Archeon Tarot – Temperance

This card has a very mellow feel to it. With the yellow and green tones it is very calm and peaceful. There is no moon on this card, which is unusual for this deck as most cards have the moon in some stage of the lunar cycle on them. There is an angel standing between a tiger and a lamb. With the two opposing elements being the tiger and the lamb. One with such a sweet and innocent reputation and the other with such a fierce deadly predator reputation. The hunter and it’s prey. The angel in the middle of the two is naked which is unusual for a Temperance card who are usually fully clothed. The angel seems completely unfazed by this and is smiling benignly at her charges looking completely trusting and at ease with the chaos that could break out at any moment should the tiger get a bit hungry.

To me, the angel seems to have a look on both (lamb and tiger).

Lantz was brilliant in choosing a tiger instead of a lion. He was able to utilize the Lion/Lamb sybolism without actually using a lion and a lamb. He got his point across without being too Judeo-Christian about it.

Furthermore, I like the angel because it speaks to a more traditional illustration of this arcanum.

Coming from a Christian background the wild animal (here a tiger normally a lion) peacefully living together with the lamb is the symbol of better times, times of peace and harmony in with all powers will be balanced. The green is also the symbol of hope that how bad things may look for now there is always hope every cloud has its silver lining and after the rain there will be sunshine.
The yellow in the right corner makes me also think of the promise of a new “Golden age” coming towards us in our lives.

The angel and the light blue/green colouring are there to temper and balance the tiger and the lamb...

I have quite a different take on this card:
In Siberian myth there are the many stories of the Swan-Maidens.
They are the bringers of prosperity and growth for the people and every lad falls in love with one if he is ever lucky enough to meet one! > the Lovers...
She has Swan wings, wears usually the finest cloth but her body has a greeish hue = for the verdant Earth, because she is one of the daughters of the Earth Mother.....
Here I see one of the Swan Maidens deal with the Tiger, a powerful Clan guardian in many tribes and a Lamb, food for Tigers and also sign of wealth for the people. Herding sheep is one of the mainstays of our tribe (Uryanchai) and many other tribes protected by Swan Maidens....
I like to envision the scene of the card with the backdrop of one of the rich brocade and felt embroideries so prevalent in Scythian culture...

I note that the angel is stroking the tiger (taming the wild side) and looking out for the lamb. Perhaps she thinks it could be a bit more adventurous.