Rebuilding a world that’s collapsing requires new kinds of leaders — and the Tarot has 22 of them.

We are living through a moment of profound transition. Old systems are cracking. Old economies are wobbling. Old models of leadership are failing in real time. Whether you’re leading a team, a business, a community, or simply your own life, you can feel the shift:

The world we inherited is not the world we want to build next.

This means we need new forms of leadership — regenerative, intuitive, adaptive, creative.

And the Tarot’s Major Arcana offers one of the richest archetypal libraries for understanding what those forms can look like.

The 22 cards of the Major Arcana map a complete cycle of human development. Each archetype carries a distinct leadership energy, a way of approaching challenges, and a set of strengths you can embody. For years, I kept a single card on my desk as a weekly intention — a reminder of the energy I wanted to bring into meetings, decisions, and creative work.

You don’t have to be a Tarot reader to use this system. You just need 1) a deck, 2) curiosity, and 3) a willingness to reflect.

The Magic of 3

As you browse the archetypes from Tarot below, I want to encourage you to select 3 cards together to create a composite leadership style. This is a blend of energies that create what refelcts you, and offers you a triplicity to draw from.

One of the powerful truths of Tarot is that we contain within us all archetypes. Depending on where we are in our journeys, some are just stronger than others.

Where you’re exercising your leadership can affect your composite leadership style, too. At work, you might be The Chariot, Justice, and The Magician. But in your friendships, you might be The High Priestess, Strength, and The Star.

So before you read the list below and begin making your own assessment, think first about where you feel called to leadership.

Is it a management position? Entrepreneurship? Community organizing? Stabilizing your family dynamics? The classroom?

Visualize it in your mind. Then see which cards below resonate.

I also feel that we need to recognize more often that we each are multifaceted. Working with the complexity within ourselves and others will allow us to take positive actions that fit the complexity of the moment.

For example:

• The Fool + The Magician → Innovator who takes bold action
• The Emperor + The Magician + The World → Systems‑builder with creative execution
• The Fool + The High Priestess + The Tower → Visionary who trusts the unknown and is unafraid to start fresh

A Simple Tarot Leadership Practice

Once you’ve found your 3 archetypes to start with, here’s a simple practice for you with your Tarot deck. When you’re facing a challenge, meditate on the images of those 3 cards. Then shuffle your deck and draw cards that ask:

• What would [archetype] do in my situation
• What qualities from [archetype] could I embody right now
• What wisdom does [archetype] have for the world I’m trying to build

Over time, this builds your pattern recognition, self‑awareness, and creative leadership.

The 22 Major Arcana as Leadership Styles

0. THE FOOL — The Pioneer

Keywords: Beginner’s mind, openness, innovation

The Fool leads by stepping into the unknown with curiosity instead of fear. This archetype reminds you that every new world begins with someone willing to take the first step before the path is clear. Fool-leadership is essential when systems are collapsing and experimentation is the only way forward.

This is You if: You move your idea forward before you feel ready. You trust the leap.

I. THE MAGICIAN — The Resourceful Creator

Keywords: Vision, skill, resourcefulness

The Magician leads by turning raw materials into possibility. This archetype teaches you to use what you already have — skills, relationships, tools — to create momentum. In a world where old structures are failing, Magician-leadership is about building new ones from the ground up with whatever’s at hand.

This is You if: You take underused resources you already possess and put them to work. You’re the one who says, “We can make this happen with what we’ve got.”

II. THE HIGH PRIESTESS — The Strategic Intuitive

Keywords: Inner knowing, discernment, patience

The High Priestess leads by listening beneath the noise. She sees what others overlook and trusts the information that comes from silence, pattern, and intuition. This archetype is crucial when the external world is chaotic and clarity must come from within.

This is You if: You bring people’s attention to what was left unsaid or is unseen. You’re the one who says, “Something’s off here” — and you’re usually right.

III. THE EMPRESS — The Generative Nurturer

Keywords: Abundance, creativity, cultivation

The Empress leads by creating conditions for growth. She’s less interested in forcing outcomes and more interested in tending the soil. This archetype understands that sustainable leadership is about nurturing people and projects until they can flourish on their own.

This is You if: You create environments where others feel safe enough to take risks. You grow things — businesses, teams, communities, gardens.

IV. THE EMPEROR — The Architect

Keywords: Structure, authority, systems

The Emperor leads by creating order where there is none. He builds containers strong enough to hold growth. When old institutions crumble, Emperor-leadership becomes the work of designing new systems that are ethical, functional, and future-proof.

