Temperance - Divine Collaboration
Temperance is one of my 2026 cards and is currently my favorite tarot card! Temperance represents divine collaboration, support, and timing, along with rebirth and soul expansion. When I pull Temperance, I feel a rush of soothing energy that reminds me I’m not alone and I’m on the right path.
With full trust in the rainbow, she allows it to see for her and lead the way.
Rebirth
Temperance is one of the main cards I associate with transformation. It’s the beginning of a new way of thinking, and as a result, a new way of living. We are trusting our intuition, and centering what’s meaningful and important to us. When we are able to feel and trust our intuition, we are tuning in and collaborating with our guides. Divine collaboration is needed to level up, and we are open and ready to do so!
Ruled by Sagittarius, and therefore connected to Jupiter, Temperance is very expansive energy. Sagittarians are known for being passionate about exploration, travel, and learning. This doesn’t mean just physical travel, but also traveling to new realms. Their thirst for knowledge often leads them to seek higher learning, deeper meaning, and truth. When we embody Temperance, we are embodying Sagittarius energy, and diving into meaningful work. As a Sagittarius moon, I feel at home in this energy, but sometimes it can be overwhelming. When I pull this card, I feel validated, supported, and reminded to not let the work engulf me, balance is needed.
Equilibrium
Even though we are going through a rebirth, this is not a fast moving card. It’s definitely an internal rebirth vs an external one, so external results likely won't be caught up with your internal changes. With trust in ourselves comes patience and trust in divine timing. We are slowly aligning as time passes, and learning life long lessons - both of which are too important and honestly impossible to rush through. This is the start of us being more comfortable with the unknown, and feeling safe to let go of the tight grip we have on trying to control everything around us. With this newfound trust, we start to feel a sense of equilibrium. Our nervous system starts to calm down. We feel capable of self-restraint, moving away from extremes. Our actions are intentional. This is a time of deep healing and mindfulness.
Between Death and The Devil
With Temperance following Death, I compare it to the surrendering that comes after shedding, and the support that comes after isolation. Death card work can be extremely isolating. We are looking inward, undoing harmful cycles, and rewriting our story. No matter how much support we have, it’s easy to feel alone. Temperance is the beginning of feeling understood by building a deeper connection with our guides and within ourselves that feels safe. Even though we are starting our rebirth work, there will likely be some lingering death work. The expansion happening in Temperance can be hard to feel, and we may not fully feel it until we enter The Devil.
Greek Goddess Iris
There are various interpretations of who is on the front of the Temperance card in the Rider-Waite-Smith imagery. Some interpretations say it’s Iris, Greek Goddess of the rainbow. I learned this during the first of many synchronistic events, leading me to work with Iris! Iris is a big inspiration for the drawing I made for this card. She was known as a divine messenger, and symbolizes the bridge between realms.
For anyone interested, here is a tangent about the “trail of cosmic breadcrumbs” that led me to working with Iris. Early December I decided I wanted Temperance to be the next tarot card I made. The next morning, I decided to try a new podcast on my drive to work and picked the most recent episode. It was episode 159 of The Witch Wave by Pam Grossman, and they happened to talk about Temperance for a significant portion of the episode! It was in this episode I discovered Iris. I had been wanting to work with a deity, but had yet to find one who seemed like they were meant for me - until a few weeks before this when I decided I wanted to channel Magician energy this year, and landed on Hermes! Iris being the Goddess of the rainbow intrigued me, and I really wanted to work with her too, but didn’t know if I should.
A few weeks went by and I still had not decided. Then one day I found out the creator of my favorite tarot deck, Divina by Mary Evans, has an Iris oracle deck! I thought this seemed like a sign, and asked my friend her opinion. She said if I got a third sign, to definitely work with Iris. Eager for a third sign, I looked up Iris, and found out she was a divine messenger, just like Hermes. I took this as my third sign, but for some reason still wasn’t fully convinced - I was putting way too much pressure on this. When I got home that day I did my daily tarot reading, pulled the 10 of cups reversed, and did not connect it to Iris at all. A couple days later I finally convinced myself to buy shelves for an altar, along with Mary Evans’ Iris oracle deck. I had recently started Pam Grossman’s book Magic Maker, and had been listening to it on my drives. On my drive home from work that day, the next chapter happened to be about how to create an altar! If that wasn’t crazy enough, in that chapter she also said two of the deities she works with are Hermes and Iris! Fully convinced, I did my daily tarot pull, and called in Hermes and Iris for the first time. I pulled 10 of cups reversed again. This time it clicked for me - the definition I have for 10 of cups is to look at the rainbows of the moment - a sign from Iris! With it being reversed, I took it to mean that I haven’t been looking at the signs she’s sending me. Now I’m making sure to look, and a few days later I pulled 10 of cups again, but this time right side up!
Working with Temperance
This article is mainly referring to what it feels like to embody Temperance energy. When you pull this card, it can mean many different things. It can mean you’re in Temperance energy, or it could be a sign from your guides. Either that they’re with you, or that they want to work with you, but you need to open up to their assistance. It can also be referring to the need for patience and trusting in divine timing.
What matters most in deciphering what this card means for you is how you feel when you pull it, but here are some rough guidelines. If you pull Temperance right side up, it’s likely that you’re in Temperance energy. If it’s reversed, it’s likely that you need to open up more to Temperance energy. I use this as a rough guideline for a lot of cards!
Tarot pull / journal prompt suggestion to work with Temperance: How can I open up to divine collaboration?
Explore what’s right for you! For me, I feel Temperance energy come through during tarot, writing, art, meditation, yoga, and soon, tending to my altar. Anything that has you feeling a deeper connection with yourself and your guides!