This season the Temperance card brings a message of the potential for mastery regarding your passions, projects, and purpose. What you are good at, get better at. Through discipline, cooperation, and persistence, great things can be accomplished. Know yourself, respect your intuition, and listen within for guidance. With a keen sense of balance, greater levels of self-realization and self-actualization are possible at this time. 

 

Temperance is a vital aspect of Alchemy -  the blending of different elements to achieve a desired effect; transforming base materials into something precious. As with cooking, an innate sense of timing and measurement are necessary, as well as knowledge of how various ingredients work together to produce the desired effect. Applying the right amount of heat is essential for preparing a meal; too much or too little can spoil the process. With metalwork, too much can make the metal too elastic and giving; too little can make it rigid and uncooperative.  In effect, useless. Heat can also be seen as the stress and pressures of life. Whatever your creative endeavors, the guidelines are the same. Stress can beneficial or detrimental, depending on how much and how often. Too little stress can lead to depression and boredom; too little can cause anxiety and illness. Just the right amount can light up the brain and improve performance and health. 

 

Do you have an idea of the inherent potential of the piece you are working on? Are you the masterpiece that is being worked on? Are you the one doing the tempering? The purpose of tempering is to aid in creation; to improve and enhance, not destroy. Temperance is all about moderation, balance, and avoiding extremes. But moderation does not mean mediocrity. And overindulgence, gluttony, excess, and overactivity do not promise satisfaction. Neither deprivation nor complete abstinence is the answer. A healthy sense of balance and moderation can bring a higher level of appreciation for the pleasures and passions of life. Gratitude for what you already have and are can curtail addictive or obsessive thoughts and behaviors in the pursuit of more, more, more. Appreciation for who you already are while visioning who you are becoming is a great way to respond to the pressures of perfectionism and external expectations. 

 

This Spring, the energy is as much about being as it is doing. There is more than one way to have your hands in the clay, creatively speaking.  It's a great time to personally understand and possibly engage the relationship between the visible and invisible worlds. Do your thing: art, cooking, whatever it may be. And own it. If you are an artist, say so. Identify as such. Claim what belongs to you, both tangible and intangible. Above all, trust your creative process; all things are working together for your good. 

© by Ajike Kendrick for Spiritry