Interview - Fiona Horne - 11th March 2026
Fiona Horne - image supplied
The name Fiona Horne may ring a bell — in fact, it may ring several. In her almost 60 years, she has held multiple roles: a singer, writer, pilot, actress, broadcaster, skydiver, humanitarian and animal rescuer to name just a few. Suffice to say that Horne is a true multi-hyphenate. Yet the ‘role’ Horne is most widely known for is being a witch.
Interview By: Bridget Herlihy
Interviewee: Fiona Horne
Date: 11 March 2026
Many will no doubt recall Horne as the frontwoman of Def FX in the ‘90s — the Australian electronic rock outfit behind hits Surfers of the Mind and Psychoactive Summer. Def FX released four albums before going on hiatus in 1997. Horne went on to release tracks under her own name, with tracks Shut Up and Kiss Me and Let’s Go Out Tonight performing well on the charts. After years of being on stage, her focus increasingly shifted turned towards writing about one of her other passions and callings: contemporary witchcraft. Horne, often referred to as a funky witch with attitude, recalls that she has been drawn to contemporary witchcraft and paganism since she was a child.
I think I was called to it. I think it was a remembrance. I grew up in Australia, talked about this in my earliest books of 30 years ago, and continue to talk about it because it’s relevant. I was a voracious reader, and I just found The Magic Faraway Tree and the whole world [where] there were extraordinary things that could happen out in the natural world. I also was brought up around TV shows [like] Bewitched. The witch was sort of the Hollywood typecast witch then. I always wanted to be Sabrina… the naughty witch that’s wearing the mini skirt and dancing and having a great time. But I was also raised Catholic, and I was drawn to the ritual and pageantry of the Catholic faith.
After Def FX disbanded, Horne became a spokesperson for witchcraft. And while she didn’t overtly label herself as a witch, friends and her former bandmates were very familiar with her penchant for crystals, candles and the small statues of gods and goddesses that she would take on the road with her. She also made it a priority to meet with other like-minded women while she was travelling.
In every city I’d have my pit stop, which was meeting up with women who were also witchy like me. I wrote about some of them in my first book. The divinity of the feminine was really speaking to me as a healing kind of force when I was the only girl in in a band. Rock was a very male-dominated industry in the ‘90s, you can imagine. I’m a young woman, and it’s all the things. And there wasn’t support back then — there wasn’t mental health support. There was nothing. You were just out on your own, trying to make sense of this crazy situation you found yourself in and be a female rock star, and all the contradictions and confrontations that brought. But it was always my go-to, and ultimately I realised, I’m not going anywhere, it is me. And so I’m not going, I’m actually coming into me. The opportunity to write a book about it when the band broke up was incredible.
In Horne’s first book, Witch: A Magikal Journey, she details her calling to spirituality, witchcraft, rituals, goddesses and magik. Over the last two decades Horne has produced a staggering 17 books, as well as five decks of companion Oracle cards. Her writing and exploration into modern witchcraft lead to her becoming a regular on television and radio in Australia and the US, including regular appearances on The Hamish and Andy Show and Good News Week, as well as hosting her own show, Party In Australia.
I had great management. I was doing a lot of television in Australia, a lot of radio. And everyone accepted that I was a witch. It was like, that was my thing, rock star witch, and I was addressing a lot of the misconceptions [about it] back then. There were others out there like me, but I think I was one of the most visible and certainly when I moved to America in the early 2000s, definitely one of the most visible in an age before social media, before TikTok videos. I was on the morning news in KTLA 5 morning news, Fiona the Witch giving her insight on the weather this week because the stars are doing this, and Fiona’s got a spell which she’s done. I mean, we’d just have fun with it, but it really opened up a conversation. Then I did a big TV show over in America as The Witch. It was called Man-Made House, and I got a lot of notoriety, but a lot of awareness. I kept writing books, and it just kept going, and so I’m still here doing it.
20 years later, Horne has recently released her 17th book, Coven: Where Witches Gather, and companion oracle deck, the Coven Oracle. The book examines the sacred art of witchcraft, and how witches — and those curious about the craft — can work together through the shared creation of community, ritual, healing and the power of intention. Coven highlights the enhanced power of collective energies through the sharing of wisdom and insight. The book was written to speak and offer guidance to a generation looking for like-minded individuals and guidance.
Coven is beautifully presented with a hard cover and elegant luminous emerald gilded edge; a book that has the aesthetic quality of something that should be passed on from one generation to the next. The book itself begins with introductory chapters that provide an overview of witchcraft and a brief history of the craft from the past to the present, providing context to the reader for the following chapters. The focus of Coven is very much on the various facets and layers of modern covens, while also providing a practical ‘how to’ guide for both new and experienced practitioners.
In addition to all of the writing and curating travel experiences for like-minded women, a return to music also appears to be on the cards.
Something about Australia is pulling me back again. I’m having lunch with Ant from Def FX tomorrow and we’re going to talk about maybe doing some shows.
Stay tuned…
Fiona Horne - image supplied
