One of my favorite ways to understand Temperance is in relationship with Death and the Hanged Man, using the analogy of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.
Hanged Man is the creation of the cocoon. The caterpillar suspends its caterpillar action, and finds a place to ‘rest’ in preparation for this big change. And while things look very still, underneath the surface a lot is going on.
Death is the soup stage of the process, where the body is becoming liquid and rearranging itself. (Side note: I’ve seen some decks depict Death as a butterfly, or blogs/books talk about the transformation into a butterfly with this card, and I think that’s one step too far. There’s a little spiritual bypass happening there. The wings wait til we get to Temperance. Death is the in-between, neither caterpillar nor butterfly, but still that unknown mess in the middle.)
Temperance is the emergence of the butterfly. Which is not quite as grand as you might expect. Butterflies are pretty damp and wrinkly little things when they first hatch, and they can’t fly for a while. The wings are too soft and weak. So they have to take quite a bit of time to sit and pump their wings slowly, allowing the venous structures within them to fill and give them some structure. They’re hardening and growing and getting ready for take off.
I’ve found that when people have Temperance at the heart of their readings, they’re generally pretty frustrated. They’ve been through a big change in their life (Death), and they know that on a cellular level they’re different people now, with a new spirit. They feel their wings! And yet, flight is not happening. They can’t seem to get the momentum they want in their lives, or find the ‘evidence’ of this big inner transformation on the outside.
And so, when I explain this whole thing about the butterflies having to pump their wings—which is a stage of the life cycle known as eclosion—and that that’s where they are right now-- with wings, yes, but wings that need some time and space to grow their capacity for flight-- then these folks find a lot of relief. It gives some context to their frustration, and validates the very real change they went through. NO they’re not still caterpillars.
They’re able to give themselves some grace, and that’s what Temperance really asks of us. That we give ourselves some grace. That we take the necessary time to let those wings do their thing, so that they’re strong enough to carry us. That we don’t begrudge the process. That we go slow.