Tarot Book of Temperance: Tarot Major Arcana, #1

By Taylore Fey

One of the most enigmatic and complex cards in the tarot deck, Temperance is an emblem of transformation. If you're drawn to the Temperance card, then you're already on a journey of discovery, as this card embodies the quest for worldly self-mastery and spiritual growth.


In this book, we'll delve into the secrets of the Temperance tarot card, exploring the symbols of this iconic image, its connection to other spiritual traditions like alchemy, Kaballah and Hermeticism, and touch upon its role in the greater tapestry of the major arcana through the archetypal hero's journey.

 

Whether you're a seasoned tarot reader or just starting out on your journey, this book will deepen your understanding of this powerful card.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Taylore Fey
• Release date: Apr 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9781988904306

Taylore Fey

Taylore Fey is a professional tarot reader with over ten years experience teaching tarot workshops and giving tarot classes. In her "Tarot Book of Temperance" she has focused solely on one card in the tarot deck in order to give it the time and space it deserves. As each of the twenty-two cards of the major arcana are worthy of the same study and attention, this volume is but the first in a series. To send questions or comments, contact her at: [e-mail]

Book preview

1: RAINBOW GODDESS IRIS

The Temperance card is traditionally seen either as Iris, the Greek goddess of the Rainbow or as Archangel Michael. In this chapter, we’ll open with an in-depth look at Temperance as Iris. To begin, the name Iris literally means rainbow in Greek, and this is one of the central keys in understanding the Temperance card.

Arthur Waite instructed the artist of his deck to paint the Temperance card with Iris flowers to signal the presence of the rainbow goddess, but to leave out the rainbow. This was in order to keep hidden the deeper meaning of the card. And the key meaning of the rainbow is as a visual symbol of the bridge between our physical and our spiritual selves, between the ground below us and the clouds above. The rainbow itself, with its compelling appearance in the daytime sky, calls on us to see our lives from a different perspective, from a perspective above and beyond our daily cares and troubles.

The rainbow itself is essentially an optical illusion caused by the refraction and reflection of light through water droplets in the air. This highlights the angel’s link with the natural world and the elements of light and water essential in the formation of rainbows.

The most common associations with rainbows are hope, good luck or the end of difficulties, because rainbows appear after a storm, when the sun starts to peek through the clouds, a sign that clear skies lie ahead. For the same reason, rainbows represent fresh starts and new beginnings. They can remind us that even after the darkest times, there’s always the possibility of renewal and growth.

In Greek mythology, Iris was the daughter of the Titan Thaumas and the Oceanid Electra. She was known as much for her kind nature as for her speed and agility, and was often called upon by the other gods to deliver messages and perform tasks. Like the Greek messenger god Hermes (who is The Magician card in Tarot), she could travel freely between the world of the gods and the world of mortals, using the rainbow as a pathway to travel down from Mount Olympus to the Earth and the Underworld.

Iris, specifically, was a messenger who served the Olympian Zeus and his wife Hera, sliding down her rainbow carrying messages between the gods and mortals. This role as messenger links Iris with communication, which is a core attribute of our Temperance angel, who makes herself available to answer questions to all those who ask.

Angels, in literature, in art, and for those who know them as real, reside in the heavens. So let’s now take a look at what it could mean that in the fourteenth arcanum this angel has set herself upon the earth, one bare foot on the land, her other in the water.

We know she is in control of forces beyond the earthly realm in her ability to pour water from one chalice to another in a diagonal stream that defies gravity. But why has she come down to earth and what is she trying to convey by pouring liquid from one vase to another? Not to mention, why is one foot in the water and the other on the earth? These are the first questions that must arise when we consider this strange confluence of elements in the Temperance card.

So let’s begin with the big picture. Why has an angel come down to earth? And what is her message now that she’s here?

We must assume the rainbow goddess Iris has a message for us, because that’s her role as a messenger of the gods. In the Rider-Waite deck, the goddess Iris is alluded to in the iris flowers that grow at her feet. In The Mythic Tarot deck the imagery of the rainbow goddess Iris is even more clear, as a rainbow arcs over her head.

The rainbow as a multi-colored bridge made of water and light has been a symbol of promise and hope since biblical times, when God used the rainbow as a promise to Noah never to flood the earth again. It acts as a sign of good luck in Celtic folklore, where a pot of gold sits at the end of every rainbow. Yet, it’s also seen as a sign of death as the rainbow acts as a bridge to the afterlife.

Too, the rainbow is a sign of impermanence, as it’s a beautiful yet ephemeral whisp of color that mirrors the transience of life itself. The key element however, is that rainbows are a bridge between humans and gods and can link the heavens, earth and the land of the dead.

In this way, Iris is associated with the liminal, that state of being between realms, which is often related to transitional periods in life like adolescence or the time between life and death. Here we have yet another link to Archangel Michael, who weighs the souls of the dead before carrying believers to heaven, which could be seen as a liminal period.

In The Mythic Tarot companion book to the deck, Juliet Sharman-Burke focuses on the role of Temperance as reflecting our emotional life and relationships. The symbols of water and the cups affirm this, with the cups representing the entire minor arcana suit of Cups, which is the suit of emotions and human relationships, not to mention water itself being equated with our inner emotional life. The flowing water between the two cups of Temperance reflects the idea of letting our relationships and emotions flow harmoniously.

Another fascinating element to the Temperance card as it relates to the rainbow goddess Iris and thus to rainbows is related to the seven colors of the rainbow, specifically to the number seven. This number is a symbol in and of itself that mirrors many of the themes in Temperance, from spirituality to alchemy.

First off, the number seven is made up of the union of three (symbolizing spirit) and four (symbolizing earth). This may lie at the heart of why seven is such a powerful and significant number in so many religious and spiritual traditions. For instance:

In the Bible, God rested on the seventh day and is said to have created the world in 7 days.