Creative Altars: From the Desk of Pointy Hat Press is a collection of musings, memories, and creative seeds from the desks of Pointy Hat Press co-founders, Kristin Lisenby & Caitlyn Barone. In this series, two witches share their current inspirations, works in progress, and other glimmers of everyday magick. Questions for Pointy Hat Press? Send a DM or leave a comment for Kristin and Caitlyn below.
Last week, I gave my mother her first oracle deck. It was her 70th birthday, and I flew from the Azores to California to surprise her. Although I have a decent collection of tarot cards, I felt the pressure of choosing someone’s first set. I decided on the Archetypes tarot by Kim Krans, a deck I don’t own but have admired from afar. Instead of the suits of pentacles, wands, swords, and cups, this deck is organized by selves, places, tools, and initiations. The first archetype that welcomes us into the wild unknown? The Mother, of course.
“We begin our archetypal story with The Mother’s love. Through her sensual, fertile, and life-giving energy all creation takes form. Regardless of our birth story, each of our hearts beat for the first time in the warm womb of The Mother, where she offered resources from her body for the building of our own. Yet her tale is not so simple, as The Mother (especially on the earthly plain) contains both light and dark aspects of the feminine. With the best of intentions The Mother wraps her loving arms around her creations and begins to grip what she meant to set free. The Mother both nurtures and prohibits growth. She gives, yet clings. She creates, yet restricts. Amid this complex energy, The Mother holds the key to the external challenge of love.”
Kim Krans, The Wild Unknown: Archetypes
Krans suggests that the initial archetype might have been The Mother. She writes, “It is possible she has always been there. From her, everything derives.”
At Pointy Hat Press, we often say that mothering is a form of magick. Even when ‘women’s work’ is hurled as an insult, mothering endures as a kind of ancestral work. Mythically speaking, the Mother is the Creator. She is the Gardener of things living and things dead. In stories, she reminds us to nurture the body and spirit that delivers us across time’s spiraling dance floor.
Sourcing old books dedicated to ancient goddesses is one of my favorite ways to divine with this archetype, so naturally, I collected a few new (vintage) finds on my trip home. I’m especially excited about this book by Esther Harding (originally published in 1935) and Merlin Stone’s Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood. I also grabbed quite a few James Hillman texts, Margaret Atwood's Negotiating with the Dead, and a haunting novel that might debut in our next Book Club. Scroll up to the top to see more of my book haul.
Before I made it to California for my mom’s birthday surprise, I stayed in New York with my work wife, Caitlyn Ann Holowaty-Barone, for a week. We explored the massive greenhouse skeleton at Lyndhurst Castle, our favorite Tarrytown bookstore, and the inside of many a weeping maple tree. We thrifted trinkets, dreamed up new projects (and dusted off a few old ones), and watched documentaries in bed. It was bliss.
If you’re looking to add a visual element to one or more of your creative projects, Caitlyn is opening the Art Witch Atelier: a five-week study in creative occultism and self-expression! Starting in June, she’ll be exploring art-making as ritual, combining artistic study with generative prompts to infuse our creative process with occult knowledge and practice. In our fourth gathering, I’ll be discussing Hilma af Klint, spirit drawing, and channeling our muses through our art.
Even if you don’t consider yourself an artist, that’s okay! Creative hearts of all levels are invited to explore self-expression, divination, and their unconscious material through historical context and spontaneous art-making methods. Learn more and join the Art Witch Atelier here.
Naturally, I couldn’t leave New York without summoning Kate Belew for an afternoon at the Cloisters.
We saw the Unicorns together.
There was also a magical garden full of medicinal and poisonous plants.
Some say that May begins a season of miracles, and even as my trip wound down, the magic pressed on when I won this adorable doll from Ry over at Fig and Crow Made (formerly Starfolk Stitchery). Doesn’t she remind you of the enchanted doll carried by our heroine in the folktale Vasalisa the Wise? For now, she’s perched on my altar for a bit of nostalgia magick, and as a reminder to meet with my inner Little Witch, often and with curiosity.
And speaking of Little Witch, after a brief hiatus, Caitlyn and I have a new fairy tale coming soon to the Little Witch Books library! More details to be revealed, but until then, you can join the waitlist for Little Witch Tales: The Scavenger Hunt here.
Thanks for reading Creative Altars: Book Recs for Wyrd Women by Pointy Hat Press! Pointy Hat Press is a place for fairy tales and folklore, reimagined. Follow us on Substack and Instagram, sign up for our Moon Letters, and consider adding our original fairy tales to your library. You can also find us telling stories and talking about our latest creative quests on the Pointy Hat Press podcast.
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