mixing the woman something a little stronger, a cocktail. He’s focused and grounded. without judgement or accusation. Angels don’t need to have wings to show up in very human ways. The bartender supplies a calming presence and a listening ear. In fact, his first instinct isn’t to clean up the mess in front of him. He acknowledges the situation but isn’t trying to fix it. Temperance is practical grace when emotions are high or something is out of balance. 

Temperance happens in motion, in conversation, in the quiet recalibration after something unravels. Harmony isn’t the absence of conflict; it’s the art of integrating tension into something meaningful. And moderation isn’t about denying extremes or avoiding discomfort; it’s about finding a middle path when emotions pull hard in opposite directions.

The bartender doesn’t pour water; he pours a cocktail. Balance can be a bold mixture of strength and authenticity.

The triangle

I want to briefly point out the triangle on the bartender’s shirt, which is a direct homage to the traditional Temperance card, where the symbol appears on the angel’s chest. In esoteric symbolism, the upright triangle represents fire and spirituality (perhaps the trinity). By placing this triangle on the bartender’s shirt, I wanted to suggest that spiritual balance isn’t reserved for celestial beings. It can live in ordinary spaces, embodied by quiet acts of presence and empathy.

The alchemy of real life

Temperance is tied to alchemy. Like a cocktail, it’s the blending of opposites to create something greater than the sum of its parts. The spilled wine and discarded flower are evidence of  what happens when balance fails, when human messiness intrudes. This isn’t failure; it’s raw material. Real alchemy happens at the bar, in your kitchen, and in that awkward conversation with your partner.

This isn’t to suggest that balance means living a life without extremes. It means learning how to, well, temper them. It’s easy to be all about harmony when nothing’s going wrong. The real work of Temperance begins when you have to figure out what to do when your plans fail, your expectations aren’t met, or your heart is broken. Temperance isn’t avoiding these things, it’s about adapting. Spilled wine doesn’t have to end the night; it just changes the plan. It’s the wisdom to stay in the moment long enough to ask, “What can I create from this?”

Where this fits in the Fool’s Journey

Temperance sits at a pivotal point in the Major Arcana. The Fool has already faced seismic changes including the tearing down of ego in Death. Now comes integration. The Fool is now less reliant on extremes: all-or-nothing thinking, impulsive leaps, or dramatic transformations. Temperance teaches the Fool emotional maturity and the ability to hold contradictions without shattering.

This is the Fool’s first real lesson in synthesis. After loss, there’s rebuilding. After chaos, there’s the slow, deliberate art of balance. The Fool learns that strength is the ability to combine fire and water, passion and patience, in equal measure.

Maybe the Fool is the bartender. He’s steadier now, having learned that you can’t control people or outcomes, only your response. Or maybe the Fool is the woman, sitting with the aftermath of disappointment, but choosing to stay present rather than flee. Either way, Temperance asks for the same lesson: grace over drama, compassion over ego. That’s where emotional mastery begins.

What Temperance asks of you

When this card shows up in a reading, it’s like taking a big deep breath.. It says: Slow down, stop forcing, and let the extremes cool. You don’t need to make a big move right now; you need to find your center before you take your next step.

Temperance also calls for curiosity: What elements in your life need a better mix? Is it work and rest? Desire and boundaries? Self-care and ambition? This isn’t about cutting things out, it’s about bringing them together in a way that feels nourishing and sustainable.

In Love & Relationships:

Temperance is the peacemaker. If you’re navigating conflict, this card urges patience and thoughtful communication. Don’t rush to fix everything or force resolution. Instead, slow down and listen. Real intimacy comes from recognizing both needs and truths, and blending them. 

In Sex & Passion:

Think slow burn, not flash fire. Temperance asks for presence, for connection that honors both emotional and physical desire. Consider the difference between raw intensity and soulful intimacy. By exploring creative ways to combine them, you might discover that this balance is stronger than either one alone.

In Career and Finance:

If tensions run high at work, step back and mediate instead of escalating. This is a card for strategic compromise and long-term vision, not quick wins or ego-driven decisions. Likewise, balance your budget and your impulses. Avoid the extremes of reckless spending or miserly saving. This card calls for a sustainable financial flow, not feast-or-famine cycles of uncertainty.

But maybe balance Is overrated

With all this said, balance is an ongoing practice, not a life goal. Pursuing the “perfect life balance” can actually become its own form of control. We might start to micro-manage every little impulse or unpleasant thing and try to “fix our life”. I think what we need to do is acknowledge that life isn't symmetrical and that no one lives in perfect equilibrium. Some nights end with awkward silences, uncomfortable conversation or spilled wine. That’s okay. 

Temperance is about finding power in your relationship with imbalance.