Temperance

Temperance tarot card description

A winged angel stands with one foot on land and one in a pool, pouring water between two golden cups. A path leads away to a sunrise over distant mountains, and irises grow nearby.

One foot on land and one in water is the balance of the practical and the emotional; the pouring between cups is blending and moderation; the path to the sunrise is the long way towards a goal, walked patiently.

Temperance upright

Temperance is the card of balance and moderation. It asks you to blend the different parts of your life into harmony and to find the middle way between extremes.

Patience is its great strength: things come together gradually, as they should.

• Love and relationships

  Harmony and compromise; healing after a disagreement; a calm, balanced relationship.

• Finances

  Moderation and steady saving; avoid extremes.

• Career

  Steady progress, collaboration, and a healthy balance between work and rest.

• Health and wellbeing

  Balance and moderation restore you; a steady routine heals.

Temperance reversed

Reversed, life may be out of balance: excess, impatience or conflict.

Restore your rhythm a little at a time.

• Love and relationships

  Discord or impatience; find the middle ground.

• Finances

  Overspending or extremes with money.

• Career

  Overwork, or conflict within a team.

• Health and wellbeing

  Excess of some kind; bring back moderation.

Health readings describe wellbeing within the tradition. They are not medical advice; for any health concern, see a doctor.

Temperance: one-card pull, yes or no

Drawn as a single card for a yes-or-no question, Temperance is usually read like this:

Temperance for timing

Linked with Sagittarius, whose Western season runs from about 22 November to 21 December. In timing it suggests gradual progress rather than quick results.

These correspondences come from the Western tarot tradition, which uses the tropical zodiac. They are not part of Vedic astrology, whose signs are counted differently.