Upright
- Balance
- Patience
- Cooperation
Temperance is the art of blending differences without flattening them: patience, moderation and thoughtful adjustment. The winged figure pours liquid between two cups, suggesting balance made through steady effort, not a magic fix. This card favours cooperation and a workable middle ground; nobody needs to win every tiny debate like it’s the season finale.
In daily life, it can show up as pacing your workload, smoothing a prickly conversation or combining ideas until they actually work. With love, friends or money, aim for sensible give-and-take. Sagittarius is sometimes linked with this card, but that’s no cosmic excuse to overbook yourself.
Reversed
- Imbalance
- Impatience
- Overdoing it
Reversed, Temperance can mean the balance is off: impatience, excess, or trying to force two things together before they’re ready. You may be swallowing your own needs to keep things smooth, or mixing priorities that don’t sit well. Notice where a small adjustment would help; this is a nudge to recalibrate, not proof you’ve failed.
In astrology
In the Golden Dawn's tradition this card belongs to Sagittarius.