Having made their appearance as the card of the day as recently as four days ago (read my blog post entitled ‘Balance’), Temperance returns, ushering us back to the middle path, asking us to hold space for paradox, reminding us of the balance that exists in the ”both/and” rather than absolutist “either/or” mentality.
The Angel of Temperance is referred to in alchemy as “the androgyne”. The Hermetic or Alchemical Androgyne, sometimes called Rebis or Res Bina (double-thing, two-thing) is a symbol of transcendence over the illusion of duality that was a result of the creation of the material universe (Spirit into Matter).
Through the combination or integration of opposites (fixed Sulphur and volatile Mercury) we have unification, integration, and harmony. Oneness, wholeness, balance.
Some Alchemical illustrations of the Androgyne follow:
