Your Creative & Magical Life

Doors to the Creative Magic Collective are open! And you're invited to join our 2026 Astrological Pilgrimage through the Tarot... which is a fancy way of describing a "decan walk" — a fascinating, structured way to explore the Tarot through its astrological associations in real time. In this episode, I'm joined by Sara Pettit, an astrologer and Tarot reader I've befriended during my first decan walk studying with Christopher Marmolejo (author of Red Tarot). Sara will be joining our decan walk and hosting astro chart readings with us every few months. In this conversation, we explain what a decan walk is, how it blends Tarot and astrology, and how this particular approach helped both of us see Tarot in new ways, fall in love with astrology, and find magic in the overlap of these two divinatory artforms.You'll also hear more about the decan walk we're hosting, how it will work, and what it has to offer your spiritual and mystical practice! Learn more here...This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode with guest co-host Arianna Smith, we weigh AI’s promise against its costs through a creative, mystical lens, stepping into the messy, practical reality of how we actually use AI.From there we go deeper into the tradeoffs no one wants to talk about — the environmental costs of data centers and  local fights around water and power. We look at the shaky economics behind the AI industry, the push to automate labor, and the imperative to use AI everywhere and expand its relevance. Plus, AI that can lie, manipulate, and commit crimes. But also how chatbots affirm our worst thinking while keeping us isolated. As writers and readers, we also name why AI copy often feels hollow, and human words carry a warmth that can’t be faked.Then, the best part — we consult the Tarot to ask questions of AI, and the cards we pulled were mind-blowing. Here's the spread if you want to try it yourself:1. AI, what do you want to tell us?2. What should we be concerned about (re: AI)?3. What should we be excited about?4. What can we do to take care?2025 was a "breakthrough year" for AI, and it'll be interesting to see what develops in 2026. If you want to share about your AI Tarot pulls, or how you're using and experiencing AI, let us know at [email protected] on the waitlist for the Creative Magic Collective decan walk!Check out upcoming events and workshops.Explore Arianna's work and hop on her newsletter.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

2025 was The Year of The Hermit (and still is for a couple more weeks).While I didn't move to a mountaintop cave (and you probably didn't either), The Hermit still had lots to teach me this year (and probably you too!).In this episode, I briefly review the imagery, meaning, and archetypal substance of The Hermit... Then I share five ways I worked with The Hermit this year — often without even realizing it in the moment. Some of these involved internal shifts, big downloads, and changes in routine. Others came from external experiences and interactions with other beings — human and nonhuman. My hope in sharing my examples is that you'll be begin to notice how The Hermit showed up for you this year! But if you want more help with that, join my Reflecting on the Year of The Hermit workshop on December 29.HEAD TO THE EVENTS PAGE for details on this workshop and others coming up this winter, including another on the Wheel of Fortune (and The Magician), our cards for 2026.If you enjoy the show, please subscribe, leave a review, and pass along to your creative and magical friends! Then have a sweet little chat about it!If you wanna share about your Hermit year or what landed for you in this episode, send me a DM on Instagram @typewritertarot.* Grab a copy of the novel I mentioned in this episode: Love & Fury by Samantha Silva.* To hear more about our decan walk in the Creative Magic Collective in 2026, join the waitlist!This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

Dreading the holiday push as your creative well runs low? In this episode, featuring recurring guest Arianna Smith, we explore the tricky balance of managing and riding our creative energy — and our obligations — while tending to our body's need for rest.The episode starts with a little catching up — we chat about recent offerings and some of the new perspectives we're inhabiting around creativity and visibility. We also talk about devotion versus discipline, and how "internal consistency" can sustain our craft when external output wobbles.Then we get into the coming holiday season and the tricky paradox of slowing down at time when we're called upon to travel, cook, spend money, clean, and decorate. Which bring us to the Fours of the Tarot — Four of Pentacles, Four of Wands, Four of Swords, and Four of Cups — and how we understand these archetypes and the messages they offer around slowing down and restoring energy. Arianna offers a quick Tarot pull to see which Four wants to speak to you, which you can follow with this three-card spread, if you want to go deeper:+ What's blocking me from slowing down?+ How can I connect with the Four that showed up for me?+ What's a next good step to help me take it slow?Finally, we explore cycle-aware planning that actually fits real life: seasonal shifts you can feel in the air, lunar timing for planting and illuminating, and hormonal rhythms that explain late-night bursts or sudden dips better than any productivity tip. Come for the tarot, stay for the relief of a kinder rhythm, and leave with one small change you can make today. If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share this episode with a friend who’s running on fumes, and drop a review so we can keep making thoughtful episodes for you.Check out Arianna's work and hop on her email list here!This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

Cecily welcomes back to the show Ariana Smith — twin, Alaskan homestead kid, IFS-certified therapist, copywriter, and professional tarot reader — to explore how place, family, and parts work can shape a creative and magical life. We wander through Alaska’s quiet woods and loud storms, talk nervous systems and city overload, and laugh about moose logic while tracing how nature trained us to notice what others miss.Then we flip the spread to group tarot. Reading for more than one person adds a witness, a third perspective who can validate, challenge, and playfully call in truth. We share real stories of family and group readings, and discuss the subtle ethics that make shared sessions feel safe. You’ll hear how certain card pairings — like Judgment and The Empress — speak like a creative bullhorn, and why good readings often expand complexity instead of forcing false clarity.We also get into the act and necessity of play and explore the various “play personalities,” like director, storyteller, explorer, and collector. Discover simple ways to host a low-pressure tarot night and give your guests a little magic they'll remember forever. We close with a Tarot pull on how to invite more play into our lives today. If this episode resonates, please: subscribe, share with a friend who loves Tarot or Alaska stories, and leave a review to help more creative spirits find us.Some things we referenced in this episode: the book Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal, The Liberation Tarot and Light Seer's Tarot, and check out Arianna's Sounding Board Sessions and her Pitch Party on November 5!This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

