14-Temperance – Upright Golden Deck

Your Chosen Card – Temperance Upright Golden Deck

When upright, the Temperance trump suggests that you are dealing with a situation involving the reconciliation of opposites within yourself. Like the alchemists of old, you are trying to convert a base metal into gold. You are called upon to act with moderation and exercise the virtue of temperance. With persistent effort you will be able to blend competing forces harmoniously to create something of greater value. The Renaissance artists who created this image were no doubt inspired by the mixing of water and wine in the Catholic Mass during which the priest prays: ‘Through the mystery of this water and wine, may we partake in the divine nature of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.’

Keywords Upright: Temperance, moderation, consecration, self-control, right proportion, healing, ability to cope, reconciliation of competing impulses, balancing different needs, discretion, mutual respect, composure, tempering, proportionality, right mixture, proper measure, resolution, union of opposites, harmonizing conflicting viewpoints, balancing contrary forces, artful combination, the golden mean, the middle way, creative resolution, artful blending of contrarieties, ability to negotiate.

Key XIV: Temperance (Temperance)
Myths/Archetypes: The Centaur. The Alchemist. The Hermaphrodite. The Transsexual. The Creator. The Temperanceist. The Healer. The Inventor. Hegel’s dialectic.
Dates of Sagittarius: 22 November–21 December (tropical); 16 December–14 January (sidereal).
Astrology: Sagittarius, the centaur archer (a Fire sign ruled by Jupiter)
Numerology: 5 (Hierophant) = 1 + 4 (Temperance)

Golden Dawn: Combined forces, action, material realization.

When Temperance is upright you can pretty much take it that life is going well but that’s when life takes us by surprise.  If Temperance is unclear it may help to choose a card from the Major Arcana to provide more insight into what it is Temperance is trying to tell you.  If you had a particular issue in  mind, or want to seek clarification on something else, you can also choose again to get more guidance.

This chosen card is part of your upright card reading for Temperance using cards from the Golden Tarot Deck. You will find many more tarot pages that will be of great help if you need tarot card meanings. Use the search at the bottom of the page. We have some amazing tarot books for you to browse. Please see below.


Here are some snippets from a few of my favorite books

Complete Book of Tarot
Book Details
Complete Book of Tarot: In the Middle Ages, theologian Thomas Aquinas used Plato’s metaphor of the charioteer to represent the cardinal virtue of Prudence, a card which seemed mysteriously absent from the major arcana of the Marseille tarot. The other cardinal virtues—Justice, Fortitude (Strength), and Temperance—each had a card devoted to them. It may be that the Chariot trump of the tarot was intended to represent Prudence, as the ideas of Aquinas were widely known at the time the tarot was created.

Tarot Books

Complete Book of Tarot: Golden Dawn: Synthesis, world, kingdom; the matter inquired about, hence what the World signifies will depend largely on the accompanying cards.

Development for Beginners: I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘silence is golden.’ Well, for the purposes of this exercise, silence is unacceptable. We are virtually never in an environment or situation that is completely and totally silent.

  • Do get in touch if you looked for Temperance and we don’t have it listed. We would be more than happy to source the information for you. We hope you visit again for more online tarot information!

Development for Beginners: I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘silence is golden.’ Well, for the purposes of this exercise, silence is unacceptable. We are virtually never in an environment or situation that is completely and totally silent.