Temperance

I once remember reading somewhere that Temperance relates to the angelic side of us that we struggle to be.

This card takes on from the Death card where I talked about the pain of loss and detachment; now we can dwell and mourn and stay there or move on to bring in the elements of living - change, new beginnings, basic existence, survival, the needs of others, the urge to find happiness etc.

So how do we unite these two opposing forces by bringing some moderation and while staying in the water step onto land? The emotions nag on but we have to move on too.

There has to be a higher quality that makes us look beyond the struggle, to see things more peacefully and create a balance in a life that may be testing. Maybe an angel brings in that balance to push start you or drag you out of your tears.

In one of my difficult moments I wrote in my blog: When you love and you give, when trials test you and you have needs but you rise above your situation to reach out to the needs of another; does that make you strong or weak? When you say yes, when you want to say No, does that make you strong or weak? Do you have Temperance to balance your emotions for the greater good? 

In India, we drink coffee and tea, in a steel glass and not a cup usually. To cool hot tea, 2 glasses are taken and the liquid is poured from one to another to cool it to the right temperature and this is quite a sight at a tea shop that you now find only in smaller towns.

The cups in the hands of the angel remind me of this cooling that we have to do during heated moments to set a peaceful temperature and it also seems like she is testing the waters too before getting into it or staying safe with one leg on land.

The wings also seem to ask to rise above the earthly connection and to view an event with spiritual understanding, to rise above our ego, and to look beyond the black and white views of life.

Temperance may be calling to look at an addiction, an attachment, a relationship, or an emotional upheaval that calls for moderation.