“As an archetype, the Empress is one that will be familiar to most of us. A life-giver, a creator, a source from which all life has sprung. The Empress represents the desire within every living thing to grow and flourish. It represents the world bringing you forth, asking you to simply be”. Little Red Tarot
Long before Sydney Harbour became a place of ships and commerce, Barangaroo moved across its waters in a simple bark canoe, embodying a form of power that newcomers struggled to understand.
A Cammeraygal woman of the Eora Nation, Barangaroo lived through the upheaval of first contact and survived the devastating smallpox epidemic that swept through her people in 1789. In a time of immense loss, she became one of the women entrusted with cultural knowledge, law, teaching, and ceremony. She carried responsibilities that reached far beyond her own family, exercising authority among younger women and helping sustain the continuity of her community.
Like the Empress, Barangaroo’s power did not come from conquest or domination. It came from her capacity to nourish life.
She was a skilled fisherwoman and provider, navigating the harbour in a nawi while tending fires, caring for children, and harvesting food from the waters of Country. Eora women were renowned for their mastery of fishing and canoeing, supplying much of their families’ food through knowledge passed down over countless generations. Through this work, Barangaroo embodied abundance—not as excess, but as the ability to sustain and care for those around her.
The Empress reminds us that nurturing is not passive. It requires knowledge, resilience, skill, and unwavering commitment. Barangaroo’s life demonstrates that provision, teaching, and cultural stewardship are forms of leadership every bit as powerful as those traditionally celebrated in history.
When Barangaroo appears as the Empress, she invites us to honour the wisdom that sustains communities, to trust the knowledge carried in our bodies and traditions, and to recognise that true abundance grows from our relationship with Country, kinship, and care.
Waltzing With Matilda's 