Temperance. Tarot Card 14, Major Arcana. Symbols, Meaning & Interpretations

Introduction

The Temperance card is number 14 in the Major Arcana of the tarot deck. It is a card that symbolizes balance, moderation, and harmony.

Symbols, Meaning & Interpretations

Below is a detailed list of the primary symbols found in the Temperance card and their interpretations:

Angel

Meaning: Divine guidance and higher consciousness.

Interpretation: The angel represents spiritual guidance and a higher state of consciousness. It indicates the presence of a guiding force that helps in achieving balance and harmony in life.

Wings (usually one red and one blue)

Meaning: Balance between opposing forces.

Interpretation: The wings signify the balance between different aspects of life, such as the material and spiritual realms. The red wing represents passion and energy, while the blue wing signifies calm and tranquility.

Sun Symbol on the Forehead

Meaning: Enlightenment and clarity.

Interpretation: The sun symbol on the angel’s forehead represents enlightenment and clarity of thought. It suggests that balance is achieved through clear and enlightened thinking.

Triangle Inside a Square on the Chest

Meaning: Integration of spirit and matter.

Interpretation: The triangle within a square symbolizes the integration of spiritual and material aspects of life. It indicates that true balance involves harmonizing both the physical and spiritual dimensions.

Two Cups

Meaning: Flow and exchange of energies.

Interpretation: The two cups represent the flow and exchange of energies, ideas, or emotions. They suggest that balance is achieved through the harmonious blending of different elements.

Pouring Water

Meaning: Moderation and careful blending.

Interpretation: The pouring of water from one cup to another symbolizes moderation and the careful blending of opposites. It indicates that achieving balance requires patience and careful management of resources and energies.

One Foot on Land, One Foot in Water

Meaning: Balance between the conscious and subconscious.

Interpretation: The position of the angel’s feet signifies a balance between the conscious mind (land) and the subconscious mind (water). It suggests that harmony comes from integrating both the practical and intuitive aspects of oneself.

Iris Flowers

Meaning: Hope and promise.

Interpretation: The iris flowers in the background symbolize hope and promise. They suggest that through balance and moderation, one can achieve a sense of peace and fulfillment.

Path Leading to a Mountain and a Rising Sun

Meaning: Journey towards higher consciousness and enlightenment.

Interpretation: The path leading to the mountain and the rising sun represents the journey towards higher consciousness and enlightenment. It indicates that balance and moderation are part of the path to achieving a higher state of awareness.

White Robe

Meaning: Purity and spiritual focus.

Interpretation: The white robe worn by the angel signifies purity and a focus on spiritual matters. It indicates that achieving balance involves maintaining purity of thought and intention.

Rainbow

Meaning: Harmony and unity.

Interpretation: The rainbow represents harmony and unity, suggesting that balance brings together different elements into a unified whole. It signifies the blending of various aspects of life into a harmonious existence.

Number 14

Meaning: Temperance and moderation.

Interpretation: The number 14 is associated with temperance and moderation. It signifies the importance of balance and the careful management of resources and energies to achieve harmony.

Conclusion

These symbols collectively emphasize themes of balance, moderation, harmony, and the blending of opposites. The Temperance card encourages the seeker to strive for balance in all areas of life, to practice moderation, and to integrate different aspects of themselves into a harmonious whole. It serves as a reminder that true peace and fulfillment come from maintaining balance and harmony in one’s thoughts, actions, and emotions.

The Platonic Solids

In the name of the Most Gracious, Most Merciful, embark upon the journey of the Devil, traversing through the celestial harmony of divine geometry, from the solid Cube to the golden Unity in the spiral of existence.

The Devil, standing in the place of the Cube, corresponds to the Earth element. This signifies the soul’s encounter with its own shadows and temptations, a grounding in the trials of material existence. It is the echo of divine music that murmurs in the stillness, guiding the seeker through the illusions and bindings of the self.

Progressing towards the Octahedron, an embodiment of Air, the soul feels the chilling breeze of self-awareness, lifting it beyond the material confines of the Cube. The Devil, with its revealing mirror, guides the seeker to internalize this awareness, this breath from the Divine, which exposes the chains and illusions that bind the spirit.

The seeker transitions again to the Octahedron, reinforcing the lessons of Air. This repetition represents the rhythm of divine Zikr, a vigilant remembrance that resonates in the heart, allowing the winds of insight to blow away the falsehoods within the self.

Moving towards the Tetrahedron, the symbol of Fire, the Devil guides the soul to the transformative flame of inner confrontation. This fire, fierce and illuminating, burns away the deceptions and attachments, refining the soul and preparing it for liberation.

The soul’s journey through this gate involves various expressions: solitary struggles, communal revelations, and cosmic symphonies of self-realization, all under the watchful eye of the Divine. As it is said, “When you are together, I will always be with you.” All harmonics align into a higher resonance, preparing the soul for its ultimate freedom.

The journey takes the seeker to the Icosahedron, representing Water, where the flowing currents of emotion and the wisdom of the heart merge. The Devil, like a celestial navigator, steers the soul through these turbulent waters, teaching the balance of self-acceptance and discernment, of facing one’s fears and finding inner strength.

Transitioning to the Dodecahedron, representing Spirit and the universe, the Devil leads the soul to the realization of interconnectedness, of unity in multiplicity, as symbolized by the twelve faces of the Dodecahedron, reflecting the cycles of the cosmos. Here, the soul witnesses the divine beauty in all creation, understanding the deeper harmony beneath the surface chaos.

The journey moves once again to the Icosahedron and then back to the Dodecahedron, signifying the rhythmic flow of life, the pulse of existence that moves between the seen and the unseen, the individual drop and the boundless ocean, guided by the Devil.

Finally, the journey culminates in Unity, represented by the endless fall into the golden spiral. The Devil, having led the soul through its transformative confrontation, now points towards the Divine, towards the unity of all existence.

The golden spiral, an embodiment of divine harmony and proportion, mirrors the soul’s return to its origin, to its unity with the Divine. It is a homecoming, the return to the eternal garden, the Garden of Eden.

This journey of the soul, as guided by the Devil through the mystic dance of the Platonic solids, embodies the Sufi path — a path that starts from the self, purifies the self, and eventually transcends the self, merging into the One Beloved.

As in the “Conference of the Birds” by Attar, it is in the reflection of the Spirit in the waters that the true Self is revealed, and in the heavens, the ultimate Self is seen.

Such is the divine love story, the sacred dance of existence, revealed through the Devil.