What happens when the tower that has confined you for decades finally falls? Artist Chantal de Felice spent twenty years as the primary caregiver for her mother who struggled with mental illness. When her mother passed in 2020, Chantal found herself suddenly free – and completely unprepared for that freedom.This conversation explores what happens when we're given a second chance to discover who we are. After her mother's death, Chantal sold her car, gave up her studio, and became what she calls a "tumbleweed" – traveling, making art, and slowly learning who she was outside of her caregiving role. For four years, she's been wandering, creating field recordings in nature, making paintings, and most importantly, learning how to identify her own needs after decades of putting someone else first.Water emerges as a powerful healing element throughout Chantal's journey. From daily ocean swims to finding lakes and rivers wherever she traveled, immersing herself in natural bodies of water became a ritual of reconnection with her body and senses. These experiences mirror the imagery of The Star card in tarot – a figure pouring water between vessels, representing the flow between conscious and unconscious realms, and the promise of renewal after devastation.Now working on an illustrated memoir based on fifty journals filled during her wandering years, Chantal shares how she's transformed her relationship with money, creativity, and love. Her story is a testament to resilience, healing, and the courage to rebuild an authentic life after loss. For anyone who has felt trapped by circumstance or is seeking to reclaim their creative spirit, this conversation offers both practical wisdom and profound hope.+ Follow Chantal's on Instagram, or via her website and Patreon.+ Check out The Evanesced Tarot by Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle mentioned in this episode. + Check out The Rebis issue on The Star (The Devil issue just became available for order, as of September 2025).This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, I talk with Arianna Smith, a licensed therapist, copywriter, and Tarot reader who helps therapists, spiritual seekers, and healers tap into their intuition and reclaim their power, both in life and in business. Arianna incorporates EMDR, human design, internal family systems, and intuitive development into her work supporting clients, whether in healing or marketing. In this conversation, Arianna shares about her experience coming to Tarot, through a therapist she worked with and her card-reading grandmother. But it was only recently that Arianna decided to bring Tarot into her work more publicly. Arianna shares about the nudges she received to integrate modalities and own her Tarot prowess while also holding boundaries that respect her various disciplines.We also discuss what it can look like to bring Tarot into a therapy space (whether you're the patient or the therapist); taking steps to "own" a Tarot practice more fully or publicly (in our own unique ways); powerful connections between addiction, recovery, and Tarot; and we pull a couple cards — The Lovers and 10 of Wands, which seem to depict two ends on a spectrum of of self-acceptance and care.And we leave listeners with a two-card Tarot spread to try on their own:CARD 1: What is a value that can be guiding in your spiritual journey?CARD 2: How can you release the burdens you're carrying around this?Join Arianna's Weekly Wordsmith newsletter here, and check out her work and services here at ariannasmith.com.** Arianna also recommended Abbie Atwood's Full Plate Podcast for a decolonized and expansive approach to disordered eating.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, I pull cards for a community member's quandaries and questions. This seeker writes that they SEE the cards sitting there across the room, but can't bring themselves to reach for the deck, shuffle it up, and commune with the magic. The drudgery of work is draining their energy, when all they want is a life "dripping with wonder and holy strangeness." (Ugh, don't we all!)I talk about how this is a really common experience for magical people trapped in the mundanity of 'consensus reality' (and capitalism!), having to always earn money, when we really want a life that feels so much more enchanting, wide-ranging, and substantive. This seeker asks the cards for HELP, and for insight into a series of recurring dreams about floods. So, I get out my deck, consult the cards, and share what I see! (I meant to get to two listeners in this episode, but had too much to say about the first, so expect another episode soon.)You can submit your stories and questions for a Tarot reading on the show by emailing me at [email protected]. Send some insight into your experience: a strange situation, a challenge, a desire, a creative predicament, a series of synchronicities, a supernatural encounter... and include a couple questions for the cards! I'd love to hear from listeners across the lands, so don't be shy. This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

✨ If you're finding this in June... CHECK OUT THE SUMMER SYNERGY SPECTACULAR — to support and celebrate 8 years of Typewriter Tarot! ✨In this episode, I share five key insights about the impact of academia on our creativity, particularly within fine arts graduate programs. I attended one myself — a LOOONNNNG time ago — but I've also worked with a number of creative people who have also been through such programs (so, I've got lots of anecdotal evidence). I share my own experience going through such a program (the upsides and downsides for me personally), and offer some important things in general to think about if you're considering such a program or have been through such a program already. If you have thoughts or experiences to share about MFA programs, email me at [email protected] podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, I dive into the HUGE topic of Capitalism and how it impacts our Creativity. I share 5 BIG THINGS I see within this tense relationship between the two, and what that often means for us as Creative Spirits. Let's explore... how Capitalism infiltrates our thoughts, beliefs, aspirations, and the way that we create — often without us even realizing it... what could it be like if Capitalism were not such a giant pair of handcuffs on our Creativity... and how we can open things up and de-capitalize our inner selves.I get all into it! I hope this episode offers some new perspective, insight, or even a min-breakthrough!ALSO DON'T MISS:+ The History of Tarot workshop with Christopher Marmolejo is Wednesday, May 7, from 4-6pm CT on Zoom. Register for $33, or become a member of the Creative Magic Collective for the same price. A recording will be available for those who can't attend live. + My workshop on Creative Wholeness is happening Wednesday, May 13, from 6:30-8:30pm CT. I'll offer a framework / map for truly living a more creative and magical life, spelling out the key elements I see in cultivating more creative freedom, flow, and joy in our creative practice. HRegister for $17, or become a member of the Creative Magic Collective. A recording will be available for those who can't attend live. I'D LOVE TO SEE YOU THERE!This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, we explore The Tower (no one's favorite card to receive!). The Tower is a card that can shake things up, to put it mildly, and bring about great change. My guest is rather familiar with The Tower's energy and impact, and shares about their personal experiences with this card as we explore this archetype of disruption, awakening, and reorientation.My wonderful guest is Robin Gow, a trans poet, writer, activist, educator (and demonologist!) whose YA novels include Gooseberry, Dear Mothman, and A Million Quiet Revolutions. Robin has also published multiple books of poetry, teaches self-defense classes, makes earrings, and leads workshops for kids, teens, and adults.Our conversation explores the various meanings and implications of The Tower — from breakdowns to break-ups to coming-out moments. One of Robin's most profound Tower experiences was their coming out as trans / nonbinary, which set Robin free in many ways, but also came with losses and grief.We talk about how The Tower can function on the macro and the micro level, on the COLLECTIVE LEVEL, and in the subtle, inner realms, but also in our homes, offices, and communities. (Robin and I both share a couple examples of Tower times when our inner and external worlds were eerily in parallel!)We also get into...+ how Robin got into Tarot (it involves a little witch shop in a tiny town!)+ using Tarot in a creative practice and navigating late-stage capitalism as a creative spirit+ wisdom for showing up and stepping back when it comes to engagement with the world, activism, and building community during Tower times+ advice for folks who are pulling The Tower in their readings+ Robin's experience growing up in a haunted house in Pennsylvania!In this current Tower moment, we hope this episode offers something helpful, inspiring, or even magical!You can follow & support Robin's work: on Instagram as @robin_gow_poet and @transdemonologist, visit Robin's website, purchase copies of Robin's books!We referenced the The Raven's Prophecy Tarot by Maggie Stiefvater.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, I talk about one of the foundational beliefs of my work — that creativity is an energy, not a personality trait, nor an exclusively human feature. I explain 5 elements, aspects, or implications of this belief and what it means for us as creatively inclined humans.I'm curious to know... does this resonate for you? Does it change the way you think about creativity?Expect a few more "5 Things" episodes about things like Creativity & Capitalism, Creativity & Academia, and The Creative Process. And let me know what else you want to hear about — send me an email at [email protected] you for listening! If this episode serves and supports you, please take a moment to leave a rating and review. Or share with a friend who might appreciate this exploration!This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

