POSTED UNDER Tarot

A Study of the Fool’s Journey 7

July 23, 2013 by Barbara Moore 1 Comment

For an overview of and foundation for this series, see HERE

The second row has asked us to take a closer look at our beliefs and how we live them, in good times and bad. We come to terms with the idea that being good, sometimes, is its own…or only…reward. If we have done this, we have experienced Death, particularly the death of the ego. Once the ego lets go of its demands that “if we are good people, then only good things should happen to us,” we become Temperance.

Temperance is a pretty cool card. She is perfect balance and grace under pressure. She is always exactly who she is regardless of whether she is spinning on a Wheel or hanging upside down (as in the Hanged Man). In fact, she is hardly affected by the Wheel because she is the center of the Wheel. No matter how it spins, she remains stable.

No matter how awesome Temperance is, she is not the end of the journey. We must move on to the third row, the one I like to call The Descent into Darkness and Utter Destruction. It’s more fun than it sounds. Really.

Click here for the next entry in the series.

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Written by Barbara Moore
The tarot has been a part of Barbara Moore’s personal and professional lives for over a decade. In college, the tarot intrigued her with its marvelous blending of mythology, psychology, art, and history. Later, she served as the tarot specialist for Llewellyn Publications. Over the years, she has ...