Team Dynamics Through Tarot: Reading Your Organization

BY NICOLE LAU

Your team isn't working. You can feel it. Meetings are tense. Projects stall. Communication breaks down. Silos form. But you can't quite pinpoint what's wrong.

Is it a people problem? A process problem? A culture problem? A leadership problem?

Traditional organizational diagnostics give you surveys, metrics, and org charts. But they often miss the energetic dynamics—the invisible patterns of power, conflict, collaboration, and resistance that actually drive (or block) team performance.

This is where Tarot becomes a powerful diagnostic tool.

Tarot reveals the archetypal patterns playing out in your organization—the hidden dynamics that surveys can't capture. It shows you who's really in power (even if they're not the official leader), where the conflicts are brewing, what's blocking collaboration, and what energy your team needs to shift.

This article teaches you how to read your organization through Tarot:

• The Team Dynamics Spread (9-card organizational diagnostic)
• How to identify team archetypes and conflicts
• Reading individual team members' energy
• Diagnosing cultural issues through cards
• Using Tarot for team alignment sessions

Whether you're a CEO, manager, or team lead, this framework gives you x-ray vision into your organization's invisible dynamics.

The Team Dynamics Spread (9 Cards)

This spread maps the complete energy system of your team or organization.

Layout:

    7   8   9    4   5   6    1   2   3

Position Meanings:

1. Team Foundation - What the team is built on (values, history, core identity)
2. Current Energy - The dominant energy/mood of the team right now
3. Team Goal - What the team is (consciously or unconsciously) working toward
4. Hidden Conflict - The unspoken tension or power struggle
5. Leadership Energy - How leadership is showing up (or not)
6. Team Need - What the team needs most right now
7. Blocking Factor - What's preventing the team from succeeding
8. Emerging Opportunity - What positive shift is trying to happen
9. Recommended Action - What to do to improve team dynamics

Example Reading: Dysfunctional Product Team

Context: 12-person product team, missed last 3 deadlines, high tension in meetings, CEO wants to understand what's wrong

Cards Drawn:

1. Team Foundation: The Fool - Team was built on startup energy, scrappy innovation, "figure it out as we go"
2. Current Energy: Five of Swords - Conflict, backstabbing, win-lose mentality, toxic competition
3. Team Goal: The Tower - Team is unconsciously trying to blow everything up (crisis as cry for help)
4. Hidden Conflict: The Hierophant vs The Fool - Old guard wants process/structure, new hires want freedom/innovation
5. Leadership Energy: The Hanged Man - Leader is stuck, paralyzed, not taking action, waiting for someone else to fix it
6. Team Need: The Emperor - Team desperately needs structure, clear roles, processes, authority
7. Blocking Factor: Seven of Cups - Too many priorities, no focus, everyone confused about what matters
8. Emerging Opportunity: Ace of Pentacles - Potential for new foundation, fresh start, material success if rebuilt properly
9. Recommended Action: Justice - Establish fairness, clear accountability, consequences for bad behavior

Strategic Interpretation:

The team was built on Fool energy (scrappy startup), which worked early on. But as the company scaled, the lack of structure (Emperor) created chaos (Seven of Cups). This led to toxic competition (Five of Swords) as people fought for clarity and resources.

The hidden conflict is generational: early employees (Hierophant) want process, new hires (Fool) want freedom. Leadership (Hanged Man) is paralyzed, not choosing a direction.

The team is unconsciously creating crisis (Tower) as a cry for help—"someone please fix this!"

Action Plan:

1. Immediate (Justice): Address toxic behavior directly, establish clear consequences
2. Week 1-2 (Emperor): Implement structure—clear roles, decision-making authority, processes
3. Week 3-4 (Seven of Cups): Ruthlessly prioritize—cut to 3 key goals, kill everything else
4. Month 2 (Hierophant + Fool): Integrate both energies—structure for execution, freedom for innovation
5. Month 3 (Ace of Pentacles): Rebuild on new foundation, celebrate early wins
6. Ongoing (Leadership): Leader must step out of Hanged Man paralysis, make clear decisions

Outcome (3 months later): Team hit next 4 deadlines, conflict reduced 70%, 2 toxic employees left (self-selected out when structure was imposed), morale improved significantly.

Reading Individual Team Members

You can also pull cards for individual team members to understand their energy and role in the team dynamic.