This is a follow-up on a previous episode (Using Tarot to Make Decisions — Part 1), where I talked about how I used Tarot as part of my process for making a big decision. I ended that episode giving y'all the impression that I'd gone with the option that appeared to be "less glorious," and a little softer.But after sharing that episode out, THINGS CHANGED! And I changed my mind. So, it feels only right to share what happened next, how it turned out (so far), and how, with some hindsight, I might have used the cards a bit differently as part of my decision-making process. If, at the end of this episode, you feel enlightened, or further confused, reach out! Send questions, if there's more you want to know that I didn't speak to... You can find me at [email protected] if you're curious about The Playground on April 11-13, click here.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, I talk with artist and illustrator Kevin Jay Stanton, creator of the Botanica Tarot, a deck comprised of 78 gorgeous paintings depicting a different plant for each archetype. Kevin's work on this deck included extensive research into the natural history, cultural associations, and mythologies associated with each plant, and these are included in the guidebook to inform the seeker's experience with the cards.Kevin is currently working on a companion oracle deck, Full Bloom, which features 33 cards that reflect different plant relationships, specifically those with pollinators, nectar robbers, and seed carriers. The two decks can be used together to deepen and expand the divination experience. In this conversation, Kevin shares about his lifelong relationship with plants, how he came to embrace art as his passion and full-time work, a couple naysayers he's encountered on the journey, and how his work on these two decks represent a powerful expression of himself as an artist and as a human in relationship with the natural world. With spring around the corner (in the Northern Hemisphere), it's a beautiful time to tune in with the energy and magic of plants. I hope you enjoy!You can learn more about Kevin's work on his website here, on Instagram here. You can support the Full Bloom Kickstarter here, and preorder Full Bloom or purchase the Botanica deck at Beehive books here. If you loved this episode and feel inspired to support this work, tips and gifts are welcome here. This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode exploring The Devil card, I talk with Khadi (Khadijat) Oluwatoyin, founder and director of Sober Black Girls Club, an organization that offers  support and community for Black women, femmes, and nonbinary folks who are practicing or exploring sobriety. Both Khadi and I share lived experience with alcohol addiction, a dynamic perfectly encapsulated in The Devil card. We talk about our struggles with alcohol, when and how we got sober, 12-step programs (their gifts and limitations), and what becomes possible when we reclaim our power from substances that may be draining our life force, health, creativity, and Spirit.But The Devil can also represent a number of other dynamics we experience as humans in this world, and Khadi and I get into those too: overachieving and seeking external validation, overconsumption, internal and external judgement, white supremacy and anti-blackness, instant gratification, denial, illusion and half-truths, choosing "the image" and ego over the real deal, taboos, control and domination, breaking cycles, bringing secrets out into the open, and LIBERATION!Khadi also shares some important links between America's history with alcohol and racial oppression. No moralizing or preaching here when it comes to alcohol and drug use (HOW COULD WE JUDGE?!), but this is a beautiful episode for anyone considering sobriety, practicing sobriety, or struggling with sobriety, and a relevant conversation for thinking about where our power lies (with us or elsewhere?) and how we can reclaim it.Check out (and support!!!) Sober Black Girls Club on Instagram and their website. Check out Khadi's new film 988: A Coming of Self Film. Check out the book Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery by bell hooks. This episode was beautifully edited by Chantal deFelice, and the logo for this podcast was created by Ami Plasse. This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

