Avatar (2009) is one of those rare films that feels both familiar and completely new at the same time. Its story is wrapped in breathtaking visuals, unforgettable world-building, and an emotional connection with nature that struck audiences worldwide. Even if parts of the plot seem simple on the surface, the film still carries a mythic weight — as if it wants to remind us of something ancient about belonging, responsibility, and our place in the larger world.
When we look beneath the spectacle and approach the film through the lens of the Major Arcana — not as fortune-telling symbols, but as psychological and spiritual stages — an interesting picture appears. Most of the archetypes are present. Yet some arrive clearly, some shift between characters, and others feel slightly blurred. But the pattern is there: opposition, isolation, arrogance, collapse, humility, calling, and eventual transformation.
Our intention here is not to “judge” the film, nor to rewrite it. Rather, we want to see how the archetypes move through the story, where they land fully, and where they remain incomplete — and to learn how those choices shape the emotional experience of the film.
With that perspective in mind, we can now walk through Avatar and see how each archetype quietly shapes Jake’s journey — and the world around him.
Major arcana archetypes in Avatar
The Magician — will, light and manifestation ✅
At the beginning, Jake is shown as surprisingly skillful with his wheelchair, balancing it on two wheels and moving with confidence. Pretty magical, if you ask me. Even before Pandora, he’s someone who tries to shape reality despite his limits.
Justice — balance and free will ✅
The Justice archetype balances positive and negative thoughts so that we have to judge them and decide. That tension is what creates free will.
Early in the film, when Jake sees a man hit a woman in the bar, he weighs the situation and makes the decision to beat him down. Justice shows up clearly in that moment.
The Devil — opposition to the Magician ✅
Jake talks about how, in this world, the strong prey on the weak — openly acknowledging the Devil archetype. As a marine confined to a wheelchair, it’s obvious that life itself opposed him in some way.
After the bar fight, the bouncers throw him out — together with his chair — literally challenging his agency again. Opposition keeps appearing wherever he goes.
The Hermit — isolation, loneliness ✅
Jake is portrayed as a difficult character who knows how to get himself into trouble. He chooses negativity, confrontation, and fights. After being thrown out of the bar, he ends up lying on the ground by himself — once again falling into the Hermit archetype.
From the very beginning, he is shown as a lonely veteran in a wheelchair, disconnected from the world around him.
The High Priestess — object of inspiration ❓
Jake himself is not inspired by any High Priestess energy when traveling to Pandora. He gets there almost passively, through coincidence tied to his brother, without it being aligned with his own intentions.
However he later slowly finds the High Priestess in Neytiri — his object of inspiration. “Eel ngati kameie, Neytiri.” She becomes the figure who draws him forward.
The Lightning — inspiration as a shock of light ❌
There are no sudden bursts of inspiration that shock Jake, redirect him, or birth a defining idea that guides him through the film. His motivations unfold slowly and reactively, rather than arriving as Lightning.
The Star — wayshower, hope ❓
Beyond Neytiri passively guiding him, Jake lacks a clear inner desire that would uplift him when he’s down. There isn’t a strong Star archetype that shines clearly and pulls him onward from within. His eventual desire to be beneficial to Na’vi is slowly formed.
The Empress — elated self, arrogance, inflated ego, naivety ✅
After Jake connects with his avatar, he arrogantly disconnects himself from the instruments and runs outside on his own.
His arrogance shows again during his first expedition when he gets into trouble with animals and has to run and shoot his way out. He feels invincible — without wisdom.
Because of that, he eventually hears from Naytiri that he acts like a child.
The Wheel of Fortune — rises and falls ✅
When Jake is chased through Pandora’s wilderness and falls down the waterfall, it symbolically shows that he was not prepared for what he threw himself into. He had to be eventually saved by Naytiri and Na’vi.
His Na’vi training continues this theme — constant ups and downs, exactly like the Wheel of Fortune.
The Emperor — control ✅
Humans arrive on Pandora with clear Emperor energy — determined to bulldoze the environment, expand their empire, and force the world into submission.
Strength — force, manipulation ✅
Humans exploit Pandora’s land and resources, determined to mine as much unobtainium as possible, destroying nature.
Colonel Miles believes Jake’s infiltration will eventually help manipulate the Na’vi into compliance. Strength appears as pressure, dominance, and manipulation.
The Moon — twilight, illusion ✅
Jake hides his true intentions from Colonel Miles.
At the same time, he hides human intentions from the Na’vi. They, in turn, do not fully trust him. Everything operates in twilight.
From the conquerors’ perspective, their victories are illusory — force-based and ultimately unsustainable which humans will inevitably find out.
