Temperance
Definition:
find balance, integrate experience, renew faith, and an invitation to co-create with spirit
Poem:
people say I should pray to angels
believe in miracles
but I don’t see any miracles in this grocery store parking lot upstate
it’s just cold gray and blank faces
you’re not looking they say
but I don’t know what I’m supposed to see
look with your third eye they say
I roll my eyes and touch the spot between my brows
and feel a strange sensation
a humming energy
then a voice that says we’re right here
fear and curiosity snake through my body
paralyzing me
but I take a breath
and a calm trust washes over me
like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment
and I say
help me
I want to see
Invitation:
The word temperance can evoke moderation or restraint. Occasionally, the card does ask you to restrain yourself in some area of life, but more often the card invites you to find balance. Balance is always in a state of flux; it’s not a state you achieve and never have to worry about again. Finding balance can only happen when you are present to your needs in the moment and willing to experiment to find what works for you.
The main figure in the card is an Angel. The card can also invite you to explore your relationship to the Divine however you define it. There is more to life than what we can see with our eyes. The card asks you to explore the possibilities that can open in your life when you work with the unseen.
To engage with the energy of Temperance….
Wheel of Life Exercise: Taking an inventory of your life can be a good way to see where you can make adjustments to be more balanced. The Wheel of Life exercise asks you to divide a circle into eight sections with each section representing a different area of life (career, home, romance, etc.). Color in each section base on how fufilled you are in each area. Then take a look at the results and see what changes (if any) you want to make in your life based on the findings. See example below.
Engage with the Unseen: How can you engage more with the Unseen? This could take many forms depending on your current relationship to spirituality and what resonates with you. Examples include, making an altar for an Angel, Deity, Spirit or figure that resonates with you, engaging in daily prayer, or making offerings to nature to celebrate the changing of seasons. The intention is to increase your faith in the idea that you have access to unseen support. In my experience, the more I have faith in that spiritual support, the more resilient I am in the face of life’s challenges.