Explore the archetype of The Sovereign—a journey into leadership, autonomy, and self-rule. Discover the gifts and shadows of sovereignty, how to claim your realm, and embrace the power of tending your inner authority. Includes a ritual to deepen your connection with The Sovereign and practical insights for living with integrity and purpose.
This was such an exciting post, Jenna (!!!). Your description of the shadow of the Sovereign was so clear and my essential self recognized it immediately as familiar, even though it was new to me. My process of recovering from wounds related to invisibility, forced compromise and...yes, enslavement of a sort has become more conscious in the past few years, but I think the process began unconsciously (maybe semi-consciously) decades ago. Anyway, I'd never heard these things expressed as the shadow side of sovereignty, and I really felt it land. Your explanations strike me as so consistently clear and truthy. Thank you so much for all of this, not least of all the downloadable ritual instructions. Looking forward to sitting with that tomorrow when I have more time. 🦁💛🧡❤️🔥
Keith, I’m realizing I’m replying to things in reverse order, so we’re time-traveling a bit here—but maybe that’s fitting for these deep processes that so often unfold in non-linear ways. 😉 I love hearing how the shadow of the Sovereign landed for you, and I deeply appreciate you sharing your experience of recovering from invisibility, forced compromise, and those deeper wounds. I really get that. Everything you said here resonates strongly for me. I think I've been on a very similar journey. And that journey—whether conscious or semi-conscious—is such profound work. I’m so glad the post spoke to something essential in you, and I since I'm replying out of order, I already that the ritual helped add another layer to the unfolding. I have found this attunement with the Sovereign to be more powerful than could've imagined.
Non-linear responses are welcome and appreciated, Jenna! In fact, here's to re-claiming from supremacist culture the non-linearity that is a natural part of creation! Thank you for your affirming words 💝
I’ve been owning my sovereignty over the last few years. I’m looking forward to seeing it through this lens. Teaching other Sovereignty can be hard for me to put into the right worlds. Sometimes I hide my sovereignty under an invisibility cloak so the jealous can’t try and take it.
Wow, that’s a profound image, MacFinnian! Hiding our sovereignty under an invisibility cloak. This really rang true for me too only I hadn’t known it before. Thank you for this insight! I’m going to sit with it a while. 💖
Beautiful post Jenna. This spoke to me deeply. Being a Leo, but interestingly I had a dream last night that included a male lion with full mane! What I appreciated here is the autonomy, authenticity and inner authority. Ohh like triple A's. I need to be my own Queen. I need to be the lead character in my life. I need to show up. The Sovereign reminds me of that. Again, the perfect thing to receive at this time! 🔥❤️🔥
Oh my gosh (somehow I missed the comments on this post), but now that I actually know the dream you’re talking about here, I can’t believe how relevant and powerful the timing is for the Sovereign! In all our lives. As you so wisely taught, our dreams belong to everyone and yours offers so much. I LOVE the triple A’s too! Thank you so much for all of this!
Thank you, Jenna, for these prompts to help us work with our own Sovereign. I am going to work with your questions, and find my own Sovereign. I loved this post, thank you 🙏🏼
Thank you so much, Phil! 💖 I’m loving that these archetypes are coming up in the order that they are. Guardian then Genius now Sovereign. It feels like coming into right relationship with our inner Sovereign is essential right now in the world, and that the Guardian and Genius really helped to build a good foundation for that. I’m so glad you’re on this journey with me!
Yes, Sovereign especially resonated for me, as I often feel that I am responding to my world, rather than trying to shape it purposefully. I'm really looking forward to seeing the cards that you find paired with this archetype moving forwards... 😊
A beautiful and powerful gift you've given us, in this reminder that we can rule with an aligned presence and a joyful heart. Our power can be firm but soft, it can have boundaries that are peaceful and non-threatening. Those of us who tend to want to please others must learn to be a light in ways that serve our spirit first. Thank you for this timely blessing Jenna!
Thank you, Lorian! I’m right there with you as far as the people pleasing goes. I’m really trying to let myself sink into the gentle difference between tending my realm and giving away my power to please others. I love your words here: learn to be a light in ways that serve our spirit first. So beautiful! 💖💖💖
I've been a student of the tarot since I was a teenager (50 years now) and I find your poetic teachings divinely astute in the most heart-centred way...so happy to have found you in my increasingly tall stack of wonderful writers here on this platform! May your March Hare be a White Rabbit :)
Oh, thank you, Lorian! 💖💖💖 That means the world to me. There are SO many amazing writers here! And thank you for the White Rabbit blessing. That kind of focus feels like just what I need these days. 🤗
I am new to Substack, new to Tarot and new to your site. And have questions! I am intrigued by the Archetype project but seems I am dropping into the middle. What archetypes are you using—I think there are hundreds of archetypes but it seems that you are referring to a particular set or collection of archetypes. It looks like a great adventure and I’m excited.
