Your Creative & Magical Life

Message the show & share your thoughts!

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 Nautilus
To Where God Dwells (documentary by Johannes M. Schwarz
One Year in the Life of a Part-Time Hermit (YouTube series by Johannes Schwarz)
"Ranier Maria Rilke on Solitude" by Paula Marvelly in The Culturium

This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. 

Learn more & join us:

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Study & practice Tarot, astrology & creativity in Cosmic Garden.

Get a copy of my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits.

Book a Tarot or Creative Cosmology reading.

Shop our bookshop.

Message the show & share your thoughts!

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:

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Study & practice Tarot, astrology & creativity in Cosmic Garden.

Get a copy of my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits.

Book a Tarot or Creative Cosmology reading.

Shop our bookshop.

Message the show & share your thoughts!

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:

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Study & practice Tarot, astrology & creativity in Cosmic Garden.

Get a copy of my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits.

Book a Tarot or Creative Cosmology reading.

Shop our bookshop.

Message the show & share your thoughts!

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). 

This podcast is a production of Typewriter Tarot. 

Learn more & join us:

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Study & practice Tarot, astrology & creativity in Cosmic Garden.

Get a copy of my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits.

Book a Tarot or Creative Cosmology reading.

Shop our bookshop.

Message the show & share your thoughts!

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:

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Study & practice Tarot, astrology & creativity in Cosmic Garden.

Get a copy of my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits.

Book a Tarot or Creative Cosmology reading.

Shop our bookshop.

Message the show & share your thoughts!

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:

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Study & practice Tarot, astrology & creativity in Cosmic Garden.

Get a copy of my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits.

Book a Tarot or Creative Cosmology reading.

Shop our bookshop.

Message the show & share your thoughts!

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:

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Study & practice Tarot, astrology & creativity in Cosmic Garden.

Get a copy of my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits.

Book a Tarot or Creative Cosmology reading.

Shop our bookshop.

Message the show & share your thoughts!

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:

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Study & practice Tarot, astrology & creativity in Cosmic Garden.

Get a copy of my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits.

Book a Tarot or Creative Cosmology reading.

Shop our bookshop.

Message the show & share your thoughts!

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:

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Study & practice Tarot, astrology & creativity in Cosmic Garden.

Get a copy of my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits.

Book a Tarot or Creative Cosmology reading.

Shop our bookshop.

Message the show & share your thoughts!

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 frequently

To 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:

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Study & practice Tarot, astrology & creativity in Cosmic Garden.

Get a copy of my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits.

Book a Tarot or Creative Cosmology reading.

Shop our bookshop.