Episode Details

For this month's episode of Magus we're going Medieval and talking about the one and only Sibyl of the Rhine, Hildegard of Bingen!

Born at the tail end of the 11th century, during the religious fervor following the First Crusade, Hildegard was given to an order of Benedictine monks through a pretty strange quirk in the Holy Roman Empire's tax code.

Even in infancy however she reported visions of the "Living Light" - a supernatural spiritual phenomenon that revealed to her occult truths about the real ways the Universe functioned.

Maintaining the secret of her revelations until the age of 42, she spent the next four decades writing trance-inducing musical compositions, books of trailblazing philosophy, and the earliest surviving mystery play, as well as overseeing the construction of two convents, arguing with Frederick Barbarossa, becoming the first named female artist in history, and so much more.

A pioneering herbologist, crystal healer, and 'White Witch' who sought to heal the cosmos through 'balancing' the individual, did she really commune with the Living Light to enable her discoveries, or was she simply a migraine suffering bookworm who pulled the wool over people's eyes?

If so, where did all of her knowledge actually come from, and how much of it has proven to still be scientifically valuable over 800 years after her death?

Also, after her music and created language, Lingua Ignota, were rediscovered during the 19th century occult revival, could it be that society is only now catching up with the implications of her work?

Loosen your hair, pin on a white silk veil, and lets sing divine arias until we lose consciousness.

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

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