Thanks-Receiving

Bringing in Temperance and Thanks-Receiving

“With equanimity, you can deal with situations with calm and reason while keeping your inner happiness” — Dalai Lama

On November 22nd we move from Scorpio and the Death card into Sagittarius season, whose card is Temperance.

In the Death card and Scorpio season we were called to let go of old energies to make way for spiritual growth. Sagittarius season and the Temperance card call on us to expand and receive.

Today I'm offering a ritual designed to help you receive from a state of equanimity with the Temperance card and the Ace of Cups. Use it for November's New Moon on the 23rd, Thanksgiving, the busy holiday season, or any time. A practice of equanimity is evergreen.

I think the most common association people have with the word Temperance is with the prohibition movement, but this card has nothing to do with alcohol. The word ‘temperance’ comes from the Latin ‘temperare’ which means ‘to mix’ or ‘to combine in due proportion’.

Just as a blacksmith might combine two types of metal to create a sword that is both strong and flexible, the angle in this card is combining water from two cups to create peace and equanimity.

The water flows both up and down, and the angle stands on both the land and the water. The Temperance angel is performing gravity-defying miracles, but the truth of this card is that we are all capable of receiving miracles. At all times. In every moment.

Because this is the final card in Line Two of the Major Arcana, it helps to take a look at how we got to this point.

The quest we take on in Line Two is to find out, "Who am I?"

The last three cards of Line Two are: The Hanged Man, Death, and Temperance. If we look at the story of these three cards as a parallel to the story of Jesus' crucifixion, death, and resurrection, we learn that the answer to the question, "Who am I?" is: miraculous.

The Hanged Man is like the crucifixion itself. In this place of discomfort, Jesus gains acceptance and forgiveness that he did not have before. He believes himself to be forsaken before he is crucified, and then finds forgiveness, compassion, and acceptance.

In the Death card, Jesus' body is placed in a tomb. All bodies eventually die. So does each