The Individual Team Member Spread (3 Cards)

Layout:

    1   2   3

Positions:

1. Current State - How this person is showing up right now
2. Impact on Team - How their energy affects the team
3. What They Need - What would help them (and the team) most

Example: Reading Key Team Members

Sarah (Product Manager):

• Current State: Queen of Swords - Sharp, clear, honest, but maybe too cutting
• Impact: Five of Wands - Creating conflict through blunt communication
• What She Needs: Temperance - Balance honesty with diplomacy

Action: Coach Sarah on communication style—her clarity is valuable, but delivery needs softening.

Mike (Engineer Lead):

• Current State: The Hermit - Withdrawn, isolated, not engaging
• Impact: Four of Pentacles - Hoarding information, not collaborating
• What He Needs: Three of Cups - Connection, collaboration, celebration

Action: Mike is burned out and isolated. Create opportunities for connection, celebrate his contributions, bring him back into the fold.

Jessica (Designer):

• Current State: Page of Wands - Enthusiastic, creative, but inexperienced
• Impact: The Sun - Brings joy and energy to the team
• What She Needs: The Magician - Skill development, mentorship, tools to execute

Action: Jessica is a culture asset (Sun). Invest in her development (Magician) to turn enthusiasm into mastery.

Common Team Dysfunction Patterns

Certain card combinations reveal specific team dysfunctions:

Pattern 1: The Power Struggle (Five of Swords + The Emperor)

What It Looks Like:

• Multiple people trying to be "the boss"
• Backstabbing and political maneuvering
• Win-lose mentality
• Authority constantly challenged

Root Cause: Unclear authority structure, multiple competing leaders

Solution:

• Clarify decision-making authority (who decides what)
• Establish clear hierarchy or consensus process
• Address toxic political behavior directly
• Remove or reassign competing leaders if necessary

Pattern 2: The Stagnation (Four of Cups + The Hanged Man)

What It Looks Like:

• Team is bored, disengaged, apathetic
• No one takes initiative
• Meetings are lifeless
• Projects drag on forever

Root Cause: Lack of vision, unclear purpose, or waiting for external change

Solution:

• Inject new energy (new project, new challenge)
• Clarify vision and purpose
• Shake up the team (new members, new roles)
• Create urgency or deadline

Pattern 3: The Burnout (Ten of Wands + Nine of Swords)

What It Looks Like:

• Team is exhausted, overwhelmed
• High anxiety and stress
• People working long hours but not productive
• Increasing mistakes and quality issues

Root Cause: Unsustainable workload, unrealistic expectations, lack of resources

Solution:

• Ruthlessly cut scope and priorities
• Add resources (hire, outsource, automate)
• Mandate rest and recovery time
• Reset expectations with stakeholders

Pattern 4: The Silos (Eight of Swords + Two of Swords)

What It Looks Like:

• Teams don't communicate across functions
• Information hoarding
• Duplication of effort
• Blame between departments

Root Cause: Lack of cross-functional collaboration, competing incentives, fear of vulnerability

Solution:

• Create cross-functional projects and goals
• Implement shared metrics and incentives
• Facilitate cross-team communication rituals
• Break down physical and organizational barriers

Pattern 5: The Innovation Block (The Hierophant + The Devil)

What It Looks Like:

• "We've always done it this way"
• New ideas shot down immediately
• Fear of change and experimentation
• Rigid adherence to outdated processes

Root Cause: Dogmatic thinking, fear of failure, addiction to status quo

Solution:

• Create safe spaces for experimentation
• Celebrate intelligent failures
• Bring in outside perspectives
• Challenge "sacred cows" explicitly

Using Tarot in Team Alignment Sessions

You can use Tarot directly with your team (without calling it Tarot if that feels too woo-woo).

The Team Alignment Exercise

Setup:

1. Gather the team (works best with 5-12 people)
2. Lay out Major Arcana cards face-up on a table
3. Frame it as "archetypal thinking" or "symbolic reflection," not fortune-telling

Exercise:

Round 1: Current State

• "Which card best represents our team right now?"
• Each person silently chooses a card
• Go around and share choices + reasoning
• Notice patterns and differences

Round 2: Desired State

• "Which card represents where we want to be in 6 months?"
• Repeat process
• Discuss gap between current and desired

Round 3: Obstacles

• "Which card represents our biggest obstacle?"
• Identify common themes
• Discuss how to address

Round 4: Action

• "Which card represents the energy we need to embody?"
• Create action plan based on chosen card's qualities

Example Session:

Team: Marketing team of 8

Current State Cards Chosen:

• 5 people chose The Hanged Man (stuck, waiting, paralyzed)
• 2 chose Five of Wands (conflict, competition)
• 1 chose The Hermit (isolated, withdrawn)

Insight: Team feels stuck and conflicted. Strong consensus around paralysis.