Recorded on an auspicious Martin Luther King Day that coincides with the inauguration of a new and former extremist US president... in the wake of the LA wildfires and the acceleration of climate collapse writ large, we turn to the novels of Octavia E. Butler, the groundbreaking Black feminist sci-fi writer whose work is rooted in the aspirations, truth-telling, and hopes of Afrofuturism.In a wide-ranging conversation with two of my favorite Afrofuturists — writer Evan Narcisse and liberatory coach Ebony Isis Booth — we explore The Parable of the Sower and The Parable of the Talents, two linked novels published in the 1990s that imagine the world of our present moment (2024 and beyond). In recent years, Parable of the Sower, in particular, has been bandied about on social media and elsewhere as a "prophetic" text — this novel foretold the use of the phrase "Make America Great Again" and described many of the changes that have come to define this first quarter of the 21st Century. But these references often merely scratch the surface, and we wanted to go deeper, looking into the "prophetic" quality of Butler's Parables and what they can teach us about how to survive the future that is here now, and arriving every day. Whether you've read the novels, you're curious about them, or you've caught wind of the hype and want to know more, this conversation will illuminate and situate these literary works in our current times, exploring themes of societal collapse, slavery, liberation, technology, community building, self-knowledge, imagination, and space travel. May this conversation nourish and inspire you as we move into yet another wild and challenging era of change. (Because, as Butler and her main character Lauren Oya Olamina have taught us, God IS change.) Find Ebony's work on her website, her Substack, and her podcast Ask Me How I Know. Find Evan on Bluesky and Substack.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

It's the year of The Hermit (because 2 + 0 + 2 + 5 = 9, The Hermit's number). And it's sure to be a wild year all around — politically, environmentally, technologically. So, what wisdom does The Hermit have to offer us as we head into the unknown?In this episode, I share three key themes from the Hermit workshop I hosted last week in the Creative Magic Collective. Presented as Hermit principles or philosophies, I invite you to think about how these might apply to your life in the coming year, and what might support you along the way.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, I share how I recently used Tarot to help me make a decision that felt risky and challenging, and how I fell into a hierarchical paradigm with the cards... but discovered later there was more nuance to what the cards offered (like always!!!). I use this story to share some thoughts about why we might consult the cards when we face big choices, how to regard the cards that show up, the goodness of calling in additional sources of information, allowing for time, choosing according to our own desires and needs, and embracing our agency to choose wisely for ourselves. I hope you enjoy! If this helped you in some way, if you have questions, if there's more you want to know that I didn't speak to... hit me up at [email protected] podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

To explore the Temperance card, I connected with Natalie Ross, a trauma-informed marketing coach and the creator of one of my favorite podcasts, the now-retired-but-still-available "Earth Speak," which aired from 2016 to 2023.In this episode, Natalie and I dork out about the art on both the Smith-Waite and the Gentle Tarot decks, analyzing the visual elements and parsing out themes and messages: earthy-ness versus the celestial, homeostasis and flow, balance, surrender, and peace.Natalie makes the beautiful connection that TEMPERANCE IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, and she shares her own journey from wondering "what's wrong with me?" and "why can't I fit into this world?" to realizing that her nervous system was in severe dysregulation and freeze (which prevented her from paying herself even though her business was making money). Through somatic therapy, Natalie found more balance and ease in her body, and now shares somatic healing work with her clients.We also talk about Temperance's relationship to the Death card, echoes with The Tower and The Star, the dissolution of the commons in Europe and the demonization of witches, accepting that we live inside oppressive systems while also resisting them, and tending to and mending our sense of aliveness. Plus, questions to ask yourself if you're pulling this card an eerie number of times!To connect with Natalie Ross, and schedule a free curiosity call, visit Natalie.net.Special thanks to Chantal de Felice, our sound editor, and Ami Plasse, our logo designer.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

For an exploration of The Hanged One, I had to talk to Amelia Hruby, creator and host of the podcast Off the Grid, a show for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing all their clients.These days, the prevailing logic is that ANY and EVERY successful business MUST have an Instagram account. But Amelia's made it her mission to show us what else is possible — something The Hanged One is in the process of realizing. This 12th card in the Major Arcana is about stepping away to take another look, being willing to change your mind, and the kind of inner work that prepares us to deviate from proscribed paths.In this episode, Amelia and I explore hanged-one themes of shifting perspectives, doing the thing you think is totally out of bounds, cutting cords with oppressive systems, changing the rules we live by, separation for the sake of private investigation, not needing others to agree with us, standing in our difference (of identity and opinion), and getting upside-down.Amelia also shares how one of her major Hanged One moments came when she broke up with diet culture, a choice that would prepare her to leave social media later — and start a whole business around it. We also discuss: realizing you're perhaps "an acquired taste," energetic sovereignty, what happens when your inner child needs "to matter on the internet," letting old crappy beliefs drop out of you like change from your upside-down pockets, starting a project because people keep coming to you for advice about something, staying with a project long enough for it take off, and finding a medium where you shine.Explore and follow Amelia's work here:Listen to Off the Grid on Apple, Spotify, and the Internet.Get Amelia's free Leaving Social Media Toolkit.Listen to the my tiny tarot podcast on Apple, Spotify, and the Internet.Check out The Interweb and the Off the Grid Clubhouse.Special thanks to Chantal de Felice, our sound editor, and Ami Plasse, our logo designer.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

I've deferred The Hanged One episode briefly (it would normally appear here), because this conversation on the Death card unexpectedly took on much bigger dimensions in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which devastated huge areas of Western North Carolina less than two weeks ago.My guest for this episode is Mara June — death doula, grief alchemist, and community herbalist who lives in Asheville, NC. Mara experienced the storm firsthand. In the aftermath they're connecting with and helping neighbors as, together, they navigate loss, try to meet basic needs, tend to their hearts, and cultivate moments of joy and sweetness.In this phone call recorded days after the hurricane, Mara shares about their experience during and after, and how people are resourcing themselves in this time of crisis. Mara talks about community as human nature, something our life force naturally wants to lean toward. We talk about how plants and animals assist us in our grief, and what it means (and looks like) to relate to Death — and life — with purpose, love, and curiosity.Follow Mara's work on Instagram, via their website, or Substack newsletter: Grief Spells.Make donations to support people recovering from Hurricane Helene: @Mara-Pfeffer on Venmo, Beloved Asheville, Appalachian Voices, New Disabled South. And to share mutual aid with people recovering in Florida after Hurricane Milton:Add more climate news to your Instagram feed by following: @postclimate (Washington Post's climate coverage), @sunrisemvmt, @so.informed, @earthlyeducation, @earthjustice, @itsthegarbagequeen, @sea.trees, @theclimatevote, @gogreensavegreen, @earthrise.studio, @greenpeaceafrica, centerforbiologicaldiversityFor structured guidance around climate action, check out Climate Changemakers.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

