I pulled Temperance reversed for this month.
I pulled this card and spent a good portion of the afternoon thinking about how to share this message of integration. In the PCS image, an angel stands with one foot on land, one on water, pours the contents of two cups together at a sharp angle, and does all of these impossible things at the same time, effortlessly. She is entirely herself, the gentle master of all the elements of herself.
Then I talker with my partner, Ian, about how I was figuring out how all of my interests and skills align with my purpose here, to understand a bit about life and bring that to other people.
In our talk, I realized that balance supports the whole. You can never really separate one thing in your life from the rest. I can never really separate who I am from what I've experienced, the work I do, or my relationships with other people. The key is being able to hold space for these parts of myself, bless them, and blend them. If I can integrate the parts of myself, I can help another person integrate.
As the card right after Death, Temperance is also a wild rebirth. I had a life-changing reading with Lindsay Mack of Wild Soul Healing in January, and Temperance was the final card. I'm in tears now, realizing that it's come full circle. I've let die the old patterns and fears that held me back, and held me separate from myself. I'm ready now to live wholly from my heart, and serve with joy.
After talking with the beautiful Ian this evening, I felt like I had a new understanding of integration. I got home tonight and shuffled and asked if that changed the message for August, now that I've claimed integration as my work for the month. And Strength came up. A reminder to deal directly with my issues, hands-on, no matter what fear tells me. I am strong enough to live one true life in balance, and strong enough to help others do the same. And you, reading this, you are strong enough, too. May you be wise and wild and entirely yourself.