mama mystic
Isabel Mareş is a queer, neuro-expansive mama and creative working at the intersections of social justice, spirituality, and the arts. She is a trained opera singer, social impact strategist, and mindfulness practitioner who sees both herself and the divine as a matrioșca (aka nesting /Russian doll), within which there are multitudes of expressions. She is also a third generation divinator with Transylvanian roots, and has developed intuitive Tarot practices that help us heal through story.
Isabel is a folklorist, facilitator, budding herbalist, and post-partum advocate. Her work draws upon her rich Balkan-Celtic lineages, as well as those of her BIPOC, queer teachers & mystics. She identifies as an eco-feminist and has been privileged to study/work alongside eco-theologians and environmental activists. (You can explore some of these teachers below.)
As a classically trained singer turned turned interfaith theologian, Isabel believes ancient stories and rituals can be made new, becoming vehicles for personal and collective liberation.
teachers & training
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Master of Arts in Theology and the Arts, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, 2014-2016Thesis: Meeting Our Mother: A Reintroduction to Eve through Creative Exegesis
Advisors: Brigitte Kahl, Cornel West
Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Religion, City University of New York, Hunter College, 2011-2014
Thesis: Music of the Outsider: The Romani Lăutari Reclaiming Their Humanity
Advisor: Barbara Sproul
Classical Voice & Opera Performance, Manhattan School of Music, 2008-2010 -
Barbara Sproul, author of Primal Myths
Rev. Brigitte Kahl, ThD, DrSc Theol, feminist biblical scholar
Chung Hyun Kyung, M.Div, Ph.D, eco-feminist theologian
Dr. Cornel West, philosopher, theologian, political activist
David M. Carr, MTS, MA, PhD, scholar of sexuality and gender in the Bible
Geraldine Patrick Encina, PhD, indigenous climate activist
Karenna Gore, author, lawyer, and climate activist
Robert Wright, author and journalist (Isabel is thanked in his book, “Why Buddhism is True”)
Sara Jolena Wolcott, M.Div, ecotheologian and climate/colonization scholar
Tonja Reichley, Celtic herbalist & ritualist
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Isabel has performed and presented original work in cultural institutions and communities across North America, including:
13th Street Repertory Theater, Atlas DIY: Immigrant Youth Empowerment Network, Althea Center for Engaged Spirituality, Center for Earth Ethics, Church of the Village, Columbia University, Gibney Dance, Good Shepherd Services, JCC Buffalo, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, MINKA Brooklyn, NYU Gallatin, The Rubin Museum of Art, Union Theological Seminary, YWCA -
The Mahloket Matters Covenant Fellowship, The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, 2021
An educational leadership cohort exploring the generative power of civil discourse for a limited number of Pomegranate Prize recipients, Covenant Foundation grantees, and associated artists
Yale Travel Grant Award, Graduate Conference in Religion and Ecology, Yale University, 2018
Robert E. Seaver Award, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, 2016
Awarded annually to a graduate who has done distinguished work in worship and the arts
Recipient of the Five Mindfulness Trainings in the Zen Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, Blue Cliff Monastery, 2016
Union Scholarship, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, 2014
The Scholarship and Welfare Fund Graduate Scholarship, City University of New York, 2014
FAQs
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I get this question a lot! I went to seminary and took many of the same courses as my colleagues who pursued M.Div degrees. However, I have remained unaffiliated with any singular religious community and do not find my work at the pulpit. I have deep reverence for and experience with Judeo-Christian mythos, as well as Buddhist, Hindu, and pre-Christian goddess religions across Europe.
I do, however, perform rituals in holy spaces — such as churches, temples, synagogues — and collaborate with rabbis, ministers, and other clergy a lot.
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You may have already gotten the sense that I don’t love straight-forward categorization — of myself, or anything, really. This applies to working with me, too.
Folks reach out to me for; music meditation, Tarot, rituals, writing, postpartum support, podcasting collabs, and writing, to name a few.
I am always surprised by what a conversation can usher forth, so feel free to book a quick chat if there’s something you are curious about exploring with me!
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I come from a long line of people — primarily femme-identifying folk — who braided and practiced pre-Christian and Christian rituals. My grandmother was a Transylanian fortune-teller and my mother studied Romani dance and Christian mysticism. I emerge from the “both and,” honoring that most dogmas would not have survived a single generation if not for rich folk practices and devotions that predated them.
I spent years wrestling with whether I could have both spirits and saints, arriving only at the truth that divinations (in my case Tarot) is one expression — an acknowledgement — that we are ‘everything, everywhere, all at once.’
language matters
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I was born with a peripheral neuropathy called Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT). This neurological disorder predominantly affects the nerves and muscles of the hands, feet, and legs. The lifelong loss of strength and sensation in these muscles and nerves not only impacts my mobility but also the way I experience myself in space. CMT alters how I perceive the world and how I think. Science is still catching up to understanding the relationality between mind-body. So, “neuro-expansive” helps me honor that.
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I dream of a world without borders. My ancestors were connected to geographies – mountain ranges, forests, rivers, and seas. Rather than cite nations whose names and borders bear painful scars of political regimes and empires, I honor older identities. Being Balkan allows for me to acknowledge a multi-storied topography of ancestry. Claiming Celtic also allows for me to honor a precolonial link to my ancestry from the isles.
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A folklorist is one who studies folklore, which encompasses the traditional beliefs, customs, stories, songs, and practices of a particular culture or community. Folklorists examine how cultural expressions are passed down through generations, exploring their meanings, variations, and the role they play in society. They may focus on oral traditions like myths, legends, and folktales, as well as material culture, rituals, festivals, and other forms of cultural expression. Folklorists often analyze how folklore reflects the values, struggles, and identities of a community, and they may collect, preserve, and interpret these traditions.
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Ecotheology is the study of the relationship between religion and the environment, focusing on how spiritual beliefs and practices shape human attitudes toward nature. It explores how religious traditions can inform ethical responses to ecological issues like climate change, conservation, and sustainability. By integrating theological insights with environmental concerns, ecotheology encourages a deeper, more responsible relationship between humanity and the Earth.
