In the previous cards, choices were the central theme to be understood. The Justice card had the scales, The Hanged Man had to choose between the spiritual and the material, and Death presented a contrast between death and life. Now it is time for moderation and for finding the middle ground between opposites. To be temperate is to show self-restraint. In a world where our senses can get lost from time to time in a jungle of indulgences, one must have a calm inner point where opposites can meet and everything is brought into balance. It is a state of calm deliberation. Usually, bringing opposites together results in combat, explosion and war. Bringing them together in a non-destructive way is true work and art; no wonder Aleister Crowley called this card Art. The unity of opposites is indeed the Alchemical Marriage. The trick in this card is not to stop drinking wine, but to mix it with water in the proper ratio, and the true ratio is what the figure on the card learns by pouring liquid between two chalices. The Hanged Man's choice is between spirit and ego. Temperance answers by balancing the two: the ego needs to be transcended, not destroyed. The preservation of Self and individuality is achieved through the lesson of Temperance. A single drop of water can enter the ocean and never be lost, but now it is a conscious part of the whole.
On the card
We see the return of the angel from card number six, The Lovers. In that card of duality, where he entered the scene, he was guarding the Garden of Eden, and now he makes his second appearance in a card that is all about unity and the balancing of opposites. Duality is cast aside; the curse of the knowledge of good and evil, spirit and matter, male and female, yin and yang, is overcome. We overcome the ego as we transcend the duality we learned to see in The Lovers. The angel shows fourfold symbolism: he stands with one foot in the water and the other on the earth, he has wings to fly in the air, and around his head there is a fiery glow, with a symbol of the Sun on his forehead. All four elements are present and tempered in this angel of temperance. The angel shows us that these different forces do not need to work against each other. They can be in harmony, as your body and your spirit can be. The angel holds two cups and pours water from one into the other. The act of mixing the contents may symbolize mixing water and wine, or it may refer to the proper balance of the four humours, as Robert M. Place suggests in his book "The Tarot". According to Van Rijnberk in his book "Le Tarot", the act of pouring liquid from one urn into another was taken in ancient Greece as a synonym for metempsychosis (the transmigration of souls). On his breast the angel has a triangle inside a square. The square is four and represents matter; the triangle is three, representing spirit. Thus the spirit is the animating force inside matter. The number three is also a very profound motif of this card, and it explains the art of uniting opposites. There is a thesis and an antithesis, which unite in a synthesis. In a way this is also described by the act of pouring water between two cups. The two cups are thesis and antithesis, and the water between them is the synthesis. Water is a symbol of life, so it is no wonder that the synthesis of opposites brings life, just as the union of male and female brings a child. Above the square there is something very intriguing. It looks like part of the folds of the angel's gown, but it is the Hebrew letters Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh. That is God's holy name, implying that the angel is in fact a personification of God himself. Moreover, its placement above the square implies that nature is manifested through God in the archetype of the number seven: a triangle inside a square equals seven, The Chariot card. In the background we see a long path leading towards blue mountains, similar to those in the Strength card. In the previous card, Death, the Sun vaguely resembled a crown and was just peeking over the horizon; here it is well above the horizon, implying that we are on our way to the promised land, but that we have yet to walk that long path to the mountains.
Upright
Moderation and patience, healing and unity. Do not react too emotionally to the events around you; take a deep breath, think and then act. Temperance integrates opposites by bringing together spirit and matter. Try new things while maintaining your present security.
Reversed
It indicates discord and excess. Beware of indulgence, lack of vision, loss of control, impatience, and conflicts and quarrels causing domestic strife.