Illustrating Temperance
I am completely confused by the Temperance card. Is an angel going to come visit me? Am I supposed to drink more water (probably)?
Examples from other tarot artists
Traditionally, this card is illustrated with a divine-yet-earthly angel, with one foot on land and the other in a stream. The angel is passing water back and forth from one goblet to another.
It’s a cool card, but I never really understood it or could relate it to my own life.
Temperance cards from my collection of tarot decks; see footnotes for artist credits.
What the f*** is temperance, anyway?
Me waiting for a slice of pizza on a very cold night in Portland.
I really didn’t know. I had to look up the word in an actual dictionary!
Temperance refers to the quality of moderation or self-restraint. Historically, temperance has referred to movements to reduce or ban alcohol from communities, but this modern definition rings true to me.
Whatever temperance was, I knew I didn’t have it. Especially when it comes to foods I love.
There is a scene in the movie Chocolat (2000) where all the main characters indulge in a backyard feast of everything chocolate. It was this scene that jumped into my mind when I thought about my own version of temperance.
I wanted to show someone enjoying their favorite foods, slowly and mindfully, really savoring every bite. It is also an homage to one of the first meditations my own therapist introduced me to years ago, called “mindfulness with chocolate.”
It was easy to come up with a list of all the foods I find difficult to resist (don’t judge, I am from Ohio!) They are, in no particular order:
Pepperoni pizza with mushrooms and black olives
Dark chocolate
Chocolate peanut butter ice cream
Macaroni and cheese
Bacon and eggs (preferably with shredded hash browns, not pictured)
Pretzels (anything crunchy and salty, but pretzels are easy to draw!)
A sub sandwich, specifically a Jersey Mike’s #7.
So that’s how I came up with the idea for my Temperance card. In my illustration, our main character is enjoying a large piece of chocolate mindfully in the present moment, even with all these delicious foods all around her.
My sketch of the Temperance card, inspired by all the foods I can’t resist eating.
Ink pen and colored pencils on paper.
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The final illustration
Below is my final illustration for the Temperance card. I am really proud of how it has the same feeling of my original sketch! It took many hours to draw, paint, and digitize this illustration. But it was worth it for the final result.
A note about the Roman numerals in my deck: YES I designed the Roman numerals myself! I drew them by hand using Procreate, Apple Pencil and iPad Pro.
Available for licensing upon request. ;)
The Temperance card illustration from my forthcoming Tarot of These Times deck, anticipated 2026.
© Registered copyright Molly Chidsey, all rights reserved.
Next up: The Tower🌪️
The next card in the Major Arcana I am illustrating is The Tower.
What do you think of this card?
Leave me a comment below
I read every comment, and I love to hear from you!
Footnotes
Materials notes from this post
Blick Hot Press 100% cotton watercolor paper; EcoLine liquid watercolor paint and brush pens; Winsor & Newton masking fluid. I use an Epson Workforce Pro printer to print my drawings onto watercolor paper, using their water-resistant Durabrite ink.
Artists of other tarot cards featured in this post
Clockwise from top left: Rider-Waite Tarot, illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith; Modern Witch Tarot Deck by Lisa Sterle; The Wild Unknown Tarot by Kim Krans; The Gentle Tarot by Mari in the Sky; Rainbow Heart Tarot by Rachel Rosenkoetter; and The Reclaimed Tarot, ReClaim it! PDX, collage by Austen Rogers.
Learn about tarot
Want to learn more about tarot? I highly recommend the book Modern Tarot: Connecting with Your Higher Self through the Wisdom of the Cards by Michelle Tea.
A note about Ai and this project
I do not use Ai (artificial intelligence) to write any of the content for this blog, my other blog Behind the Scenes, or this website.
