Christiana Gaudet

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Temperance, Tarot and the New Year

I did a one-card reading for my relationship with tarot in 2013 and got my favorite card, Temperance. This told me a lot about my work as a tarot reader, and also my ability to nurture other creative tarot-related ventures like my internet TV show "Christiana's Psychic Café" as well as designing new classes and writing new blogs and new books.

For me, Temperance is about emotional health - finding the right blend to make life work. It's about the patience and caution required to create one's life to one's satisfaction. In a tarot reading I like to help people do exactly that.

Over the past few years I have been slowly adopting a new business model - one that allows me to read for more people but still allows me time to write, teach and be creative with tarot.

For all that Temperance is about emotional health it is also about creativity. Sometimes I think our mental health is dependent on our ability to nurture our creativity.

While many modern tarotists simply see Temperance as a card of balance, it is traditionally the card of alchemy - the ability to create something greater than its ingredients - the ability to transform one thing into another.

Tarot has been so transformative in my own life over the years. It is my goal to help others find the transformative power of tarot whether through having readings, studying tarot, performing readings or simply using tarot as a tool for guidance.

Other traditional keywords for Temperance are Art and Time.  These are two of the ingredients we all need to put into the mix when we are seeking our own perfect blend.

A funny thought occurred to me when I pulled this card today.  I thought about those two keywords, Time and Art, and said "I need to make sure I make time for art!" I have never used that specific interpretation for Temperance before, but it surely makes sense. I'll be thinking about that the next time Temperance comes up in a reading!

Another keyword for Temperance is patience. When we have patience with tarot over a long period of time the cards will begin to reveal new meanings and deeper secrets, just as Temperance did for me today.