Temperance

Upright

The transition out of the human septenary, and Nun's hieroglyph is fruit — that which is produced and carried forward. Papus's Temperance is combination: two vessels and the exchange between them, which is the entire operation of the card. Not moderation as restraint, but the correct proportioning of two things so that a third becomes possible. It is the last human term, and what it hands over is a mixture rather than a result.

Reversed

The proportion wrong — too much of one vessel, or the two kept apart so that nothing is produced at all. Reversed also covers the endless adjusting that never allows a thing to be finished: the pouring back and forth become the activity, with no third thing ever intended.

Correspondences

Papus's number

14

Hebrew letter

Nun (נ)

Hieroglyph

A fruit — that which is produced and carried

Septenary

Second septenary (8–14), the world of Man — seventh and transitional term, carrying the human series over into the world of Nature

Divinatory sense

Temperance; combination

In a Spread

At the commencement, the matter begins as a mixture of two things that were previously separate. In opposition, something that will not combine, and forcing it will spoil both. At equilibrium Temperance is the position it suits best: the situation works because two forces are being held in the right ratio. As the result: a synthesis, which is a transition and will hand on again.