Temperance as Who Am I?

Laurelle said:

Because you probably fought for religious freedoms, you have a high sense of justice. You want to defend the weak. You stand up for what is right.

You are one drop of the whole (just like all of us).

Edit: Do you have a lot of contact with higher spirits: Angels? Goldened Bodied people? Dreams?

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Lucas Prince of Cats said:

Temperence represents a profencienal at balancing opposit, polar, or opposing forces, and keeping in balance.

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AllMadHere said:

I started really looking into my astrological chart today, and finding balance seems to be a theme...

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Lucas Prince of Cats said:

Well, balance is exactly what that card means, but I should mention that it also has to do with balance of the EMOTION. Emotional balance, rather than how sometimes justice represnts balance of thoughts. I got this as my overall situation for a chakra spread, and the spread said that my heart chakra was doing great!

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AllMadHere said:

I used the Reed & Cannon Witches Tarot for a spread the other day. For the question of "Who am I?" I drew Temperance. When I asked this, I meant "Who am I as my higher self?" The big who-am-I.

The book interpretation says "Emotion and energy added to logic and mind. A hunch can be an answer. Querent will receive energy and inspiration. Creativity added to reason. The numbers eighty and eight hundred." The card shows a woman standing over a cauldron, holding a torch (Fire) and a blue carafe (Water?). A lion for Earth, an eagle for Air, and a shining star on the woman's forehead for Spirit? The sun and moon are on the left and right, behind her.

My first impression says she's harnessing all 5 elements. She looks calm and confident, like she's been doing this for a long time. I'm thinking she's a witch, but having difficulty applying to who I am as a soul. The soul of a witch? Perhaps. Is anyone getting anything different or in addition to this?

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LRichard said:

What an appropriate card for your question! The woman is the higher self (often identified with the Holy Guardian Angel in occult usage). She is synthesizing opposites: fire and water (male and female, active and passive, projective and receptive, conscious and subconscious, spirit and matter), which is one interpretation of the Great Work of Alchemy: the union of opposites within one's psyche to produce wholeness/enlightenment, which ultimately results in identification with the higher self.

Le Mat (The Madman)

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LeFou said:

Temperance is usually depicting alchemy, so in your deck, she's "combining opposites" like fire and water to create the magical quintessence, the hidden and mysterious element which is so rare and powerful that it likewise transforms whatever it touches into its highest potential.

As for "who am I," in some traditions, the primary illusion that we need to overcome is the idea of a self. Just like there's not really any discrete boundary between the (let's say) what lives in the soil, the roots, the trunk, the branches, the leaves and the birds who live in the tree. It's all one "super-organism" interconnected.

Similarly, in alchemy, the idea that everything is "disconnected" is overcome by the mysterious experience that everything is one, both we and everything in the world are participating in a sort of experiment where the Universe becomes aware of itself, through us.

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AllMadHere said:

I used the Reed & Cannon Witches Tarot for a spread the other day. For the question of "Who am I?" I drew Temperance. When I asked this, I meant "Who am I as my higher self?" The big who-am-I.
. . . .
My first impression says she's harnessing all 5 elements. She looks calm and confident, like she's been doing this for a long time. I'm thinking she's a witch, but having difficulty applying to who I am as a soul. The soul of a witch?

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Teheuti said:

If you are serious about delving into what this card is saying to you, then it's the perfect opportunity to take the reading to another level. I recommend dialoging with the figure on this card.

Take a pen and paper (or keyboard if you prefer) and instigate a conversation between the figure on the card and yourself. Give each voice it's own line and an identifying mark
Temp:____
Me: _____
Temp: ____

You can start by asking "Who are you?" or "Who am I?" Think of the first thing the Temperance figure might answer - no matter how silly (in fact, silly is best for breaking the ice and getting started). You want to write fast without thinking about what you are going to write first. Go back and forth: questions, answers, comments, observations, feelings. The Temperance figure may even ask you questions! Answer them. Ask the angel what the different things on the card are for.

I recommend a timed writing of at least 12 minutes (preferrably 20 minutes). You may feel you are finished before the time is up but if you push yourself to continue dialoguing usually the best stuff comes just after you thought it was best to stop (it's an inner resistance to getting to a deeper truth).

If you decide to try it - let us know how it goes.

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