The Altar of Temperance

When I built my Temperance altar, I didn’t just want it to be beautiful…I wanted it to teach me. At the hem of her dress, I placed seven flames. Seven has always been my number, but it’s also sacred across traditions. Kabbalah calls it God’s number, and many esoteric teachings hold it as holy. For me, seven is about balance, the bridge between opposites, the reminder that wholeness includes duality.

She wears a golden crown like the sun, yet she stands before the moon. Sun above, moon behind her very presence holds the dance of light and shadow. In her hands, she pours water endlessly from one to the other, a motion that has always struck me as a doorway: the link between human and divine.

I first learned this lesson years ago, studying with a Santería Babal, who taught me how the Yoruba tradition of Ifá sees manifestation: everything begins in the spirit world before it takes form in the material. That wisdom never left me. It’s echoed here in this altar…spirit flowing into matter, matter returning to spirit.

Temperance, for me, is not just a tarot card…it’s a way of living. It’s the reminder that even the simplest desires...food, sex, clothin’ carry both material and spiritual weight. Can I eat in a way that aligns with my spirit? Can I dress without causing harm? Can I honor desire while still serving the sacred? These are the questions this altar asks me every day.