Archetypes of the Tarot - Temperance

 

As a card Temperance is an indicator of moderating influences or tempering of conditions and actions. As a personality type it is a person who is completely balanced with all aspects of the psyche having equal effect thereby having a natural restraint too.  The yin and yang are fully balanced in harmony and cooperative union and action.  Represented by an angel who is connected with the earth and seas while sharing the water of life with whomever it encounters.  The personality it epitomizes is the enlightened, even tempered, just, compassionate and integrated perfection that humans aspire to become.  Here is the most perfect of all possible persons with an internal evenness that extends to everything and everyone in all matters.  By the very lack of imperfections in the psyche this is the most perfect of personality types. 

 

Temperance might also be described as Moderation.  In evening out the extremes of all the difficulties in a personality type we eventually become the best of all possible things in every regard.  The temperate person would be moderately satisfied to be reasonably happy accepting the circumstances of life and expect a rational degree of success in a fair recompense to their appropriate efforts.  It might appear that this is a "milk toast" type but in fact it's much more than that.  By dealing with the total personality instead of focusing on the details we can see that this is a perfect and even balance of all that makes an individual both human and divine.  Prepared to take action only when needed, willing to share as indicated, fully involved in life without desire to control others, connected to the spiritual, loving and giving without depriving self or others this person is what we can aspire to be.