Another power which people believed they had was the power to vanish into thin air at will. Not only is this confirmed in the stage directions of Act 4 Scene 1 where it says “ the witches dance and vanish” but it is also manifested in Act 1 Scene 3 when the three witches have foretold the fates of both Macbeth and Banquo, and Banquo says “wither are they vanished?”. Macbeth’s replies “into the air.” This shows how they can “passe from place to place in the air invisible”. Witches were also supposed to be capable of flying and this is suggested by the word “hover” in their very first meeting.
The witches referred to themselves as the “three weird sisters” and ‘weird’ meant destiny or fate, and foreknowledge is clearly the sisters’main function. This played an important role in the turning of the once ‘noble’ and ‘worthy’ soldier into not only a ‘fiend’ but also a ‘devilish tyrant’. The witches gave Macbeth a false sense of security and as a result, he fell into their clutches. Such powers are evident as soon as Macbeth meets the witches in Act 1 Scene 3 when they say :
“All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!”
“All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!”
“All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!”
to Banquo, they say:
“Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be none.”
Macbeth, after he had been crowned King, decides to return to the witches’ cave and find out more about what the future holds in store for him, as he realises that the prophecies all come true. The witches have proved to Macbeth that their powers do work. In Act 4 Scene 1, their powers to foresee future events are shown once again but this time in the form of apparitions. "Beware Macduff” they tell Macbeth, but yet “none of women born shall harm Macbeth”. The last apparition says, “Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until great Birnham Wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him.” These incantations are superbly nasty and in a way contradict each other, but at the same time makes Macbeth fall into some false sense of security and makes him believe that he is infallible and indestructible as the last two apparitions both sound beyond the bounds of possibility. The witches have taken over Macbeth’s mind and I believe that they are responsible for the deterioration of Macbeth’s character later. However, the nature of their powers is still ambiguous. They are actively malicious to the master o’th’Tiger, but have not the power to destroy him:
“Though his bark cannot be lost,
yet it shall be tempest-tossed.”
Witches were also believed to have the power to “raise haile, temptests and hurtful weather” this is evident throughout the whole play from the very first appearance of the witches where they discuss about their next meeting:
“when shall we three meet again
in thunder, lighting, or in rain?”
to the night when King Duncan was murdered. The weather was “unruly”, “chimneys were blown down”, “the earth was feverous and did shake.” All these suggest that there was some supernatural interference to cover up the sounds of murder. This kept Macbeth safe and sound as they have done to ensure victory in battle for “brave Macbeth” which is another power that the witches were believed to possess.
In Act 1 Scene 3, the 3 weird sisters also cast a spell to cause a storm at sea and this again shows their power to control the weather. They did this because a sailor’s wife refused to give the first witches any chestnuts and at that time it was thought that if you refused to give them food or gave them the slightest offence, they would become your mortal enemies. As a result, the sailor going to Aleppo in a ship named “Tiger” would undergo a storm. On the 27th June, 1606, a ship named “Tiger” was found docked at Milford Haven after a disastrous voyage during which the master was killed. This was a true story and at that time, the powers of witchcraft were blamed for the disaster. It is therefore evident that Shakespeare considered all these common superstitions of his time and made them relevant in his plays.
According to popular belief, witches also rode the sea in a “riddle or cive”. In Macbeth, during the witches’ second meeting, the first witch declares her intention of sailing “in a sieve” to Aleppo. This again shows Shakespeare’s incorporation of common beliefs into his play through what the witches say.
While the witches were planning to cast a spell on the sailor, they say that he shall “dwindle, peak and pine” there is a clear reference to the superstitious use of wax figures of those they intended to injure. They would stick pins into the models and watch them melt by the fire in order that those whom they represented might “dwindle, peak and pine” (diminish) as the wax wastes away.
Witches were also supposed to travel on broomsticks and to hold meetings. In Act 4 Scene 1, where they are performing the spell, it seems that they are holding a large meeting. They were believed to perform strange ceremonies accompanied by foul and criminal performances. These gatherings were known as “sabbats” and it is apparent that they are doing this here. They carry on their work as they went “Round about the Cauldron” throwing in repulsive ingredients into their “hell-broth”, such as “nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips”, “finger of birth-strangled babe” and “eye of newt and toe of frog”. Thus, among the revolting ingredients of the cauldron, we find “slips of yew silver’d in the moon’s eclipse”. A lunar eclipse was commonly seen to be a sign of disaster and in this case, the disaster can bee seen as the tragedy of Macbeth. As the “hell-broth” was being prepared for the charm, the witches chanted the chorus rhythmically.
