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ACD - XIV. Temperance - Iroh

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Number Fourteen, Temperance.

Uncle Iroh is a much beloved character for me. His insight, wisdom, and kindness were heartwarming and touching, while his humorous additions always made me laugh and his quiet sorrow made me weep. For a character so balanced and wise, I needed a card that could live up to his example.

I believe I found that card in XIV. Temperance, which is about guidance, experimentation, and, above all, balance.

The background is from the first episode of book two, where Zuko is betrayed by Azula and he cuts ties with his family, removing his hair and tossing it into the river. Iroh does the same without a word, something that speaks of the kind of person he is and how much he cares for Zuko. The red of the trees behind them also served to contrast the green of the Tea Shop attire, introducing the first of many polarities I have snuck into this card. Green is the color of the Empress, while red is the color of the Emperor. Eros and Logos, opposite halves of one whole.

Another set of opposites is represented by the designs for each tea pot. The one containing water has the white lotus, symbolizing the spirit, and the one containing fire has the pink lotus tile, symbolizing the desire-nature. The melding of fire and water, which in the Tarot suits represent passion and creativity, respectively, is also a key element of this card very appropriate to Iroh, who developed how to redirect lighting by incorporating Water Bending techniques. He has one foot in the water (which springs from the High Priestess and is said to travel throughout the deck) and the other on land, bridging the infinite world of the mind/spirit with the equally infinite world of reality.

The Temperance card stands for the principle of guidance, and there is no doubt that Iroh acted as a guide for Zuko in the prince's difficult journey. The Temperance path acts as the middle pillar on the Tree of Life, resolving in the High Priestess, who stands for memory. In other words, this card reminds the viewer to remember one's self, as your heart will guide you where you need to go.

Key 14 is associated with the Intelligence of Probation, as in "to try or attempt", encouraging the viewer to use trial and error to figure out how to create balance. The figure in Key 14 shows us that it is possible to mix opposite poles together without diminishing them, but it is up to us to figure out how. What is the proper vessel? What are the proper amounts? What is the proper method? It may take a life-time of experiments to figure it out, and it may be that we will lose our way, but our guide, Iroh, will always be waiting for us with love and acceptance when we find our Path once more.

((As a side note, I could NOT for the life of me to decide what physique I should give him. Round and huggable Iroh of seasons 1 and 2, or uber-buff muscle-man of season 3? In the end I decided that this deck represents events after the end of the series. As such, Iroh's starting to lose the muscle tone again, but he's still keeping pretty trim. Running the best Tea Shop in Ba Sing Se isn't easy you know!))

Artwork (c) Robin Dempsey. Natural medias only.
Border and Zuko (c) Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.
A HUGE thank you to AvatarSpirit.Net for their INCREDIBLE screenshot database. It has been amazingly helpful for this project!
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© 2008 - 2024 RobinRone
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Opal-Dreams's avatar
wow this is neat!