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It's like she holds both the problems and the remedies, 

I love that!  With that - she knows the problem intuitively and has the wisdom within herself to remedy

The difference I see is that the hierophant is a human, god's representative on earth, with all the problems and dangers that can bring while The Ancestor is going back further to before we saw ourselves as separate from nature, from animals, from the Earth.

@ilweran - yes, there is a beautiful connection of the Ancestor to Nature and the Universe...and the knowledge that the Universe already has its plan for us - and that plan is unveiled as we are ready to accept the experience.