Hi Gay! 🤗❤️ I’m so glad you’re here and so glad you have questions! I LOVE questions. And you ask a great starting one. I agree, there are hundreds, maybe countless, archetypes. I began my substack mid 2023 and for that first year and a half, every Sunday I put a post called The Archetype and The Tarot. I would pair an archetype—mostly from Caroline Myss’s archetype card deck, though sometimes I’d use another archetype deck—with a tarot card to glean the wisdom the pairing had for our week. This is actually a practice I’ve been doing in my personal life for a very long time. And then, late 2024, one of my ancestor guides showed me a vision of what was, in a way, the beginning of archetypes. This ancestor lived tens of thousands of years ago and showed me that, at that time, there were 8 core functions or roles within the tribe/group. Each person could move from role to role as circumstances required. These functions or roles became universal patterns of energy or what we know as archetypes. These particular 8 ancestral archetypes that he showed me are: The Guardian, The Genius, The Sovereign, The Healer, The Procurer, The Companion, The Artist, and The Maven. I thought it would be interesting, beginning in 2025, to spend a whole month with each of these archetypes, instead of a different one each week. So that’s what we’re doing now. We looked at the Guardian in January, the Genius in February and will be with the Sovereign in March. But the timing really doesn’t matter with these. Feel free to jump back to the Guardian and Genius if that calls to you. Following the call is really what it’s all about! I’m so excited to be on this adventure with you! 💖💖💖
How generous of you. Your response has clarified the process for me and I am eager to work with it—with you. I did find my way back to your introductory note to the work with Archetypes but this is much more helpful and does show a bit of a change. Thank you.
This is so amazing Jenna. I have been stepping more into my own inner sovereign of late and I feel her asking things of me that I once shyed away from. I am opening the doors within in a different way now and asking the Gatekeepers that once held my space so tightly to still be there as protectors, yet to allow the light to come in more.
This is such a nourishing and empowering post. It is one that is needed so much at this time in our lives. May the Sovereign within us stand tall so that we can be the positive healing loving change in the world.
Oh, wow, this gave me chills, Sam! I have been hearing similar things from so many people. I think we are all collectively being called to step into our power, to really claim it. And we might need to expand our capacities to do so. Thank you for walking this with me. May we all support one another in this reclamation of power. 💖💖💖
This was such an exciting post, Jenna (!!!). Your description of the shadow of the Sovereign was so clear and my essential self recognized it immediately as familiar, even though it was new to me. My process of recovering from wounds related to invisibility, forced compromise and...yes, enslavement of a sort has become more conscious in the past few years, but I think the process began unconsciously (maybe semi-consciously) decades ago. Anyway, I'd never heard these things expressed as the shadow side of sovereignty, and I really felt it land. Your explanations strike me as so consistently clear and truthy. Thank you so much for all of this, not least of all the downloadable ritual instructions. Looking forward to sitting with that tomorrow when I have more time. 🦁💛🧡❤️🔥
Keith, I’m realizing I’m replying to things in reverse order, so we’re time-traveling a bit here—but maybe that’s fitting for these deep processes that so often unfold in non-linear ways. 😉 I love hearing how the shadow of the Sovereign landed for you, and I deeply appreciate you sharing your experience of recovering from invisibility, forced compromise, and those deeper wounds. I really get that. Everything you said here resonates strongly for me. I think I've been on a very similar journey. And that journey—whether conscious or semi-conscious—is such profound work. I’m so glad the post spoke to something essential in you, and I since I'm replying out of order, I already that the ritual helped add another layer to the unfolding. I have found this attunement with the Sovereign to be more powerful than could've imagined.
Non-linear responses are welcome and appreciated, Jenna! In fact, here's to re-claiming from supremacist culture the non-linearity that is a natural part of creation! Thank you for your affirming words 💝
I’ve been owning my sovereignty over the last few years. I’m looking forward to seeing it through this lens. Teaching other Sovereignty can be hard for me to put into the right worlds. Sometimes I hide my sovereignty under an invisibility cloak so the jealous can’t try and take it.
Wow, that’s a profound image, MacFinnian! Hiding our sovereignty under an invisibility cloak. This really rang true for me too only I hadn’t known it before. Thank you for this insight! I’m going to sit with it a while. 💖
You’re welcome. ☺️ please let me know what unfolds for you. ✨🌀
Beautiful post Jenna. This spoke to me deeply. Being a Leo, but interestingly I had a dream last night that included a male lion with full mane! What I appreciated here is the autonomy, authenticity and inner authority. Ohh like triple A's. I need to be my own Queen. I need to be the lead character in my life. I need to show up. The Sovereign reminds me of that. Again, the perfect thing to receive at this time! 🔥❤️🔥
Oh my gosh (somehow I missed the comments on this post), but now that I actually know the dream you’re talking about here, I can’t believe how relevant and powerful the timing is for the Sovereign! In all our lives. As you so wisely taught, our dreams belong to everyone and yours offers so much. I LOVE the triple A’s too! Thank you so much for all of this!
