Thursday Night Tarot – Temperance/Hierophant

This is the fifth in a series of conversations between the Birth Card pairs and Jason C. Lotterhand, through “The Thursday Night Tarot”, (edited by Arisa Victor). The host for this series is the Fool, representing the individual taking the journey. The fifth Birth Card pair up is Temperance/Hierophant.

Fool:  Welcome to this series of conversations. Information discussed here is based on Jason C. Lotterhand’s work, as presented in “The Thursday Night Tarot”. Something to keep in mind before we enter into the following conversation is the theme for the Temperance/Hierophant duo: “Bringing balance to life, balance between freedom and adaptability, and the need for roots, security and structure within the realms of society, community, and spirit.” To my left is Temperance, to my right is the Hierophant, and to the Hierophant’s right we have Mr. Lotterhand. Thank you all for being here. Temperance, you may begin.

Temperance: I would like to thank Mr. Lotterhand and the Hierophant for being here, and the Fool for hosting this series. As we all know, Birth Cards work in pairs. However, we all carry our own identity. Through Mr. Lotterhand’s work, we hope to clarify who we are to those who carry our energy.

Mr. Lotterhand, you state that I represent the principle of guidance. What exactly does that mean?

Jason C. Lotterhand: It means that as you walk the Path, you are not alone. Your Inner Self is right there with you, acting as a Guide. The Archangel that represents our Innermost Self is the Archangel Michael.  Whenever you are lonely, commune with your Inner Self. The availability of the Inner Self as a guide is the main message of Key 14 (Temperance).

Temperance: On the Tree of Life, I go straight up the middle pillar and resolve into the High Priestess, which joins Kether (One Self) at the top. Why is this important?

Jason C. Lotterhand:  The High Priestess represents mind and memory. We need to remember at all times who we truly are, in relation to all of life.

Temperance: What is the significance of my gold background? Can we equate this with illumination?

Jason C. Lotterhand: Symbolically, gold reprents value, and is the metal of the Sun, which corresponds to light. The zodiac sign associated with Temperance is Sagittarius, the Archer. Here we see energy and idealism focused on religion, philosophy, and higher education. The path of Temperance takes an individual beyond who they are, beyond their own immediate environment, beyond separate ego and into universal mind.

Fool: Thank you, Temperance, and you, Mr. Lotterhand. Hierophant , you have the podium.

Hierophant: Thank you, Fool. I would like to thank Temperance and Mr. Lotterhand for being here, and the Fool for acting as host. You refer to me as an “inner teacher”. Can you talk a little bit about that, please.

Jason C. Lotterhand: We all need an inner teacher, and you certainly fit the bill, Hierophant. You connect us with the invisible world of spirit, which is an invaluable gift. All the guidance that we really need, that is essential to our well being, comes from our intuition. This same intuition leads us to better things in our life. Key 5 (the Hierophant) follows Key 4 (the Emperor) for a very good reason – we must exhaust our powers of reason before we can call on our intuition. Intuition then helps us through the big questions in life. Intuitive guidance brings us to wanting what we need, on both material and spiritual levels.

Hierophant: What do you mean when you say that Key 5 is the “still, small voice”?

Jason C. Lotterhand: In order to listen we need to still our mind. The voice that comes out of this stillness is the voice of intuition, the voice of our inner self.

Hierophant:  I get asked this all the time! Please tell our audience what the gesture that I am making means!

Jason C. Lotterhand: LOL I imagine that you do get asked that a lot! Your gesture is called the gesture of esotericism. This symbolizes the fact that you are teaching the mysteries.

Hierophant: Why do you call the Voice of Silence the most eloquent voice of all?

Jason C. Lotterhand: The Voice of Silence is the most eloquent voice of all because it allows you to listen. The Inner Voice never overrides reason. The intuitive ability inherent in the Hierophant brings together bits and pieces of information and shines a light on the intellectual process. In essence, intuition opens up the mind.

Hierophant: Do you have any final thoughts for our audience?

Jason C. Lotterhand: The Tarot is in essence an inner path, which emphasizes intuition. Our inner teacher is trying to help us live the best life possible. We can appreciate life only when we know what it is all about.

Please note: These are, of course, imaginary conversations. The information has been taken from “The Thursday Night Tarot”, Jason C. Lotterhand, edited by Arisa Victor, Newcastle Publishing Co. Inc, 1989. Any errors in translation are mine, and mine alone.

Images are from the Tarot Lovers Tarot (Karyn Easton, http://paranormality.com/) .