This is You if: You create simple, sustainable systems for those around you. You’re the one who turns chaos into clarity with a framework.

V. THE HIEROPHANT — The Wisdom Keeper

Keywords: Tradition, teaching, transmission

The Hierophant leads by bridging the ancient and the modern. This archetype holds institutional knowledge and knows how to pass it on. In times of rupture, Hierophant-leadership preserves what’s worth saving while updating what no longer serves.

This is You if: You’re the one people come to for guidance. You translate complexity into teachable insight.

VI. THE LOVERS — The Integrator

Keywords: Choice, alignment, values

The Lovers lead by making values-aligned decisions, especially the hard ones. This archetype understands that leadership is fundamentally about choice: choosing partnerships, paths, and principles that reflect who you actually are and want to become.

This is You if: You lead by example in making difficult choices that honor your values. You align your teams around shared purpose rather than imposed mandates.

VII. THE CHARIOT — The Focused Driver

Keywords: Willpower, direction, determination

The Chariot leads by holding opposing forces in tension and still moving forward. This archetype has mastered the art of directing conflicting energies toward a single goal. When there’s no consensus but action is needed, Chariot-leadership provides the focus and momentum.

This is You if: You can hold complexity without being paralyzed by it. You’re the one who says, “We’re going this way,” and people follow.

VIII. STRENGTH — The Patient Power

Keywords: Courage, compassion, gentle authority

Strength leads through confidence. This archetype tames the wild, including the wild parts of ourselves and others. This is done through patience and presence as a steady force. Strength-leadership is essential when situations call for steadiness over speed, or deescalation tactics.

This is You if: You’re the calm in the crisis. You lead through persistence and earn trust by never flinching.

IX. THE HERMIT — The Reflective Guide

Keywords: Wisdom, solitude, illumination

The Hermit leads by going inward first, then returning with light for others. This archetype knows that the answers worth having rarely come from external noise. Hermit-leadership creates space for deep thinking and emerges with clarity the group might have missed.

This is You if: You need solitude to think, and when you return, you bring insight that shifts the whole conversation.

X. THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE — The Adaptive Navigator

Keywords: Cycles, change, timing

The Wheel leads by understanding that seasons turn and that leadership means knowing when to push and when to wait. It also understands that not everything is within our control, and some level of chance is always at play. This archetype works with change rather than against it, reading cycles and timing action accordingly.

This is You if: You’re excellent at reading the moment. You know when the wind has shifted and it’s time to move.

XI. JUSTICE — The Equitable Leader

Keywords: Fairness, accountability, integrity

Justice leads by naming what is true and acting from principle. This archetype is essential in a world where inequity is baked into the old order. Justice-leadership is about making decisions that align with your values, even when they’re difficult or unpopular.

This is You if: You do not avoid necessary conversations. You initiate with clarity and compassion. You’re the one who says, “This isn’t right, and here’s what we’re going to do about it.”

XII. THE HANGED ONE — The Perspective Shifter

Keywords: Surrender, pause, new viewpoints

The Hanged One leads by getting out of the way: of themselves, of old assumptions, of the need to act immediately. This archetype knows that sometimes the most radical move is to stop, flip your perspective, and see what becomes visible from this new angle.

This is You if: You find insight in pauses or lulls that make others uncomfortable.

XIII. DEATH — The Transformation Agent

Keywords: Endings, release, metamorphosis

Death leads by honoring what must end so something new can emerge. This archetype isn’t afraid of closure, sunset meetings, or saying “this isn’t working anymore.” Death-leadership is about composting the old into fuel for the next iteration.

This is You if: You’re the one who can end things gracefully: projects, roles, relationships that have run their course. You don’t cling.

XIV. TEMPERANCE — The Alchemist

Keywords: Balance, integration, moderation

Temperance leads by blending opposites into something new. This archetype holds the both/and — strategy and intuition, urgency and patience, innovation and tradition. Temperance-leadership creates synthesis where others see only contradiction.

This is You if: You’re the bridge-builder. You can hold two opposing perspectives and find the third way through.

XV. THE DEVIL — The Shadow Illuminator

Keywords: Bondage, liberation, shadow work

The Devil leads by naming the elephants in the room. This might be addictions, patterns, attachments, specific data points or biases, and power dynamics everyone else is pretending don’t exist or tip-toeing around. This archetype understands that liberation comes only from confronting what binds us. Devil-leadership shines light on shadow.

