PDR: Whatever happened to Temperance?

This morning I did a reading for the upcoming day, a day I was feeling sour about because it was stuffed full of planned chores I did not want to do.
The first two cards -- Pentacles -- addressed the work-related aspects of the day. The third card, in the “Advice” position, is Temperance... or is it?

Take a closer look:

In the upper right-hand corner is the number 14. Above the image is the word “Peace.” Below the image is the word “Justice.” And along the sides of the image, there is text which reads: “I am the judgement and I am the acquittal.” Hmm. What do we have here?

What we have is one of the more idiosyncratic cards of this idiosyncratic deck. Ah, Elemental, I love you, but you are a creature unlike any other. If you had legs, you would march to a different drummer. If you were a horse, you’d be a horse of -- well, you get the idea.

So, if “Justice” and “Judgement” are written on the Temperance card, what’s on the Justice and Judgement cards? In case you’re wondering, here they are:

Now back to Card 14, the non-Temperance Temperance, my Advice for the day. A hawk-headed angel reaches down to gently comfort two grieving humans. Their tears water the ground, and give birth to flowers. The book’s input on this card reads:

Inner truth:
I need to express feelings based on what I experience in my heart rather than what would be socially expected or demanded of me.

Oh my, this exactly nails it for me. This is the transformation that’s been years in the making for me: to stop fighting my natural inclinations; to stop labeling them “lazy” or “antisocial” or what-have-you; to accept my internal resistances and gripes without trying to repress them or re-shape them.

The reference to what’s “socially expected or demanded” is specifically apt: the day’s workload was primarily the brainchild of my spouse (whose deathbed plaint will surely be, “Oh, if only I could have done more chores!”). To be at peace with my own mañana-style approach to work, without self-reproach, has been one of my challenges in our marriage.

This card served as a lovely reminder to be at peace with myself, even as I faced a day I wasn’t enthusiastic about. Am I disgruntled about having to do these chores? Yes. And that’s fine. Am I hating this job even as I do it? Yes. And that’s fine. It’s not “bad” to be disgruntled; it’s not “wrong” to feel a surge of hatred. Feelings come, feelings go. Within is the still place around which all the external hubbub manifests and dissolves. Within is peace.

And so with that reminder, I went about my day. By late afternoon, when the bulk of work was done and a final, onerous chore loomed -- welcoming visitors arriving at my house for a meeting -- I felt extraordinarily happy, and truly pleased to see them. It was a remarkable transformation from how I felt when the day began. Peace, Temperance, whatever that card #14 is -- it was valuable advice today.