The following affirmation sums up the meaning of the Trial & Temptation card: I recognize every circumstance of my life as a particular dealing of the higher self with my soul.
The figure in the picture is the higher self, which looks into the souls and hearts of people and tempers their personalities through customized experiences that usually have an adverse ring to them. This is the reason this card has the ancient epithet intelligence of probation and trial.
We encounter trials in two ways: We stumble into trials, for example, through accidents and losses, or temptations lure us into trials, like a clandestine love affair.
Tests and trials are everywhere. The universe tests chemical transformations. If the new chemical compound is stronger than the old one, it prevails. Nature tests mutations (genetic transformations). Markets test innovations. Society tests philosophies. And adversity tests mental strength.
Surely you have already experienced situations in which you didn’t know what was the right thing to do. When that happens, you want to turn to the higher self — the angel in the picture. Hence, every ordeal tests also our willingness to ask the higher self for guidance. The fact that the number of the Trial & Temptation card is fourteen shows this. Fourteen reduces to five (1+4=5), meaning 5 is the essence of 14. And 5 is the number of intuition.
The original title of this card is Temperance. This signifies the tempering of thoughts and desires through adverse experiences. Ordeals train and strengthen faculties of consciousness. The process of tempering thoughts and desires is akin to the process of turning iron ore into iron, a process that removes impurities. Ordeals remove impurities from our desires and thoughts.
The orange chalice symbolizes intelligence and thoughts, and the green vase signifies creativity and desire. The red fluid that streams from one chalice to the other symbolizes the force with which the Tempered desires and thoughts allow us to take the benevolent middle way. Mind that the middle way may not be exactly in the middle. For instance, in conservative societies, the middle way is more on the side of liberalism. We balance a boring life with occasional adventures. And we counteract a chaotic life with routines.
Sometimes, there is no foreseeable solution to challenges, and we’re trapped in an ordeal. An economic crisis is such an ordeal. Or an illness. Or grief. We have to weather such ordeals. The Germans have a saying for dealing with that kind of situation: head down and through.
An auspicious Trial & Temptation card may indicate that the higher self bestowed an ordeal on the querent. The querent should welcome this ordeal because it will lead to renewal. Renewal is the auspicious state of mind of the following Tarot card.
An auspicious Trial & Temptation card may also signify that moderation or negotiation will allow the querent to overcome her challenge.
An inauspicious Trial & Temptation card may indicate that a lack of moderation, endurance, or negotiation is the cause of the querent’s challenge. In the case of businesses, it may indicate a lack of testing and verifying products or business processes.
On the Tree of Life, the path of the Trial & Temptation card connects the spheres of the Higher Self (6’) and Energy (9’s).
The yellow halo represents the Higher Self, and the violet pool stands for Energy. As mentioned, the green chalice signifies Creativity, and the orange chalice Intelligence. The red stream between the two chalices symbolizes the exciting intelligence, the path that connects Creativity and Intelligence on the Tree of Life. The Awakening/Tower card illustrates this path. The corresponding faculty of consciousness breaks up erroneous thoughts (the falling man) and unconstructive desires (the falling woman). The higher use of the exciting intelligence is purification.
The titles and the five core meanings of the Trial & Temptation card are:
Enlightenment Tarot title: Trial & Temptation
Traditional title: Temperance
Power of consciousness: Temperance
Constructive use: Endurance
Unconstructive use: Drill
Auspicious state of mind: Verification
Inauspicious state of mind: Rejection, refutation
On the spiritual-intentional level, the Trial & Temptation card stands for spiritual trials and temptations. The yellow path is the path of enlightenment. We make progress on this path by tempering our consciousness.
On the creative-feely level, the Trial & Temptation signifies the trials and temptations creators experience during their creative pursuits, for example, distractions and creative pride.
On the intellectual level, the Trial & Temptation card represents cognitive temptations, e.g., the temptation of intrusive thoughts, as well as the temperance of intelligence through challenging experiences.
On the bodily-practical level, the Trial & Temptation card stands for the temptations that arise through the five senses, i.e., sensuality. An inauspicious Trial & Temptation card may also indicate, in particular in children, sensitivity to the following afflictions: locomotive ataxia, sciatica, rheumatism, hip diseases, and pulmonary troubles (see body zone below).
More Attributions:
Number: 14
Letter: Samekh, meaning prop, tent peg. The higher self is the tent peg of our personalities.
Astrology: Sagittarius
Color: Blue
Body zone: Hips, thighs, femur, the coccygeal and sacral vertebrae, and the sciatic nerves.