La Tempérance (14)

A naked woman with star colored hair pours out two jugs of pure water into a sky-blue pool. Behind her, a jubilant bird is perched high on a tree with its wings outstretched, ready to fly. A bright yellow star puffs confidently above her head and seven smaller stars surround it. In the distance is a mountain and in front of it is a verdant landscape dotted with small, red flowers. The woman has one foot in the pool of water and one on the swampy land. She is calm and focused.

To be “born under a star” means to have good luck. To be a star means to be famous and, hopefully, also talented. The star is the sun, or it is a bright star: one that guides ships at sea, helps plants grow, and warms all humans equally and without judgement. The sun does not ask anyone to prove anything; it is just there without fail from dawn until dusk. It is strong, trustworthy, radiant, and powerful. Because of this, the woman pictured on the card can be naked; she has nothing to hide and needs not be defensive. She is totally protected in this scene.

The woman pouring the jugs of water onto land and back into water is making two elements, earth and water, more similar to one another. She is nourishing the land and helping the small, red flowers grow. At the same time, she is stirring the water, keeping it fresh and healthy rather than stagnant and rancid. A key component here is balance: the woman is balanced on earth and water, the bird is balanced on the tree, ready to lift off, and there are eight stars balanced on the sky. Everything is in order.

Some say that this is also a card representing youth or eternal youthfulness. However, the woman does not have the carefree demeanor generally associated with this state of life. Rather what it depicts is how looking down, tending to what is below, connects you to what is above: to the bird in flight and the stars in the sky.