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 hello@typewritertarot.com.

Hop 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.