Tarot Key 14: On Temperance & Guiding Our Inner-Wrath

I remember reading Audre Lorde's "Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism." This was my first introduction to anger as a state of being that was not only a natural part of the human spectrum of emotions, but an energy field that holds tremendous leveraging potential. 

If we are willing to apply a little creativity, we can harness our anger, using the intensity of our emotions as a springboard to acquire that which we truly desire.

Aaaand, trust me, honey! As a Scorpio Moon Child, you can be 300% certain that I know all about stubborn, fixed emotions and the seemingly uncontrollable downward spiral of destruction that can result when we don't oversee over primal human selves.  

We can't let physical feelings with that kind of strength invade and swell our subconscious. As sentient beings, our subconscious pull is highly potent (it's why advertising and marketing work so well) and why we are so vulnerable to the direction of our deep down, buried subliminal tides. 

Like a bull itching to be released into the ring, anger is bold, self-initiating energy, concentrated and compressed. Temperance, or Key 14 in the Tarot, offers us some grounded insight on how to best channel our anger. 

The fiery and sometimes impulsive leadership qualities of the 1 unite with the practical and methodical nature of the 4, calling for temperance, or, the progressive application of our anger. The key word here is self-restraint. It is recognizing our inner-wrath and tempering it, channeling the depth of our anger and setting appropriate plans to set the tone in our favor. When we are angry, one thing we have in surplus is passion (and adrenaline).  

If you've ever been tasked with the responsibility of completing a project you are less than passionate about, you're familiar with the degree to which passion acts as a catalyst to get your butt in gear and get 'er done. 

Channeling Temperance (Key 14) in the Tarot might look like consciously working with your breath as you take a brisk walk, jog or run in nature, repeating a mantra: "I am the wrath that produces the anger. I am also the wrath that controls my anger."

Remember, your anger is valuable! It means you're alive. It means you've received a message from your primal self, from your "guts." When your energy field is saturated with a force field of passion and stern anger, apply the principle of self-restraint to your feelings of wrath and you will be amazed at your level of productivity!

In Peace (& Smartly Tempered Wrath!)

Shebah