Temperance Tarot Card: Meaning of Arcanum XIIII (XIV)

In brief: number, names and keywords

Temperance is the fourteenth card: XIIII in Marseille (old-style spelling), XIV in Rider-Waite. The name does not change. It comes just after the card of Death and before the Devil: a moment of calm between two intense cards.

Temperance comes from the Latin temperare, “to mix in the right proportions”: the gesture of diluting wine with water to make it drinkable. In the Middle Ages, it was one of the four cardinal virtues (with prudence, justice and fortitude).

Keywords: harmony, measure, flow, patience, adjustment, moderation.

The image in the Marseille tarot

In Marseille, a winged figure, often considered to be an angel with a feminine appearance, pours the contents of one vessel into another. The liquid passes from one jug to the other: one is held high, the other low. The two jugs are of different colours depending on the edition, often blue and red.

The figure wears a robe in bold colours, has wings on the back, and sometimes wears with a band decorated with a small flower or ornament. The ground is plain and a few blades of grass grow. The liquid forms a continuous thread between the two vessels: an image of an exchange that does not stop.

The image in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck

In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, a large angel with outspread wings stands with its feet on the border of water and earth: one foot in a pond, the other on pebbles. It pours a liquid from one cup into the other in a continuous arc. On its forehead shines a solar disc; on its chest, a triangle within a square.

Irises grow near the water. In the background, a winding path climbs toward mountains, above which a golden light shines in the shape of a crown. The scene is peaceful: everything happens gently, without visible effort.

Symbolism of the elements in the image

These are the details that come up most often in traditional readings. They are paths for interpretation, not official definitions.

• The two vases or cups: two realities (body and mind, reason and emotion, action and rest) that are brought into relation.
• The liquid that passes: circulation: energy does not freeze, it flows and adjusts.
• One foot in the water, one on the earth (Waite): holding together the inner world and the material world.
• The wings: a presence that links above and below.
• The path to the mountain (Waite): a distant but reachable goal, step by step.
• The irises: flowers associated with Iris, messenger of the gods in Greek mythology, and with the rainbow: the links between worlds.

Upright meaning

Upright, Temperance traditionally evokes the balance found through careful proportion: adjusting, softening, mixing what needs to be mixed. It speaks of patience, moderation, the art of the right measure, and a smooth flow between areas of life. It often appears as a card of calm after an intense period.

In a spread, it invites you to ask what needs to be added or removed for the situation to become harmonious. It may also speak of reconciliation, a successful compromise, a gentler pace of life, or health in the sense of everyday balance (with no medical value).

Reversed: two schools of reading

School 1: the opposite. Reversed, Temperance speaks of imbalance, excess, badly judged proportions, impatience, or, on the contrary, excessive lukewarmness.

School 2: a blockage. The flow is slowed: one cannot find the right rhythm or reconcile two demands. The card invites you to adjust one setting at a time. Several tarot readers, moreover, only read the upright cards.

In everyday areas of reading

The tarot does not say what will happen: it offers images to reflect on. Here, in symbolic terms, is what this card may evoke depending on the theme of your question.

• Personal reflection: balance in life, rhythm, patience with oneself. Possible question: what in your daily life would benefit from a different balance?
• Relationships: compromise, mutual listening, reconciliation, calm after tension. The card evokes the art of adjusting to the other without denying oneself.
• Work: harmonious collaboration, versatility, the long term. Symbolically, a well-balanced blend rather than a quick success.
• Money: balanced management, moderation of spending, patience. It predicts nothing and does not replace the opinion of a financial adviser.

Combinations with neighbouring cards

A card is rarely read on its own: its neighbours shade its meaning. Here are some common pairings, to be taken as starting points.

• The Nameless Arcanum: ending and calm: after the passage, finding balance again.
• The Devil: measure and excess: seeing where the proportions have slipped and gently restoring them.
• Justice: two virtues of balance: one weighs, the other measures out.
• The Star: calm and confidence: the gentleness that repairs.
• Strength: patience and gentleness: two virtues that work without violence.

To learn how to combine cards, try the three-card spread. To place this card among the 22 major arcana, see our guide to the major arcana.

Keyword of the day, question and practice

Keyword of the day: Measure. For the day, find one area where you do too much or too little, and adjust it by one notch, no more.

Question to ask yourself: What in your daily life would benefit from a different balance?

Writing (10 minutes). Write two lists: what you do in excess, what you do too little. Circle one item from each list and note how to rebalance them gently this week.

Short meditation. Breathe while counting: inhale for four counts, exhale for four counts. Imagine a thread of water passing from one hand to the other with each breath. Five minutes is enough.

History and variants of the card

Temperance is one of the four cardinal virtues, with Prudence, Justice and Strength, which come from Greek philosophy (Plato, Aristotle) and were then taken up by medieval Christian thought. In the Italian tarots of the 15th century, it is represented by a woman who pours a liquid from one cup into another.

In Marseille, the card becomes an angel (or winged figure) that pours from one jug into another, without it being clear what the liquid is. Waite and Smith placed it at the junction of water and earth, adding symbols from the Golden Dawn, which links it to Sagittarius and to the Hebrew letter Samekh (“the support”).

Variants: some decks show two jugs of different colours; others replace the angel with a woman. The central idea remains the same: a mixture that flows and comes into balance.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to The 22 Major Arcana, card by card.