This is You if: You call out the patterns keeping the system stuck. You’re not afraid to name the uncomfortable truth about power.

XVI. THE TOWER — The Disruptor

Keywords: Breakdown, revelation, liberation

The Tower leads by allowing necessary destruction. This archetype knows that some structures need to fall, even though it’s painful and has consequences. Trying to prop them up only delays the inevitable while exhausting everyone involved. Tower-leadership doesn’t create chaos for its own sake (even if it sometimes looks like they are), and doesn’t run from addressing the aftermath.

This is You if: You’re willing to tear down what’s not working so something better can be built. You see the liberation hiding inside the breakdown.

XVII. THE STAR — The Hopeful Visionary

Keywords: Hope, inspiration, healing

The Star leads by holding the vision when everyone else has lost sight of it. This archetype is a fountain of hope by offering faith, creativity, healing, or motivation even after the tower has fallen or the path forward is unclear. Often cheerleaders and seeing the best in others, Star-leadership reminds the collective why we’re doing this in the first place.

This is You if: You’re the one people turn to when they’ve lost hope. You keep the dream alive by living it.

XVIII. THE MOON — The Depth Navigator

Keywords: Intuition, uncertainty, the unconscious

The Moon leads in the dark, when the path isn’t clear and logic won’t cut it. This archetype trusts the intelligence of dreams, hunches, and the strange information that comes through between-the-lines. Moon-leadership is essential when the situation is genuinely ambiguous, or when it’s unclear if a person or system is trustworthy.

This is You if: You’re comfortable with not knowing. You lead through mysteries.

XIX. THE SUN — The Radiant Affirmer

Keywords: Joy, success, vitality

The Sun leads by celebrating wins, naming what’s working, and reminding everyone that this work can actually feel good. This archetype brings warmth and clarity, which can usually be an antidote to burnout culture (though they risk burning out themselves if they don’t seek rest). Sun-leadership says: we can do hard things and enjoy the process.

This is You if: You’re the one who notices what’s going well and makes sure the team hears it. You bring genuine warmth.

XX. JUDGEMENT — The Calling Awakener

Keywords: Resurrection, calling, reckoning

Judgement leads by calling people into their purpose. This archetype sounds the wake-up call by showing people their potential as individuals and as a collective. You re-align people to the mission when they’ve become bogged down in details or day-to-day work. Judgement-leadership helps others hear their own calling.

This is You if: You help people remember what they came here to do. You see potential others have forgotten or left unexplored.

XXI. THE WORLD — The Integrative Completer

Keywords: Completion, integration, wholeness

The World leads by holding the full picture. This archetype is experienced, and has integrated many lessons into a point of view that enables them to see how all the pieces fit together. World-leadership brings projects and people to completion and knows when the cycle is ready to begin again.

This is You if: You’re the one who can see the whole system. You lead by holding the vision of completion and guiding others toward it.

Name Your Leadership Triad

Here’s your next step: Choose your 3 archetypes and give your composite leadership style a name.

Not a generic name. Your name. Something that captures the specific medicine you bring when you’re leading at your best.

Need inspiration? Here are a few examples:

• The Fool + Death + The Star = “The Phoenix Pioneer” leads by leaping into endings, trusting that rebirth is already underway
• The High Priestess + The Hermit + The Moon = “The Deep Listener” leads through silence, solitude, and the wisdom that comes from the dark
• The Emperor + Justice + The World = “The Systems Healer” leads by building structures that are both functional and fair
• The Magician + The Chariot + Temperance = “The Practical Alchemist” leads by turning conflicting forces into forward momentum
• Strength + The Empress + The Star = “The Quiet Cultivator” leads by creating conditions for others to flourish

Your triad doesn’t need to make sense to anyone but you. It’s a compass. A reminder of the energies you can call on when the situation demands leadership you weren’t taught.

So pull your deck. Lay out the Major Arcana. Notice which three keep catching your eye.

Then name what you find.

Why This Matters Now

We are not just leading teams or projects. We are leading through collapse, transition, and emergence.

We are building new economies, new communities, new ways or working, relating, and creating.

The Tarot gives us a language for the leadership we need — an integrated leadership that brings forward intuition and Spirit. It reminds us that leadership is not a job title. It’s a way of being.

Love,
Bree