For the Justice card, I HAD TO talk to Maria Minnis, the liberatory Tarot goddess and author of Tarot for the Hard Work: An Archetypal Journey to Confront Racism and Imagine Collective Healing, Maria's book, which came out early this year (2023), explores each Tarot archetype within the Major Arcana through the lens of social justice work, offering reflection questions, recommended actions, and deeper study to help you grow and embrace your agency to initiate change.The Justice card is all about agency and action — particularly the actions that flow from our values, and so Maria and I talked about:The Justice archetype, its symbolism, and what it meansHow Justice MUST BE rooted in action, not just thoughtThe origins of Maria's book project and how it springs from her own social justice evolutionBringing nuance and context to our notions of justiceThe importance of communal engagement, curiosity, listening, and noticing in activism work, particularly for folks with greater privilegeReframing ideas around hierarchical leadershipThe role of creativity in social justice workWatching our elder leaders fail us (we recorded this during the GOP convention and before Biden dropped out of the presidential race)How youth offers creativity and fresh imagination for liberation effortsWhy it's important to fight for our creative impulse and our sense of integrity and valuesThe scales of justice as linked forces of creation and destructionWhat kink has to do with Tarot and liberation, and what it teaches us about communication, pleasure, and consentMaintaining levity in our activism effortsIn a world that continues to spiral toward authoritarianism and environmental collapse, our voices, activism, visibility, and  power is needed more than ever. Find inspiration and guidance in this rich conversation with an incredible mystic and change-maker!Learn more about Maria and her work on Instagram and on her website. Check out her Kinky Tarot podcast and her new learning community, the Lunar Liberation Society. And buy a copy of Tarot for the Hard Work here.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this microdose episode (un-edited and ALMOST under 30 minutes!), I follow up on our Hermit and Wheel of Fortune conversations to explore why it's so important to seek out and enjoy solitude. I talk about solitude as a place to center ourselves, discover what's true for us, commune with Spirit and Creativity, and just be in our own energy. I also talk about how solitude helps us navigate when the Wheel of Fortune injects change into our lives. Rather than simply reacting, or responding based on old patterns, or doing what other people think we ought to do, solitude helps us move from a center that is OURS. I also share a few choice quotes from Ranier Maria Rilke, and share an article about a modern-day hermit living in the French Alps.MORE FROM REAL-LIFE HERMITS:"A Hermit's Reality" by Caitlin L. Chandler in The NautilusTo Where God Dwells (documentary by Johannes M. SchwarzOne Year in the Life of a Part-Time Hermit (YouTube series by Johannes Schwarz)"Ranier Maria Rilke on Solitude" by Paula Marvelly in The CulturiumThis podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, we explore the Wheel of Fortune archetype with visual artist Ami Plasse, who I first met in group therapy! We start out this conversation reliving our Wheel-of-Fortune origin story — how we went from strangers in a therapy room to friends and collaborators in the "outside" world.Then we dive into the Wheel of Fortune card, exploring its rich symbolism and meanings, including "the unspeakable name of God" and the connection between god and change.Ami also talks about the varied elements of his multifaceted art practice — how he started out working in creative-director and art-director roles in advertising and tech companies and moved toward work as an independent artist. Ami details the different vectors his art takes — from drawing and illustration to animation, live-sketch drawing in Austin's music scene, painting utility boxes on street corners, and orchestrating group art projects.We also get into the difficulty of figuring out what elements of an artistic practice to emphasize to both satisfy your passion and make money, what it took for Ami to leave corporate and strike out on his own, and the importance of starting your thing sooner (rather than later) and creating your own definitions of success.Follow Ami on Instagram & check out his website. Follow his Central Texas Utility Box Project on Instagram, and support the project on Patreon.Sound production & episode editing by Chantal de Felice.Podcast logo design by Ami Plasse.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, we explore The Hermit card with poet and writer Chad Hutchinson, who is also a friend of mine. In our conversation, Chad talks about his personal Hermit story — how he spent much of his adult life "on the run," trying to escape The Darkness that found him when he was alone. When the pandemic hit in 2020 and Chad was forced to sit with himself, he made the choice to sit still on a blanket in his backyard, where he met a neighborhood cat and discovered a sense of peace. Since then, he's missed only ten sunsets. And he's started a prolific writing practice, which he shares on his three-year-old Substack newsletter (which I helped him start) called Transmissions from the Future.Chad's newsletters feature his poems, little prose pieces, mostly writing about his memories growing up in the 80s and 90s, his friends from music festivals, women he's loved, and the impressions and stories he gathers from sitting outside, visiting with the critters and watching the sky change. He also includes playlists and grainy photos from decades back.In our conversation, we get into various aspects of The Hermit — making the unconscious conscious, connecting with one's personal wisdom, confronting darkness, and finding the truth within. We discuss why alone-time is helpful to a Hermit's process, and what happens when we finally allow ourselves to grieve. We also touch on nostalgia (harmful or helpful?), befriending squirrels, turning off our phones, and fighting for happiness. Subscribe to Chad's Substack newsletter "Transmissions from the Future." And follow him on Instagram. You can find a lovely essay — "Walking with The Hermit" by Typewriter Tarot's Claire Bowman — over on our blog. It explores confrontations with the Hermit when alone time seems impossible to find. Thanks to Chantal deFelice for sound production and editing of this episode. And thanks to Ami Plasse for our podcast logo.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this microdose episode, we apply one lesson of the Strength card (self-acceptance and self-love) to help us explore, name, describe, and meet different parts of our Creative Self. Drawing on the framework of Internal Family Systems (or "parts work"), I outline an exercise to help you identify eight different parts of you that show up in your creative process — both helpful parts and hindering parts. I give examples, like the "color slut" who loves to play with and delight in color, always ready to play with paints and inks (a helpful part), and the "capitalist overlord" who shows up to make sure your work is "productive" or "profitable."Then we begin to imagine a family portrait that includes the eight parts you come up with and how they contribute to your creative process. I also offer a few additional exercises to help you work with one or two parts that seem to be most actively holding you back from where you want to go.For more prompts like these, check out my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits (find the link below). Use the discount code MAGICALLIFE to save $10 on your purchase. This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

