Tarot card meaning · Major Arcana · XIV Temperance tarot card meaning

Temperance is the card of things mixed in the right measure, over time. Upright it means healing, patience and a relationship finding its balance. Reversed it means too much, too fast, from one side. In a yes or no reading it is a yes, slowly and in measure.

balance
healing
patience

Yes or no: Yes
Reversed: Not yet

Arcana: Major
Number: 14 (XIV)
Element: Fire
Astrology: Sagittarius

Temperance tarot card, Rider-Waite-Smith deck — Rider-Waite-Smith, 1909

Upright

Temperance upright meaning

An angel with red wings stands with one foot on the shore and one in a pool, pouring water from one gold cup into another. There is a square on the white robe with a triangle inside it, and irises grow at the water's edge. A path runs from the pool up to the mountains, where a light like a crown sits on the horizon.

The pouring is the whole card. Not a flood, not a trickle. A steady amount, back and forth, until the two cups hold the same. Upright, Temperance means something is being brought back into balance, and it is happening at its own speed. Two people learning how much to give. A wound closing. A habit cooled down.

It is not an exciting card and it does not try to be. It is the card of things that work because nobody forced them.

Reversed

Temperance reversed meaning

Reversed, the water spills. One cup gets everything and the other gets nothing. Most often it means one side of the relationship is giving far more than the other, or one person is pushing for a speed the other cannot match.

It also shows up when someone is swinging between extremes. All in one week, cold the next. Texting twenty times, then a wall.

The answer is not yet, not no. The ingredients are fine. The measure is wrong, and nothing settles until it is evened out.

Love and relationships

Temperance in love.

If you are single

Love comes in at a gentle pace this time. Someone steady rather than someone dramatic. If you are used to fireworks, it may feel like less at first. Give it a month before you decide what it is.

In a relationship

You are finding the middle. After a hard stretch, this card says things can settle if neither of you rushes the repair. Small, regular kindness does more here than one big gesture.

About an ex

About an ex, Temperance is one of the better cards to see. It says the two of you can meet halfway again, but slowly. Rushing back in usually undoes it. Letting contact rebuild a little at a time is what the card describes.

How they feel

Temperance as feelings

As feelings, Temperance means they feel calm and careful about you. Not indifferent. They are measuring, trying not to overdo it or get hurt again. The feeling is real and it is being handled gently.

What to do

Temperance as advice

Pace it. Do less than you want to, more often than you think you need to. If you have been giving everything, pull back to an amount you can keep up. If you have been giving nothing, add a little.

The question everyone asks

Does Temperance mean my ex will come back, or that he still cares?

It means there is enough between you to rebuild, and that it will happen slowly if it happens at all. Temperance does not bring someone back overnight. It brings them back in small steps: a message, a calm conversation, a second one. Push for the whole thing at once and the cups spill again.

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Yes or no

Is Temperance a yes or a no?

Yes Slowly and in measure. Mix it right and give it time.

↺ Not yet Reversed: Too much, too fast, from one side. Even it out first.

A single card answers a single question, and only if the question is narrow. If yours is about a person, I can read the whole thing for you.

Sable at her altar — Sable
Reads tarot and casts candle work by hand

In my readings

When Temperance comes up for me.

Temperance comes up a lot in readings about couples who have been apart and are circling back. The client usually wants to know when. I look at who is pouring. Nine times out of ten, one person is trying to do the whole repair alone, and the card is telling them to slow down so the other side has room to move.

That is also how I approach bringing an ex back. It is not about a sudden overwhelming pull. It is about evening out what went lopsided, softening what went hard, and letting the contact come back at a pace both people can actually hold.

If this card is about someone

One card shows a corner. I read the room.

When a card keeps coming up about the same person, the question under it is bigger than its meaning. These are the two ways I can help with it today.

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Questions

What people ask about Temperance

Is Temperance a yes or no card?

Yes, slowly and in measure. Upright it is a patient yes that needs time. Reversed it is not yet: too much is coming from one side, and it has to even out first.