Temperance

Temperance is the fourteenth card in the Major Arcana, numbered as card XIV. It features a two-headed giraffe. One giraffe is eating healthy leaves, the other is eating poison, to symbolize two extremes.

Keywords

 * balance
 * restraint

Booklet Text
Temperance is balance. You have total control over it. And it applies to everything. The keywords here are Balance and Restraint. You’ve got to find balance in your life. There are extremes in everything. You will need to practice the art of self-control. Act in moderation. Being able to restrain yourself from excess in any form. Tempering yourself to avoid overcorrection, which leads to the pendulum effect. It is one of the four Cardinal Virtues because it is believed that no virtue could be sustained in the face of inability to control oneself. All vices are overcome with Temperance, which makes this such an important virtue to embody. Self-control is the only way to keep our demons in check. Another component of temperance is patience.

Adjacent Cards

 * Death
 * The Devil