Thank you, Jenna, for these prompts to help us work with our own Sovereign. I am going to work with your questions, and find my own Sovereign. I loved this post, thank you 🙏🏼
Thank you so much, Phil! 💖 I’m loving that these archetypes are coming up in the order that they are. Guardian then Genius now Sovereign. It feels like coming into right relationship with our inner Sovereign is essential right now in the world, and that the Guardian and Genius really helped to build a good foundation for that. I’m so glad you’re on this journey with me!
Thanks for inviting us all along! 👍🏼
Yes, Sovereign especially resonated for me, as I often feel that I am responding to my world, rather than trying to shape it purposefully. I'm really looking forward to seeing the cards that you find paired with this archetype moving forwards... 😊
A beautiful and powerful gift you've given us, in this reminder that we can rule with an aligned presence and a joyful heart. Our power can be firm but soft, it can have boundaries that are peaceful and non-threatening. Those of us who tend to want to please others must learn to be a light in ways that serve our spirit first. Thank you for this timely blessing Jenna!
Thank you, Lorian! I’m right there with you as far as the people pleasing goes. I’m really trying to let myself sink into the gentle difference between tending my realm and giving away my power to please others. I love your words here: learn to be a light in ways that serve our spirit first. So beautiful! 💖💖💖
I've been a student of the tarot since I was a teenager (50 years now) and I find your poetic teachings divinely astute in the most heart-centred way...so happy to have found you in my increasingly tall stack of wonderful writers here on this platform! May your March Hare be a White Rabbit :)
Oh, thank you, Lorian! 💖💖💖 That means the world to me. There are SO many amazing writers here! And thank you for the White Rabbit blessing. That kind of focus feels like just what I need these days. 🤗
I am new to Substack, new to Tarot and new to your site. And have questions! I am intrigued by the Archetype project but seems I am dropping into the middle. What archetypes are you using—I think there are hundreds of archetypes but it seems that you are referring to a particular set or collection of archetypes. It looks like a great adventure and I’m excited.
Hi Gay! 🤗❤️ I’m so glad you’re here and so glad you have questions! I LOVE questions. And you ask a great starting one. I agree, there are hundreds, maybe countless, archetypes. I began my substack mid 2023 and for that first year and a half, every Sunday I put a post called The Archetype and The Tarot. I would pair an archetype—mostly from Caroline Myss’s archetype card deck, though sometimes I’d use another archetype deck—with a tarot card to glean the wisdom the pairing had for our week. This is actually a practice I’ve been doing in my personal life for a very long time. And then, late 2024, one of my ancestor guides showed me a vision of what was, in a way, the beginning of archetypes. This ancestor lived tens of thousands of years ago and showed me that, at that time, there were 8 core functions or roles within the tribe/group. Each person could move from role to role as circumstances required. These functions or roles became universal patterns of energy or what we know as archetypes. These particular 8 ancestral archetypes that he showed me are: The Guardian, The Genius, The Sovereign, The Healer, The Procurer, The Companion, The Artist, and The Maven. I thought it would be interesting, beginning in 2025, to spend a whole month with each of these archetypes, instead of a different one each week. So that’s what we’re doing now. We looked at the Guardian in January, the Genius in February and will be with the Sovereign in March. But the timing really doesn’t matter with these. Feel free to jump back to the Guardian and Genius if that calls to you. Following the call is really what it’s all about! I’m so excited to be on this adventure with you! 💖💖💖
How generous of you. Your response has clarified the process for me and I am eager to work with it—with you. I did find my way back to your introductory note to the work with Archetypes but this is much more helpful and does show a bit of a change. Thank you.
This is so amazing Jenna. I have been stepping more into my own inner sovereign of late and I feel her asking things of me that I once shyed away from. I am opening the doors within in a different way now and asking the Gatekeepers that once held my space so tightly to still be there as protectors, yet to allow the light to come in more.
This is such a nourishing and empowering post. It is one that is needed so much at this time in our lives. May the Sovereign within us stand tall so that we can be the positive healing loving change in the world.
ps/ I sent you a DM
Oh, wow, this gave me chills, Sam! I have been hearing similar things from so many people. I think we are all collectively being called to step into our power, to really claim it. And we might need to expand our capacities to do so. Thank you for walking this with me. May we all support one another in this reclamation of power. 💖💖💖