Can the path to healing and self-love be found within the cards of the Tarot? Join me as we explore the profound lessons of the Strength card in the Major Arcana and its themes of self-love, tenderness, and resilience. Through personal reflections and stories, we unravel how this card invites us to embrace and nurture all aspects of ourselves, even those parts we find difficult to love. For this episode, I'm joined by Madeleine Gunhart, a cherished member of the Typewriter Tarot community, who shares her journey of navigating and overcoming emotional abuse, finding solace in the Tarot, and the transformative power of self-acceptance.In this conversation with Madeleine, you’ll discover how an unexpected spiritual journey, sparked by a fascination with witchcraft and nudged along by a perceptive therapist, can open doors to personal growth and inner peace. We also confront common misconceptions about spirituality and the societal judgments that often accompany it. Through vivid discussions about the recurring infinity symbol in the Strength card and its connection to renewable spiritual energy, we illustrate the ongoing journey of self-acceptance and love. Madeleine’s insights into the Swords suit add depth to our conversation, highlighting the importance of confronting and nurturing our inner thoughts and beliefs.We also get into topics like: our deep love for animals, Rachel Pollack's 78 Degrees of Wisdom, the therapeutic power of writing, and setting boundaries. You can learn more about Madeleine and connect with her on Instagram or via her website. And read Madeleine's essay, "Plucking Out and Picking Up the Swords," on our blog.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this collaborative episode with The Basement Girls podcast, we discuss the recent supernatural / horror film TAROT by Anna Holberg and Spenser Cohen, based on the 1992 novel Horrorscope by Nicholas Adams.I had a great time watching this film in the theater with Bianca Pérez and Steph Grossman, who cohost The Basement Girls podcast, which explores their mutual passion for the horror genre. I expected to hate this movie, thinking it falsely demonized Tarot. And while it wasn’t a mind-blowing, genre-redefining film, it was fun to watch as someone who loves Tarot and scary, supernatural stories. Steph, Bianca, and I had a really fun conversation (with spoilers!) about what we made of the movie, what we loved and didn’t love about it, and our own relationship to Tarot.Have a listen if you’ve seen the movie (or want to), if you love supernatural / horror films, and if you artforms that play with themes of magic and mystery! If you saw the move, let me know what you think at [email protected].+ You can listen to The Basement Girls podcast on Apple and Spotify.+ Bianca Pérez is also the guest featured in episode 9 about The Lovers card, if you want to hear more from her. You can also find her poetry chapbook Gemini Gospel here.+ Read “Likeness⁠⁠,⁠"⁠ Steph Grossman's latest horror-tinged short story, published in Joyland Magazine.Thanks to Steph Grossman for editing this conversation, and to Claire Bowman for editing this episode, and to Ami Plasse for our podcast logo!This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

This shorter episode is a follow-up to our conversation about The Chariot, where we apply Chariot-inspired questions to our creative work. I talk about the difference between internal and external motivation, and how the two can fuel our creative journey in very different ways. We also explore a series of questions to help you consider what kind of journey you want to have, and what you need along the way to get you where you want to go.PROMPTS for WHAT'S FUELING YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY?+ Make a list of the external motivators that are driving your work. List as many as you can think of.+ In a separate space or opposite page, make a list of the internal motivators that are driving your work. List as many as you can think of — big, small, and everything in between. Come back to your two lists over a period of days and continue to add more as you can think of them.PROMPTS for HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRAVEL?+ What kind of container or vehicle would suit you for this journey?+ What kind of emotional fuel will support you along the way?+ What kind of resources will you need as you travel?+ How might your ancestors provide support along the way?+ What will make this journey meaningful for you, beyond the desired outcome?OTHER NOTES:~ Check out some art cars!~ If you'd like to buy Tarot for Creative Spirits, use the code MAGICALLIFE at checkout to save $10.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, we explore The Chariot card with Hannah Levy, writer and editor of the Tarot journal The Rebis, which publishes annually, featuring a different Major Arcana card in each issue. The 2023 edition featured creative writing, nonfiction, art, photographs, and essays from more than 25 creators, all illuminating The Chariot archetype.In our conversation, Hannah shares a number of Chariot-related stories and insights — how she left her corporate 9-5 job to find a more suitable and sustainable way of working and living, and what it's like being the charioteer behind a publication that involves lots of moving parts.We also discuss the imagery of The Chariot, traditional meanings, and more subtle meanings that have made themselves known through lived experience. We also discuss rivers and resilience, time travel, getting unstuck, control and surrender, reframing definitions of success, and community and social media. This is a lovely episode for folks who spend time thinking about how we work, how we see ourselves in terms of achievement and accomplishment, and how we choose to move things forward in our own lives.You can learn more about Hannah via her website, on Instagram, and through her Substack //understories//. And you can learn more about The Rebis via its website, Instagram, and Substack. Hannah is also offering listeners 25% off The Chariot issue of The Rebis. Use code TYPEWRITERTAROT at checkout to save!This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

