Scotland's Women

What does it take to leave everything behind and build a life on your own terms?In this episode, we sit down with Trish — a Paisley girl turned award-winning film editor based in New York — for one of the most raw and honest conversations we've had on the podcast.Growing up the youngest of five in a big Catholic family, Trish never felt like she fitted the mould. She struggled academically, clashed with her dad, and at 18 faced a decision that would shape the rest of her life. A decision she kept secret from almost everyone she knew.What followed was years of chasing — across countries, industries, and versions of herself — driven by something she couldn't quite name at the time. From a runner's job in Soho to editing rooms in Italy, from a fresh start in post-9/11 New York to a Super Bowl deadline at 2am during a pandemic, Trish has lived a lot of life. She talks candidly about what it means to make it as a woman in a male-dominated industry, the moment a health scare forced her to reassess everything, and how she eventually stopped white-knuckling her career — and started trusting the process instead.She also shares an update on a chapter of her life she thought might stay closed forever. And it's a good one. If you've ever felt like you were running towards something without knowing exactly what — this episode is for you.Follow Trish on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/trishmfuller/and follow her film project at @birdsthemovie

In this episode, we sit down with Renee, the witch and coach behind Sagittarian Tarot and Coaching, for a deeply honest an empowering conversation about finding your inner power — and why it took turning 40 and moving to Scotland to unlock it.Renee grew up in a small, isolated town in eastern Washington state, surrounded by Baptist churches and Mormon communities. Despite always feeling spiritually curious, she spent decades searching for belonging through traditional religion — first in a liberal Christian church, then the Baha'i Faith — before a chance encounter with a news podcast in Glasgow in 2018 changed everything. That episode, about the rise of modern witchcraft, planted a seed that would transform her life.But Renee's journey wasn't a straight line. She navigated a painful divorce, the loss of her mother to brain cancer, depression, and losing her teaching job — all during her Saturn return. Rather than collapsing, she sold everything and moved to Taiwan, where she met her now-husband of nearly 15 years. Life then took them from Hawaii to Scotland, where Renee finally found her home — and her calling.Renee is quick to challenge the Harry Potter image of witchcraft. For her, magic isn't about spells and cauldrons — it's about inner work. Meditation, journaling, shadow work, and learning to trust your own intuition are at the heart of her practice. She describes how witchcraft gave her the courage to stop settling for "fine," start her own business, and step fully into herself. We also explore the bigger picture: why women's power has been suppressed for centuries, from the witch trials right here in Scotland to the fact that women couldn't hold their own credit cards until just decades ago. Renee makes the case that empowering women to love themselves isn't selfish — it's how we build a more caring, connected society for everyone.Whether you're curious about witchcraft or simply looking for permission to trust yourself more, this episode is for you.Do you want to bring more empowering magical energy into your life? Grab Renee's free guide 78 Empowering Tarot Affirmations to help you learn how each card can make your life more awesome.Follow Renee: https://www.instagram.com/renee_awesomeon20/Or contact: https://sagittariantarot.com/

What if the key to transforming your life had been available to you all along — and you just hadn't given yourself permission to access it?Tarot Reader and Spiritual Coach Renee shares a deeply personal story: a time when her self-talk was relentlessly critical, when she'd convinced herself that a "fine" life was all she deserved. That changed when she stumbled across a podcast episode about the rise of modern witchcraft — and nothing has been the same since.Renee opens up about how she went from self-described "logical, rational person" to a practicing witch, and the exact moment the seed was planted (spoiler: her husband saw it coming). She reflects on how witchcraft helped her recognise that she was the one keeping herself stuck, and why seeing it through the lens of authors, professors, and intellectuals was the gateway she needed. At the heart of it all is a simple but radical idea: the power of intention, energy, and deciding you deserve better.The full episode drops soon. Subscribe so you don't miss it.Do you want to bring more empowering magical energy into your life? Grab Renee's free guide 78 Empowering Tarot Affirmations to help you learn how each card can make your life more awesome.Follow Renee: https://www.instagram.com/renee_awesomeon20/Or contact: https://sagittariantarot.com/

