Please?

Thanks.

As you appear to be open to any insights which may come through me on your behalf, this will be a general reading.

The theme for this month's general reading is best represented by the Tarot card called Temperance. The original meaning of temperance is to drink alcohol in moderation in a socially responsible manner, but this particular card is thought to extend the message of moderation and avoiding extremes into most of the other areas of our lives as well.

What seems very confusing to most people who have this card drawn as part of their reading is that it can have one of two quite opposite interpretations when applied to any particular individual's life. Either it means that you are living a life of extreme behaviours and need to therefore heed the warning that this card is bringing with it, or you might on the other hand be too strict upon yourself, and even temperance taken to the extreme is not good. Practise moderation in all aspects of your life without becoming a fanatic about it, and trying to force or convince everyone to follow exactly the same path as your own. Teach them the value of practising moderation in their own lives by your own example, rather than preaching to them as if you had somehow discovered a new religion which says that extreme temperance is the only pathway to finding good health and fully knowing God.

These health and other fanatics to be honest can be a real pains in the behinds during social gatherings, and may soon find that rather than following their own example people will begin to avoid them like the plague. In other words in all aspects of your own life you are being advised to take better care of yourself including your physical body as best you are able, but not to constantly remind everyone around you what sacrifices you have made in order to get to this point. Try then to find a more comfortable working balance for you between taking good care of yourself but still being able to enjoy your life to the full, and keep your friends in the bargain.

One other possible alternative explanation for the picture of the angel on the face of this card (from the Rider - Waite pack) pouring liquid from one chalice into another is that two liquids such as water and wine that are not easily mixed with one another, can under certain conditions be combined to give a third liquid with very different properties from either of those from which it was made. What I believe this could be saying in addition to the main message is that, under some circumstances in our lives opposites can get on surprisingly well with each other. There is no doubt that we can each have the opposite feelings of pleasure and pain both at the same time, and experience has shown that when two individuals are in a relationship and could not be any different from one another even if they had planned it that way and mostly when true love is involved, each partner can have a complementary role to play in making the relationship work, when on paper it really should not work at all.

Do not therefore be immediately put off by someone who is very different from you as a person you could never under any conditions have a constructive relationship with, whether it might be in your personal or working life. Try to build upon the qualities that you both share, while gaining maximum advantage from your respective partner's strengths. When it comes to feelings I believe that we were designed to experience the entire range of human emotions. Consequently it is quite possible to feel happy in some ways and sad in others at the same time. You cannot fully appreciate pleasure without first experiencing suffering, and love without a certain degree of accompanying pain is a romantic ideal that only belongs in fairy tales (they lived happily ever after).

All relationships (especially our closest ones) do have some better days than others, and some days which we do not wish to be reminded about. It is also perfectly possible to love a person, but hate their behaviour. This is therefore a world of pairs of opposites (duality) which can often operate quite effectively side by side with one another, unless we ourselves confuse matters further by imposing rigid rules on the way in which either we or others  MUST ALWAYS BEHAVE or MUST ALWAYS FEEL (understood?).

Hoping that you will find these insights to be of some use and relevance in improving your own happiness and health as well.

Namaste,

eye_of_tiger