Hilma’s Ghost began the way many pandemic-era revelations did: by accident, and then all at once. During lockdown, artists Dannielle Tegeder and Sharmistha Ray found themselves working in neighboring studios. Both established artists and educators, they shared a deep investment in abstraction and a set of common questions about feminism, power, and what art history leaves out. Eventually, they discovered they were also both witches. Founded in 2020 and named for Hilma af Klint, Hilma’s Ghost is an artist collective that brings spirituality and feminist thinking into contemporary art practice. Their breakout project, Abstract Futures Tarot—a suite of paintings, drawings, and a tarot deck now in its third edition—was shortlisted by The New York Times as one of the exhibitions to see at the 2021 Armory Show. Through exhibitions, workshops, and public projects, including a permanent mosaic mural commissioned by MTA Arts & Design and installed in Grand Central Station, Hilma’s Ghost treats ritual and intuition not as metaphor but as method. Their work often feels less like a static visual object than a form of living spellcraft. Their reading list reflects this approach: books that recover overlooked spiritual and feminist traditions, question the idea of modernism as purely rational, and treat spiritual practice as a serious way of understanding the world rather than a curiosity.

Below are Hilma’s Ghost’s favorite books, available to purchase individually or as a set.