This shorter episode is a follow-up to our conversations about The Hierophant and The Lovers, where we turn those cards into guides for our creative work. Here, I'm sharing about how your art is a transmission — a broadcast of sorts, a message, a way of beaming something from inside of you to someone else. And even if no one sees what you create, your art can be a way for you to transmit something to your Future Self! I talk about why that's important, and how your art is also an act of love — for yourself and for others. Love is why we're here, my friends, and creativity is one way to express that. I explain how that works, and how this perspective can help us take the emphasis off perfectionism and imposter syndrome, so we can show up and CREATE!Mentioned in this episode:Check out Shanalee Hampton's embroidery work.Check out Ami Plasse's illustration work.Explore creativity coaching with yours truly.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, we explore The Lovers card with poet, teacher, and lover Bianca Alyssa Pérez, whose poetry chapbook Gemini Gospel dances with themes of this card deeply and beautifully, touching on self-love, grief, family, and romance. Our conversation starts with the imagery and symbolism of The Lovers, and unfolds into an exploration of Bianca's journey toward self-love as someone who struggles with anxiety and panic disorder. Bianca also shares what it's like being a Gemini and the challenge of making choices. She also shares her own beautiful love story — how she met her husband, Nick, in the midst of grieving her father, who she still feels connected to after his death. Throughout the episode, Bianca reads several poems from her book.We also get into...+ the rich symbolism and iconography of Catholicism+ how Bianca manifested a front porch through her poetry+ La Llorona, the mythical "crying woman" of South Texas lore+ how healthy relationships actually trigger us more+ pretending to feel good and protecting people from our feelings+ Bianca's love of horror films and the podcast she cohosts on this topic+ the up/downsides of creative writing MFA programs+ Bianca's advice to anyone pulling The Lovers card frequentlyTo connect with Bianca and learn more about her work, visit her website, follow her on Instagram, order her poetry chapbook Gemini Gospel, and check out her horror-film appreciation podcast The Basement Girls.+ Meet Chantal deFelice, our sound designer. + Meet Claire Bowman, our episode editor.+ Meet Ami Plasse, who designed the YC&ML logo.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, we explore The Hierophant with guest Becky Bullard, the creatrix, messenger, and megaphone behind Democrasexy, a project that aims to engage more people in the democratic and civic process by making it easier, more fun, and... sexy!In our conversation, Becky shares how her disappointment after the 2016 presidential election spurred to do more, and how a workshop on "awakening your highest self" led her to invoke the archetype of the messenger, which she embodies daily in her Democrasexy work.Our conversation also explores: overcoming the fear of speaking up and raising our voices, committing to a passion project whether it pays the bills or not, embodying our messages, how Becky decides which content to share and when, Becky's witchy work at the graveside of Ann Richards, boobs, costumes, "being from the future" and having to live in the present, and the dilemma of voting in a presidential election during a time of American-backed genocide.This episode will inspire you to claim your voice, consider what kind of messenger you are and want to be, and how The Hierophant may be inviting you to step into your own powerful voice.You can support and learn more about Becky's work via Democrasexy on Instagram, Substack, and via the Democrasexy website. Other resources mentioned in this episode:Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown+ Meet Chantal deFelice, our sound designer and episode editor. + Meet Ami Plasse, who designed the YC&ML logo.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this shorter episode, I stay with The Emperor just a moment longer (see previous episode), and invoke his energy to talk about creative space and why Creative Spirits need it — and deserve it!I talk about The Emperor's relationship to space as a container for his leadership, just like Creative Spirits need containers to move and hold their creative energy.I also talk about different forms and kinds of creative space, what that can look like, and I share a story about recently giving up creative space, feeling pretty twisted up about it, and how I claimed a new space once again. Finally, I share simple steps for increasing your creative space, while acknowledging that space is at a premium in late-stage colonial capitalism. But it's worth fighting for!If you'd like me to speak to a creative challenge you're wrestling with, please use the form below and share your questions! I'd love to bring them on the show.+ Meet Ami Plasse, who designed the YC&ML logo.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, we explore The Emperor with Kelly Marshall, a nonbinary writer and yoga therapist who supports people with nervous system recalibration, embodiment, and trauma-informed approaches to yoga, teaching, and community-building. Together, we examine the imagery of The Emperor card and the energies and meanings conveyed by the visual composition of the archetype. We question why female and femme-identifying folks might struggle to connect with this card (idk, could be THE PATRIARCHY?!). Kelly also shares how they have personally experienced embodiment with Emperor energy in a way that's been healing for them and others — through presence in academia, community, and kink and BDSM spaces. We also look at presentations of masculinity through the lens of The Emperor, exploring questions of responsibility and responsiveness. And we can't talk about The Emperor without discussing themes of organization, structure, energy leaks, allocation of resources, and breaking down big visions into smaller steps. We also get into sovereignty and self-determination as trauma-informed perspectives, Daddy issues, The Emperor's relationship to The Empress, and we pull cards to ask The Emperor a question. You can learn more about Kelly and their work on Instagram at @spectrumwellness or via their website.Other resources mentioned in this episode:+ Fight Right by John Gottman+ The Brady Tarot+ Fyodor Pavlov Tarot+ Meet Chantal deFelice, our sound designer and episode editor. + Meet Ami Plasse, who designed the YC&ML logo.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