What does it really mean to turn pain into power? In this episode, you'll discover how to transform your deepest struggles into your greatest strength. Whether you're dealing with trauma, toxic relationships, body confidence issues, or simply feeling lost and unheard, Soma's story will show you that healing is not only possible but within your reach.In this deeply moving episode, Soma shares her journey from arranged marriage at 19 to becoming an entrepreneur who helps women transform their pain into power. Through raw honesty, she discusses navigating eating disorders, isolation, depression, and ultimately finding the strength to escape with nothing but a black bag of clothes and her two young sons.Soma opens up about the cultural pressures she faced as a South Asian woman in Scotland, the loneliness of not fitting in anywhere, and how motherhood ignited the rebel within her. She explains her unique approach to healing through somatics, emotional freedom therapy, and reconnecting with her ancestral wisdom through Ayurveda and the Vedas.This conversation explores the difference between victimhood and survival stories, how unprocessed trauma manifests in the body, and finding freedom and identity after decades of people-pleasing. Soma works with women to alchemize their pain, whether it's anger, body confidence issues, sexual trauma, or toxic relationships, by helping them complete emotional cycles stored in the body and move through limiting beliefs. She teaches women to trust their gut, say no without guilt, and stop putting everyone else's needs before their own. Her mission is to show women they're not alone and that there's always a way out, always a solution, and always someone who understands.Soma's message is clear: healing is possible, you're not alone, and every woman deserves to rise.Connect with Soma:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sacred.sasi111/Email: @sacredholistics

From Pain to Power: A Journey of TransformationIn this deeply moving conversation, Soma a female empowerment coach shares her extraordinary story of survival, healing, and empowerment. From an arranged marriage at 19 to finding freedom and purpose at 50, she reveals how she transformed decades of trauma into a mission to help women reclaim their lives.Discover how Soma uses somatic, ancestral wisdom, and emotional alchemy to guide women through body confidence issues, toxic relationships, and cultural wounds. She opens up about her own dark journey—eating disorders, isolation, depression—and the pivotal moment that changed everything: choosing to fight for her children and herself.This is not a victim's story. This is a survival story. A story of resilience, rebellion, and radical self-discovery. If you've ever felt stuck in pain, unheard, or unseen—this conversation is for you.Follow Soma: https://www.instagram.com/sacred.sasi111/Get in contact: https://www.facebook.com/SacredSasi/

What if the person you love collapsed right in front of you—and you froze? What if being a woman meant you were 27% less likely to receive life-saving CPR in your most desperate moment? This episode confronts reality that First Aid Matters.Scotland's Women chats with Lyndsey from Mini First Aid Edinburgh and the Lothians, who knows firsthand the terror of watching someone you love unable to breathe. When her husband choked on pizza in their garden, she became the only thing standing between him and tragedy. That moment changed everything.Now Lyndsey dedicates her life to ensuring others don't face that helplessness. She reveals why nearly half of us have never been trained in first aid, why Scottish children aren't guaranteed this life-saving education (while their counterparts in England and Wales are), and the heartbreaking truth about why women's bodies make bystanders hesitate when seconds matter most.This episode is not about statistics, its about real life and it happens. It's about the teenagers who learn CPR and later find someone collapsed in the street. The parents who rush their choking toddler to the bathroom in embarrassment, alone and terrified. The families who lose someone because no one knew what to do—and the guilt that follows forever. Every minute without CPR, survival chances drop by 10%. Most emergencies happen at home. With the people we love most.This episode is your wake-up call. Because when crisis strikes, doing something—even imperfectly—is infinitely better than the paralysis of doing nothing.Find out more:Follow Lyndsey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minifirstaidedinburgh/Learn more about Mini First Aid Edinburgh at their website https://www.minifirstaid.co.uk/https://www.redcross.org.uk/first-aid