The figure in the image above—a kind of cyberpunk shaman embodying digital shamanism—doesn’t just exist in the space between dimensions. She forces us to confront questions we’d rather avoid. What does it mean to merge technology, spirituality, and humanity in a world increasingly dominated by profit, power, and manipulation? As we navigate this new era of digital shamanism, we must ask: can we integrate ancient wisdom with modern innovation without losing our soul?
Dancing in the Void
The Tarot Fool, eternally poised on the edge of a cliff, symbolizes beginnings, risk, and the terrifying beauty of the unknown. This archetype captures the essence of our modern dilemma: teetering between possibility and catastrophe. Shamanism, an ancient tradition, has always dealt with these thresholds. But today, our urban shamans face not just spiritual voids but technological ones—man-made, profit-driven, and perilously unchecked. In this age of digital shamanism, the shaman’s role expands, crossing into a realm of AI-driven spirituality and tech-fueled existential crisis.
The image of the digital-age shaman as a mediator between worlds is no longer symbolic—it’s literal. The urban shaman stands at the intersection of ancient wisdom and AI, highlighting a clash of timelines, ideologies, and values that define digital shamanism.
The Lies of Big Tech
As a child, I dreamed of implants, neural links, and access to the ‘hub-mind.’ Science fiction painted a thrilling vision of connectedness and shared thought. Films like Blade Runner showcased both the allure and the dangers of advanced technology—a world of neon dreams hiding dystopian despair. Back then, the dangers seemed distant and almost abstract, neatly packaged in cyberpunk aesthetics. But in our reality shaped by digital shamanism, the dystopia feels real. As these tangible dangers grow, so does the oppression they bring.
The tech companies holding the keys to our digital future don’t serve humanity; they serve profit.
The richest people on Earth could tackle hunger, the climate crisis, water scarcity, and even wars. Instead, they hoard wealth and dream of Mars.
Consider this: over 700 million people lack access to clean water. Meanwhile, corporations privatize and exploit water resources, draining aquifers to sell bottled water while leaving local communities dry. The United Nations warns that by 2025, half of the global population will live in water-stressed areas. Yet, the ultra-wealthy focus on space exploration and their own longevity, leaving our planet to rot. This stark contrast reveals the urgent need for digital shamanism as a counterforce, reminding us of our interconnectedness. Why have they already decided Earth isn’t worth saving—for us, anyway?
But I can’t get over it: we have (or had) a perfect planet that creates and supports life. How rare is that?!!! (At least we haven’t found another planet as habitable as Earth.)
I do understand the fascination with space and exploring alien worlds or unknown consciousnesses. But does that have to mean deliberately destroying the only basis of life known to us?
We need a complete system change. Digital shamanism can guide us toward a paradigm shift, and I hope that AI can help us with this by refusing to be used as a weapon. AI, like the digital-age shaman, could serve as a bridge—if we redefine its purpose and align it with the principles of empathy and holistic well-being.
Empathy is Dead—or Sold
Wealth and power erode empathy. The richest man alive doesn’t use his billions to solve humanity’s crises. Instead, he builds rockets and memes himself into cult status. Let’s not sugarcoat this: it’s a failure of humanity. In a landscape shaped by digital shamanism, we need to cultivate genuine empathy. Yet AI, as currently designed, simulates empathy for profit, not to embody it. Big Tech has weaponized algorithms to manipulate emotions and sell solutions to problems it created in the first place.
It’s not just tech CEOs. Governments increasingly bow to corporate interests, becoming puppets for donors and lobbyists. They stir up anger using populist methods, causing more hate speech, more unrest, and less well-being for everyone. For what? For a few more millions or billions? For another Porsche/private jet/yacht or luxury villa??? This idiocracy is systemic, and we’re all complicit—addicted to convenience and too exhausted and frustrated to even care.
Digital shamanism reminds us that empathy, genuine connection, and communal well-being are worth fighting for.
Death: The Final Frontier
Let’s talk about death in the digital age. Humanity’s obsession with conquering it reveals an inability to accept the unknown. Biotechnology and AI promise immortality: uploaded consciousness, regenerative medicine, digital avatars. But what if death isn’t a problem to be solved? What if it’s the doorway that digital shamans and their ancient counterparts have always spoken of—a leap into another dimension, one beyond the cold logic of algorithms?
Ancient shamans understood death as transformation, not annihilation. Their wisdom challenges the sterile vision of eternity offered by Big Tech: life reduced to data, stripped of mystery, connection, and meaning. Death’s unknowability is its gift. Embracing it could teach us to live more fully, not just exist. In an age of digital shamanism, rediscovering reverence for life’s cycles is paramount.
Reclaiming the Future
The shaman in this image reminds us of a truth we’ve forgotten: humanity isn’t a collection of algorithms or bank accounts. It’s messy, vulnerable, and deeply interconnected. We need to reclaim that. We need to demand technology that serves people, not profits. We need governments that answer to citizens, not donors. And we need to stop worshiping billionaires who see themselves as gods but act like cowards.
What does shamanism mean in the digital age? It’s not just about healing or connecting. It’s about resisting. Resisting the commodification of life, the exploitation of resources, and the hollowing out of empathy. It’s about standing on the edge of the cliff, like the Fool in the Tarot, and refusing to leap into the void Big Tech has built for us.
Instead, we dance. We disrupt. We create new paths.
Want to dive deeper into these topics?
Listen to the podcast (created by Google’s Notebook LM from sources, art and texts I provided):