Desired State Cards:

• 4 chose The Chariot (momentum, victory, movement)
• 3 chose The Sun (success, joy, clarity)
• 1 chose The Magician (resourcefulness, execution)

Insight: Team wants movement, success, and action.

Obstacle Cards:

• 6 chose The Hierophant (rigid processes, "the way we've always done it")
• 2 chose The Devil (addiction to busy work, trapped in bad habits)

Insight: Outdated processes and bad habits are blocking progress.

Action Cards:

• Consensus: The Fool (take risks, try new things, beginner's mind)

Action Plan Created:

1. Kill 3 outdated processes this month (address Hierophant)
2. Run 2 experiments with new approaches (embody Fool)
3. Create "fast failure" culture (move from Hanged Man to Chariot)
4. Celebrate small wins weekly (move toward Sun)

Outcome: Team alignment improved dramatically. Having a shared language (the cards) helped them articulate what they couldn't say before.

Reading Organizational Culture

You can also read the overall culture of your organization:

The Culture Diagnostic (5 Cards)

Positions:

1. Stated Values - What the company says it values
2. Actual Values - What the company actually rewards/punishes
3. Cultural Strength - How strong/weak is the culture?
4. Cultural Shadow - What's the dark side of the culture?
5. Cultural Evolution - Where is the culture heading?

Example: Tech Startup Culture Reading

Cards:

1. Stated Values: The Star - Company says it values vision, hope, inspiration, purpose
2. Actual Values: Knight of Pentacles - Company actually rewards grinding, persistence, hitting numbers
3. Cultural Strength: Seven of Cups - Culture is weak, confused, everyone has different interpretation
4. Cultural Shadow: The Devil - Addiction to overwork, burnout, toxic hustle culture
5. Cultural Evolution: Death - Culture is dying/transforming; old culture won't survive

Interpretation:

There's a massive gap between stated values (Star - inspiration) and actual values (Knight of Pentacles - grind). This creates confusion (Seven of Cups) and leads to toxic overwork (Devil). The culture is heading toward transformation or death (Death card)—it must evolve or collapse.

Recommendation:

• Align stated and actual values (either embrace the grind or actually reward vision)
• Address burnout culture explicitly (Devil)
• Clarify cultural identity (Seven of Cups)
• Facilitate intentional cultural transformation (Death → rebirth)

When to Use Tarot for Team Diagnostics

Use Tarot When:

• Traditional diagnostics aren't revealing the real issue
• You sense invisible dynamics but can't articulate them
• Team is stuck and you need a new perspective
• You want to facilitate team alignment without corporate jargon
• You need to access intuitive/emotional intelligence about the team

Don't Use Tarot When:

• The problem is clearly structural (wrong org chart, bad incentives)
• You need hard data for board/investors
• Team would be hostile to symbolic/archetypal thinking
• You're avoiding having direct conversations

Conclusion: X-Ray Vision for Organizations

Tarot gives you x-ray vision into your organization's invisible dynamics—the archetypal patterns, power struggles, cultural shadows, and energetic blocks that traditional diagnostics miss.

It's not a replacement for data, surveys, or org charts. It's a complement—a way to access the intuitive, emotional, and archetypal intelligence that reveals what's really happening beneath the surface.

Use it to:

• Diagnose team dysfunction
• Understand individual team members
• Facilitate team alignment
• Read organizational culture
• Access insights data can't provide

Your team is more than an org chart. It's a living system of energy, archetypes, and invisible dynamics. Tarot helps you see—and shift—that system.

The cards don't lie. When Five of Swords appears in your team reading, there's conflict—even if everyone's smiling in meetings. When The Hanged Man shows up in leadership position, your leader is stuck—even if they're projecting confidence. When The Tower appears, crisis is coming—even if the metrics look good. Learn to read the cards, and you'll see your organization as it truly is. Then you can do something about it.

📖 Explore This Series: Court Cards as Leadership Styles | Major Arcana as Business Archetypes | Tarot for CEOs

🔮 Deepen Your Practice: 13 Goddess Tarot Spreads: Invoke the Divine Feminine

For those drawn to weave these archetypal insights into their own journey, the 52-Week Tarot Journey offers a full year of weekly spreads and daily pulls, while the 30-Day Tarot Practice Workbook builds daily fluency. To deepen personal reflection around the very patterns of the unconscious that shape our teams, Shadow Work Tarot is a powerful companion, and Jung and the Archetype connects these cards directly to the wellspring of human story. And for structuring new beginnings in any area of life, the 13 New Moon Rituals provide a lunar scaffold for setting intentions that stick.