Hex and Muse
A podcast for the curious, the creative, and the quietly powerful.
Hex & Muse is a slow-burning exploration of modern mysticism, feminine power, and the spaces where history, art, and ritual entwine.
Hosted by a practicing witch, artist, and seeker, this show isn’t a how-to guide; it’s a breadcrumb trail.
Each episode invites you into a moment of reflection through storytelling, folklore, sacred practices, and the occasional deep-dive into witches in art, culture, and cinema.
From building altars and meeting goddesses, to walking ancestral paths and unearthing forgotten histories; this is a gathering for those who feel the hum of something more beneath the surface of things.
Come as you are.
Take what you need.
And from my altar to yours - welcome.
Hex and Muse
The Scottish Witch Trials - Ashes in the Archive
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In this episode of Hex & Muse, we step into the Scottish witch trials — where thousands, most of them women, were accused and executed under the Witchcraft Act of 1563.
Through historical research and recorded testimony, we explore how fear became law, and how ordinary lives were transformed into accusation.
This episode was inspired in part by the work of the Witches of Scotland podcast:
https://www.witchesofscotland.com/podcast
References & Further Reading
- Goodare, Julian. The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context. Manchester University Press, 2002.
- University of Edinburgh. Survey of Scottish Witchcraft Database. https://www.shc.ed.ac.uk/Research/witches/
- Larner, Christina. Enemies of God: The Witch-Hunt in Scotland. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981.
- Roper, Lyndal. Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque Germany. Yale University Press, 2004.
- Levack, Brian P. The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe. Routledge, 2016.
- Gaskill, Malcolm. Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2010.
- James VI of Scotland. Daemonologie. 1597.
- Sollee, Kristen J. Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive. ThreeL Media, 2017.
- Witches of Scotland Campaign. https://www.witchesofscotland.com
- Witches of Scotland Podcast. https://www.witchesofscotland.com/podcast
- Scottish Parliament (2022). Statement by Nicola Sturgeon on the Scottish Witch Trials.
North Berwick Witch Trials (1590–1592)
Lilias Adie (d. 1704)
Maggie Wall (c. 1657, memorial)
Agnes Sampson (executed 1591)
Isobel Gowdie (confessions, 1662)
Janet Horne (executed 1727)
Hex & Muse is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I pay my deepest respects to their Elders past and present - and to all First Nations people, whose stories and spirits continue to shape this land.
Follow along for more folklore, magic, and mythic musings:
Instagram: @hexandmuse
Website: www.hexandmuse.com
Hex & Muse is a spellbound journal of folklore, magic, art, and the sacred feminine - told through cinematic storytelling and whispered histories.
From my altar to yours… thank you for listening.
