Which tarot card is Sagittarius?

Why Temperance carries Sagittarius

This attribution puzzles people, because Sagittarius reads as expansive and Temperance reads as moderate. The resolution is in the word: temperance here is tempering, in the metallurgical sense - combining substances at the right proportion to make something stronger than either.

The RWS angel pours liquid between two cups with one foot on land and one in water, standing between them. Behind, a path leads to mountains with a crown of light above. That path is the Sagittarian element - the card is not static balance, it is a journey conducted by continuous adjustment.

Jupiter rules Sagittarius, and Jupiter also carries the Wheel of Fortune. Read together they describe Jupiter's two faces: the Wheel is expansion you do not control, Temperance is expansion you do. Sagittarius is the sign of the long aim, and hitting a distant target requires exactly the patient recalibration the card shows.

The difficult register

The shadow is endless adjustment that never commits, or the Sagittarian version - aiming at something so distant that no correction is ever tested.

The three Sagittarius decans and their cards

Sagittarius spans thirty degrees, divided into three decans of ten. Each has its own planetary ruler under the Chaldean order and its own pip card from the Suit of Wands — which is how a Minor Arcana card can be placed against a stretch of the calendar.

The Sagittarius court cards

Sagittarius is fire, so its court belongs to the Suit of Wands — quick, warm and impatient.