Mary El Tarot - Temperance

cSpaceDiva

I haven't really studied this card yet so I will probably post more later. I just wanted to say that I did a reading where the 9 of Wands and The Hermit came up right next to each other. If those two cards were merged together, it might look something like Temperance. The sea could cool the Tiger's fiery wrath and the powerful warmth of the Tiger would calm the Tsunami-like storm waves in The Hermit.
 

Akiwa

I was reading the other day about Temperance or Art as it is called in some decks, and how it moves beyond the yearning of the Lovers into the place of dissolution of opposites into the creation of something new. Just as in the Tree of Life there are seeming polarities which are then reversed over and over again. And while yes, Tigers like swimming, there is something for me about seeing the cat in water, so much a part of it and yet separate at the same time, that speaks to me of this dissolution and new creation. Also, the colors, the orange/gold of the tiger and the turquoise of the waters contrast so much... I found this card opened up Temperance for me in a good way.
 

cSpaceDiva

I was reading the other day about Temperance or Art as it is called in some decks, and how it moves beyond the yearning of the Lovers into the place of dissolution of opposites into the creation of something new.
I agree with this. Lovers to me has never been about union, it is about choice or balancing opposites that remain separate and distinct. I think it is Temperance where the opposites become truly integrated....if not completely blended and indistinguishable then at least irrevocably altered by one another.

Just as in the Tree of Life there are seeming polarities which are then reversed over and over again.
And this ties into the idea (I can't remember where I heard it) of Temperance being like tempering steel or glass, strengthening by alternately heating and cooling.
 

cSpaceDiva

I really like the idea presented in the book about moving in and out of balance, like the serpents in the caduceus crossing and separating repeatedly. This is also seen in the balance of night and day on Earth. Only twice per year, on the equinoxes, are night and day in balance. The rest of the time one or the other is dominant. If Temperance is moderation, then it is "Everything in moderation, including moderation." (Oscar Wilde).

Temperance is the blending, the maturity and wisdom one gains from disparate experiences. It is strengthening one's position by welcoming and assimilating differing points of view. I'm not sure I really understood what Blake was referring to with 'fearful symmetry', or even if I really do now, but I think it is the dark side that is necessary to balance the light. It is the loss of innocence (lamb) that comes with facing and overcoming one's fears (tiger).