The Hierophant — truth surfaced, told ✅
Hidden motivations come out into the open.
Colonel Miles discovers that it was Jake who destroyed the cameras on the dozer.
The Na’vi learn about the approaching human machinery and the threat to sacred ground. Jake and Grace, through their avatars, confirm the truth and propose evacuation.
The Sun — sincerity ✅
Jake sincerely confesses to the Na’vi that he knew about the plans of the “sky people” all along — causing Neytiri to break down emotionally.
Sincerity hurts, but it has to come sooner or later if we want to be seen for who we truly are and grow.
The Hanged Man — crashing of illusions, suspended action, new viewpoints ✅
After Miles learns about Jake’s intentions, seeing him destroy the cameras, he also hears his real thoughts through his diary. Illusions collapse and Miles is forced to change his viewpoint.
The aggressive human earthmovers get defeated by the Na’vi, while Jake and Grace are locked out of their avatars. Humans now see the Na’vi differently — as capable warriors — resorting to doubling down and escalating aggression.
Jake and Grace are captured by the Na’vi, forced into suspending action — they must wait, observe, reevaluate.
The Two Paths (Lovers) — determination for good/bad ✅
Released by Neytiri’s mother, Jake is determined to stand with the Na’vi. He decides to do what is morally right, even though it puts him at extreme risk. Eventually, he breaks ties with the army completely.
The Two paths archetype presents us with a moral decision — choosing one path over another which is acomplished only if we leave the other one completely behind.
Death — ego death, apology, humility, forgiveness ❓
Returning to the Na’vi, Jake humbles himself before Olo’eyktan, asking for help. Later, he also humbly asks the Tree of souls for help, when even Neytiri doubts it will work. Asking for help hurts the ego immensely, because the ego always wants to be self-sufficient.
Grace dies beneath the Tree of Souls — symbolizing the death of the shared ego that held them back.
However, at no point do we see Jake repent for his earlier alliance with the “sky people,” or apologize to the Na’vi for hiding the truth and ask for forgiveness — the act that would have killed the ego completely.
The World — reconnection with the world, divine (true love) ✅
Jake and Grace are imprisoned by the army, but help arrives. The pilot frees them, risking everything — a gesture associated with the World archetype. Yet, it feels a bit premature, because at that time, ego hadn’t fully dissolved yet.
After that has been more or less acomplished, Jake’s determination for good allows him to bond with Toruk, the great beast. Returning humbly, he reconnects with Neytiri, the clan, and eventually other tribes.
During the final battle, Eywa answers Jake with help from the flying animals. The world itself responded.
The Chariot — uninhibitedness, intuition ✅
After Grace’s dies and Jake has reached humility, his determinination is the strongest. He rallies the Na’vi. He leads with purpose, joining forces with multiple clans and even receiving intel from army insiders.
The whole Na’vi movement becomes purposeful and intuitive.
Temperance — lightness and ease ✅
When the mind is free from ego resistance, the body feels lighter.
Jake taming Toruk, the apex flying beast, is representative of that. Later, all the Na’vi flying into battle reflect this same sense of achieved lightness.
Judgement / Resurrection — rebirth ✅
When Jake’s link pod is destroyed, he barely survives, and Naytiri saves him just in time.
In the end, under the Tree of Souls, Jake is fully transferred into his avatar body — completing the resurrection into his new self.
Closing thoughts
Apparently, the archetypes are accounted for rather well. The biggest thing missing is Jake’s inspiration early on — something that would have made him more active and internally driven from the start.
Instead, what we see is the archetypes passing back and forth between Jake and the army. It is not Jake who initiates the forceful operations that would need repenting. He also never truly expresses sincere remorse for his association with them. Because of that, Jake’s final initiation doesn’t feel quite as earned as it could have been.
And there is another reason for this.
Jake is portrayed as “the chosen one.” That trope can pull many viewers out of the story. If he is special by default, how do we connect with him? As a result, parts of his archetypal advancement feel passive rather than earned. He is confirmed by the Tree of Souls from the very first encounter with Na’vi, and that single blessing shifts the entire story in his favor. It also acts like thick plot armor — especially when he’s introduced to the clan and Neytiri protects him when everything collapses.
For a close observer, it also raises another question: why would the Sacred Tree confirm Jake as pure-spirited when he is clearly portrayed as difficult and trouble-prone?
However, even with all that said, the film remains a masterpiece. It would be almost a blasphemy to claim otherwise. What now became clear is simply that James Cameron made some bold — and risky — storytelling choices. Fortunately, he knew how to work with them well enough that the emotional magic still landed at the end.
Thanks,
Ira
p.s. and yes, i think that “unobtainium” is hillarious name for an ore