These actions all show the power of evil that the witches possess and gave the people of Shakespeare’s time a better understanding of what witches were capable of doing.
People always say “there’s luck in odd numbers” and we constantly observe in the play the use of magical three and its multiples. For example, there were three witches who gave Macbeth three predictions and showed him three apparitions. Through their speeches, this belief is also confirmed:
Act 1 Scene 1, 1: “when shall we three meet again?”
Act 1 Scene 3,22: “Weary sen’ nights nine times nine”
In Act 4 scene 1, while the three witches were casting the spell, there are strong references to the number three:
“Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d
thrice and once the hedge-pig whined.”
The witches also repeated the chorus to the spell three times:
“Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”
During the apparitions, they yet again repeated Macbeth’s name thrice and it therefore shows that three and its multiples were considered to have magical powers.
Throughout the play, there are also several references linking to blood. After the death of King Duncan has been encountered, Macbeth says “We have marked with blood those sleepy two.” the audience know that it was indeed Macbeth who killed the guards of Duncan’s chamber. Hence links Macbeth with being evil. Furthermore, during Macbeth’s soliloquy, he mentioned “bloody instructions”, “bloody business” and “blade and dudgeon gouts of blood”. It is therefore evident that Macbeth is susceptible to the influence of the witches. Also in Act 4 Scene 1 while the witches were concocting the ingredients of the charm, the second witch said “cool it with a baboon’s blood”. From this, it is evident that Macbeth is associated with the Devil.
Not only is blood apparent in the play, but darkness is also established symbolically by torches and candles. Most of the play is set in darkness and this again relates to evilness. The works of the witches were mostly carried out during the night. Macbeth after being prophesied, has callous thoughts about murder. He says “stars, hide your fires! Let not the light see my black and deep desires”. This is evidence to show that Macbeth is associated with witches. However, it is not just Macbeth who has evil thoughts. A sequence of dark scenes is also initiated in Act1 Scene 5 by Lady Macbeth’s invocation of darkness; after having read Macbeth’s letter, she says “ come dark night, and shroud yourself in the blackest smoke of hell…not heaven, peeping through the blanket of darkness.” Her later reference to “this night’s great business” also supports the idea of darkness. Lady Macbeth therefore is also linked to the devil and this explains why she could be a witch herself. She called upon the spirits saying “come you spirits, unsex me here.”. Lady Macbeth wanted to perform cruelty and invoked the spirits. This shows that witches were able to conjure up spirits. Darkness is also implied in the witches’ first meeting where they say
“Fair is foule and foule is fair,
Hover through the fog and filthy air”
‘Fair’ implies a sense of goodness and lightness while ‘Foule’ suggests evil and darkness. It is therefore a controversial atmosphere and shows that witches were able of turning good into bad and bad into good, inverting the nature. This relates back to some opposites in the play such as good and evil, loyal and treacherous. “fog and filthy air” as this seems as if the air is heavy with evil ‘fog’ which adds to the tense atmosphere of darkness.
In Act 1 Scene 3, after Banquo had seen the witches, he depicted them as being:
“so withered and so wild in their attire… by each at once her choppy finger laying upon her skinny lips.”
Their appearance enhanced the idea of them being the witches for the audience. The whole action of Macbeth’s tragedy also depends upon the enchantment if these “foul hags”. They were capable of bringing disease to people as they have done to Macbeth. Macbeth proceeds to confuse perception by drawing his actual dagger and then seeing the illusory one as still more vivid, he says:
“Proceeding from the heart oppressed brain?”
this shows how the witches have overtaken Macbeth’s mind and are in control of it. Not only did the witches make Macbeth mad, but the did so to Lady Macbeth as well. Lady Macbeth previously invoked the spirits to unsex her ad is evident that she is also associated with the powers of the Devil, consequently, he sleep walking disease that her sleep-walking disease that she later developed was thought at the time to be caused by he powers of evil. She reacalls all the dreadful events and refers to Duncan’s blood:
“the smell of blood is still there”
The witches have brought Lady Macbeth into a state of madness, which can also be caused by guilt.
Finally, witches were dreaded by all. Even Macbeth despises the three, calling them “secret, black, midnight hags” and “the night’s black agents” which again supports the belief that witches acted as the Devil’s agent and performed acts of worship to him. However, according to popular notion, witches could only harm those with their own evil instincts to belie in the wicked suggestions of the evil one. Shakespeare has demonstrated this b contrasting Macbeth’s behaviour and that of Banquo’s under the influence of the witches.
