1. Tarot
2. Card meanings
3. Temperance

Major Arcana · XIV

Temperance

• economy
• moderation
• management
• accommodation

Upright meaning

Moderation and balance. Waite lists economy, moderation and management: blending opposites patiently, one foot on land and one in water.

Reversed meaning

Reversed, Waite notes disunion and unfortunate combinations. A prompt to look at what is out of proportion.

• disunion

Symbolism

A winged figure pours from one cup into another, one foot on the earth and one in the water.

Group

Major Arcana

Element, astrology

Not given by Waite, so we give none

Source

Our own plain-English summary of A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1911), Part II §2 (symbolism); Part III §3 (divinatory meanings). The keywords are Waite’s own words. Waite’s fortune-telling lists also contain harsher terms; we keep to the reflective readings he gives and never state an event as certain.

Tarot is a tool for reflection, not a prediction of fixed outcomes. This is not medical, legal or financial advice.