K.A. Laity's Blog

The Hand of Sabazios! This ritual relic pops up here in there in archaeology from Asia through Europe. A cult which began in Asia Minor, Sabazios was quickly appropriated by the Greeks and then Romans, often appearing beside Hermes and Pan. These bronze hands were probably used in both altar niches and processions, where they... Read More

I met Stephanie down the river at Katonah for a great day of rebel plan making and of course, Leonora Carrington. This was much the same exhibit as we saw at the Rose Museum, so it was like seeing old friends. And getting a better look in some cases. It was a more relaxing day... Read More

As part of History day at Claverack Library, the Dutch Reformed Church ran a tour through the cemetery. While I have lived in this area for some time now, I had never wandered through this place, though I drive by it so often I always think I should. While retaining the restrained, no-nonsense affect you... Read More

WRITER WEDNESDAY 1 Oct 2025 Claverack Free Library 6pm #WriterWednesday at Claverack Free Library returns this month and we have some exciting plans for the future. This month we’re going to look at Flash Fiction, which seems the perfect genre for this moment when we are all pressed for time and there are so many... Read More

Now in the shop: L’Étoile! Do you see the Star? Egyptomania was rampant in occult circles of the 18th and 19th centuries. This Star Card is adapted from Les XXII Lames Hermètiques du Tarot Divinatoire (1896) by R. Falconnier, illustrated by M.O. Wegener, son of the Swedish-born French photographer, Otto Wegener. Now that the Tower... Read More

Thanks to the monumental skills of Stephanie the Queen of Everything, I now have a Threadless store with merch to sell! First up a LIMITED TIME OFFER for fundraising TOUR MERCH to help pay my way to Berlin for Occulture where I will be spreading the gospel of Leonora Carrington, of course! You can get... Read More

I hit this fabulous MOMA exhibit in the spring with the fabulous QoE Stephanie before I ran off to Dundee for the summer, but realise I never posted pix. Here’s a small selection (so hard to choose). It moves from the more familiar mode of abstract psychic phenomenon to the direct from nature renderings (with... Read More

Call for PresentationsDivination, Witchcraft & the Occult *SPECIAL TOPIC*Popular Culture Association Conference8-11 April 2026Atlanta, GA, US The broad interest in divination, witchcraft, and the occult has been part of popular culture for centuries. Scholars’ discomfort with the topic is often palpable: they tend to focus on intersections that feel more legitimate, e.g. legal ramifications (laws... Read More

Rudolph Fisher’s 1932 novel The Conjure Man Dies evokes both the Harlem Renaissance and Golden Age mysteries as well as embodying in important ways the more authentic voice of the streets that Dashiell Hammett had begun to make sing. Of course Fisher’s voice remains distinct from all of these: a polymath who studied to be... Read More

On a cloudy day that did end up with rain, I headed out to Broughty Ferry to wander, mudlark and do a little thrifting, because you know the thrifting is better with the poshos. The rain was well-timed to grab a sandwich and daydream and people watch. A suitably Gothic day at the beach, which... Read More