 © September 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

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Conversations Overheard – Temperance/Hierophant

I have been trying to think of ways in which I could make the Birth Card pairs come to life. I thought that it might be fun to have a Birth Card pair chatting over coffee or drinks. I was going to work with the gentlest Birth Card pair that I could find, just so the conversation would be, shall we say, a “nice, quiet one” Best laid plans, and all of that. The first two individuals that choose to speak were the ones that were the hardest for me to write about – The Devil and The Lovers. They choose to speak over drinks … fair warning! Today’s Birth Card pair are Temperance and the Hierophant. We join them as they are walking through Butchart Gardens, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Temperance takes the guise of Amelia DuBoise, a tall, slender fortyish red head. She is dressed in a peach colored silk pant suit by St. John, with pearls in her ears and a long strand of pearls around her neck. Her shoes are low heeled pumps by Bandolina in beige, and she carries a beige envelope purse by Yves Saint Laurent. The Hierophant takes the guise of Jonathon Vanders, a silver haired sixtyish gentleman, with an air of serenity surrounding him. He is wearing a cashmere sweater by Facconable, with dark gray slacks by John Varvatos, and tasseled black loafers by Salvatore Ferragamo.

Scene: Butchart Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is a  beautiful, sunny day – Amelia and Jonathon are slowly strolling around the lush grounds in quiet conversation.

“I absolutely love coming here.”, Amelia spoke, as they stopped in front of a colorful display of roses in the Rose Garden. “The seasons are all represented in stunning fashion … Mother Nature in all of her glory.”<p>

“The Butcharts were such lovely people to work with. They understood color, and how to mix flowers together for best effect. They also knew from their souls that the gardens they set up would last for many generations, and that they would be a much needed respite from the daily world.” Jonathon stood, hands in his pockets. Without saying, they both knew that not all of the people that they had worked with were of this caliber.

“Let’s walk over to the gazing ball … that is always interesting. People who take the time to gaze into it see things about themselves that they would never have known.”<p>

“Jonathon, you are so right! Set amongst the lovely flowers, the mindset is one of peace and tranquility. Just the right setting for tapping into Spirit. Each time we come here we have the opportunity to leave more information … to “freshen it up”, as it were. People think they are seeing flowers, and they smile, but the flowers are specific colors, with specific vibrations. No one leaves this area the same as when they came in.”<p>

“We need to help humanity restore its balance, to update values and beliefs, to put our spiritual base into the perspective of each chronological time. How many times have we done this!” Jonathon smiled. They had indeed done this many times, tweaking it so that it would be accepted. They both knew that this part of their work was almost finished. New times were coming, and how humanity related to Spirit, how they placed it in their lives, was going to become much more complex … or much simpler, depending on how one looked at things.<p>

As they left the gazing ball, they walked in the direction of the Fountain of the Three Sturgeons. Once there, they sat on the benches for a moment, mesmerized by the flow of the water. It was cool here, with a timeless quality to it.<p>

“Do you want to go through the Japanese Garden?” Jonathon said, as he turned to Amelia. He knew that she loved it there.<p>

“Yes, please! That is such a place of balance for me!” exclaimed Amelia.<p>

They walked over the short bridge, with its gently curving rail,  in companionable silence, taking time to look at the gentle brook that flowed underneath it.  They walked through the garden, admiring the foliage and the statuary. This was a place of statement … profound statement.<p>

“Let’s stop at the Star pond, and then head on over to the restaurant for lunch.”<p>

Jonathon looked at his watch and laughed. “Lunch? It is almost 2 pm – times flies when we visit these lovely gardens! Lunch it is! Did you know that Mr. Butchart used to keep his ducks in the Star pond?”

“You are always a font of information, Jonathon! Yes, I remember when you encouraged him to do just that. I think that you were a little surprised when it was brought together so quickly!”<p>

“In my defense, we had just started working with him at that time!”<p>

“Yes, we had. That was one of our easier assignments – the creation of Butchart Gardens. It has served its purpose well. Many have been healed by coming here, many more have been healed by working here.”

“Healed by working here … yes, that is true. Aligning with Mother Nature brings something together in the human nature. It allows room for peace, and for just “being”.”<p>

“Are we coming back for the concert and fireworks tonight?” Amelia asked.<p>

“Of course we are! I would not miss that for the world. I want to see how well the orchestra is doing (it was not easy getting them to all come together!). The pyro-technic crew – they are another story! They truly understand the work they are doing – on both a physical and a spiritual level.”<p>

The force of healing and balance, and the force of personal beliefs and traditions. Truly a gracious couple!<p>

Scans are from the “Tarot Lovers Tarot”, by Karyn Easton (www.paranormality.com).

© July 2012 Bonnie Cehovet