XIV - Temperance

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Temperance tarot card
(Wikipedia;
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XIV - Temperance

Keywords

Angel Within. Guardian Angel. Spiritual Alchemy. Purification. Adaptability. Harmony. Balanced Lifestyle. Moderation. Self-Restraint. Co-ordination. Successful Combination. Skill with Opposites (e.g. logic/intuition) & their Reconciliation. Reorganisation. Flow. Faith. Trust. Compatibility.

Themes

The Higher Self is integrated into the life of the seeker, especially by purification and by a disciplined spiritual lifestyle.

Comparisons

After the enlightening suspension in The Hanged Man (XII) and the scything away of the old in Death (XIII), there is now an opportunity to reorganise the psyche so that the Angel within can freely flow into the seeker.

Notes & Quotes

"Seek for internal balance and walk the rainbow path of life with joy." (Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki)

"Temperance is gained through experience and mistakes." (Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki)

"The evil within us is impossible to eradicate. The only way to rid ourselves of evil is to offer it as food for the spirits of good. The fourteenth card of the Tarot represents an angel pouring a liquid from an urn of silver (the metal associated with the moon) into an urn of gold (the metal associated with the sun). To Initiates, this image conveys the idea of the lower self, symbolized by the moon, transfused into the higher Self, symbolized by the sun. This transfusion can be achieved only if the lower self is diluted, diminished, so that the higher Self may benefit.
This, then, is the work of an intelligent disciple: domination of the chaotic forces of the lower nature, so that they may serve the higher Self. There is no other way to conquer evil."
(O.M. Aïvanhov)

"The fourteenth card of the Tarot is called Temperance. This card portrays an angel holding a pitcher in either hand. From the pitcher in his left hand he is pouring liquid into the one in his right hand below. What is this liquid the angel is pouring? This liquid represents life, the flow of divine life. If he were to interrupt the flow, there would be no more exchange, and life would stop. As for the angel, he represents us. Yes, each one of us is this being who has the power to work with the two pitchers so that the divine world, the spirit, comes from on high to animate, exalt, and vivify our own matter. It is this descent that we are preparing when we strive to rise up through prayer and meditation. Yes, for the downward movement can only happen if it is preceded by an upward movement.
Spirit can descend only if we strive to rise up, that is to say, if we prepare the right environment for spirit to manifest through us."
(O.M. Aïvanhov)

Also see:-

Major Arcana

Tarot

Maps of Consciousness articles

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