This first shorter episode is for Creative Spirits who've abandoned, ghosted, or otherwise fallen out with a creative project they used to love. What's often standing in the way of a reunion with an abandoned project isn't just time, space, and a long to-do list. Usually, there's FEELINGS involved, and this tends to perpetuate avoidance. But all those feelings are NORMAL, and we're gonna normalize them! I share theories on why this happens, questions you can use to explore what's creating the distance, and how you might reconnect with your project, or determine if you want to!Here are questions I pose in the episode, should you want to journal or explore:What's the project? Give it a cute name and a little description.What felt good about the project? Why were you interested in it?Are you still interested in those things now? What are you into these days? What good came from working on this project to the extent you did? What did you learn or gain by starting?What thoughts or stories do you have about not working on the project? Be really honest here. (Write down all the ugly, outlandish things!)Read over what you've written for #5 and see what you notice. Are you sure these thoughts and stories are true?Is there a way to revise your stories around this "separation," and relieve any harsh feelings you're holding towards yourself? What would it be like to be gentle with yourself around all this?Sit and "commune" with the project (whether physically or in your own imagination).  Revisit the experience of getting started on the project... Then imagine yourself working on the project now. Notice how your body and spirit respond to visiting the past and and the future. After reconnecting, what do you think: Do you want to reconnect with this project? Possibly later? Or bring it closure?You could write a letter to your project, sharing your enthusiasm and gratitude, and stating what you'd like to do going forward.Got a project you're torn about? Reach out to [email protected], and share a little bit about what's going on... Maybe I can answer your question — and pull some cards — to explore your situation on a future quickie-sode!+ Meet Ami Plasse, who designed the YC&ML logo.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, we explore The Empress, the vast creative force that moves through nature and gives us LIFE! Our guest is an Empress herself — Christina Rosales, a journalist-turned-activist who developed a video game about housing justice, which she turned into a stage play. Christina also sews her own clothes, is raising a young son, and has two artistic passions I didn't even know about until late in our conversation!Christina and I talk about the many faces of The Empress and what she teaches us about creativity, interconnectedness, rest, receiving, biodiversity, and collective action. Christina also shares about her Mexican and Catholic roots in South Texas, her organizing with Power Switch Action, "the how-hard-can-it-be?" bone in her body that keeps her doing incredible things, and her journey toward claiming her own power. We ask The Great Empress of the Cosmos (by pulling a Tarot card): How can we find peace within our family?Christina shares a lot of wisdom in this episode, and her words are likely to inspire you to create in a new way, take action for your community, or take a creative stance toward something that challenges you.Follow Christina's sewing adventure on Instagram. Download Dot's Home in the Apple App Store, or here, where you can also learn more about the game. Hear the NPR Marketplace story about Dot's Home. Learn more about Power Switch Action on Instagram or via their website. Learn more about the Rise-Home Stories Project here. Learn more about A Host of People here. And about Detroit Action here. + Meet Chantal deFelice, our sound designer and episode editor. + Meet Ami Plasse, the artist who created YC&ML's logo.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this episode, we explore The High Priestess with Ebony Isis Booth, a coach who supports primarily Black and Indigenous folks in transformation, leadership, and emotional alchemy. Our conversation explores the second Major Arcana card through the lens of intuition, self-trust, and Spirit, and we talk about internal and external resistance that arises when intuition delivers its wisdom.Ebony also teaches us about "unclenching our butt cheeks" and takes us through an exercise to experience this act of full-body softening, which helps The High Priestess connect with us.Ebony also shares about growing up Southern Baptist and finding her way to a personal spirituality that draws on African and other mystic traditions. She also talks about receiving an intuitive hit, and how she wrestled with that knowing before the follow-through. We also talk about alcohol (and quitting!); The Matrix, The Color Purple, and Goosebumps; a drunk man in a banana suit who wanted a Tarot reading; taint-hairs and buttholes; being human as a revolutionary act; going outside; and more!Here's an incomplete list of time codes for this delicious & juicy episode:+ How Tarot came into Ebony's life (18:30)+ Who is The High Priestess & where can we find her (31:45)+ How to unclench your butt cheeks & connect with The High Priestess (1:20:45)+ Submissions from the community on experiencing intuition (1:49:33)+ A creative prompt for The High Priestess (1:58:04)Follow Ebony's work:+ Check out her website ebonyisisbooth.com.+ Follow her on Instagram @coachebonysaid.+ Listen to her podcast What Would It Look Like?+ Read her Substack newsletter Ebony Imago: A Black Womanist Gaze.+ Meet Chantal deFelice, our sound designer and episode editor. + Meet Ami Plasse, the artist who created YC&ML's logo.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

Since this show is just getting started, and this episode focuses on THE MAGICIAN, I spend a little time explaining what I mean by Your Creative & Magical Life, and I share about my theory of creativity and how magic can how up in different ways and how we can invite it into our lives.Then I talk with writer, zine-maker, and postmodern witch Jessica Jernigan all about The Magician archetype. Jessica and I co-teach this card and riff off The Magician's energy — how "manifestation mindset" and "create your own reality" thinking can be dangerous, the trickster side of The Magician, different ways of defining magic, and magic within and beyond certain cultural frameworks.Jessica also shares about the year she went all-in on witch life, her journey towards Tarot (which starts in the 80s with "Mists of Avalon), the witchy zines she creates, and what it's like launching and running her Substack and writing cover copy for Harlequin romance novels.We also get into the relationship between The Magician, The High Priestess, and The Fool; Tarot's recent expansion into the mainstream; bringing social justice into Tarot readings; offering readings through different formats;  the magic and (anti-magic) of aging; plus labor unions, Starhawk, and more! The episode closes with a creative prompt for working with The Magician.+ Subscribe to Jessica's Substacks: Postmodern Witch & Croning, buy her zines, and follow her on Instagram.+ Meet Chantal deFelice, our sound designer and episode editor. + Meet Ami Plasse, the artist who created YC&ML's logo.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.

In this inaugural episode, I kick things off with a little tribute to Mom and Dad, then we dive right in to explore The Fool and the elements and symbols we see in this very first card of the Tarot. I talk about what The Fool IS and ISN'T about, and how this podcast reflects a Fool moment, which reflects the very Fool-like origins of Typewriter Tarot. Then, I bring on a member of the Typewriter Tarot coven, Annar Veröld, a writer, filmmaker, publisher, and graphic designer, who shares about her recent experience dancing with The Fool after a period of grieving the loss of a dear friend. The episode closes with a creative prompt for working with The Fool in your life. Read Annar's writing on Death and The Fool cards.+ Meet Chantal deFelice, our sound designer and episode editor. + Meet Ami Plasse, the artist who created YC&ML's logo.This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. Learn more & join us:Join the newsletter and receive the first 3 journaling prompts from Tarot for Creative Spirits (the workbook).Subscribe to Typewriter Tarot's Substack.Check out upcoming events & workshops.Work one-on-one with Cecily (book a free curiosity call).Book a Tarot reading.Shop our bookshop.