When you think of the three figures huddled over a cauldron in a thunderstorm, you probably think of "witches." You’ve seen the green skin, the pointy hats, and the cackling in every high school play. But here’s the thing: Shakespeare never actually calls them witches in the dialogue. Not once.
To the characters in the play, they are Macbeth the weird sisters.
That might sound like a minor detail, but it changes everything about how we understand the play. Honestly, if you just see them as spooky old ladies with a recipe for lizard soup, you’re missing the point of why they’re terrifying. They aren't just local hedge witches causing trouble in the neighborhood. They are something much older, much more "wayward," and arguably, much more powerful than a simple sorceress.
The Secret History of the Word "Weird"
Basically, the word "weird" didn't mean "strange" back in 1606. In the 17th century, it came from the Old English word wyrd, which literally meant "fate" or "destiny." When Macbeth and Banquo bump into these figures on the blasted heath, they aren't just meeting three weirdos. They are meeting the "Sisters of Fate."
Think about the implications of that.
If they are the embodiment of fate, then Macbeth never had a choice. Everything he did—the murder of King Duncan, the slaughter of Macduff’s family—was already written in the stars. But if they’re just witches, then they’re just tempters. They’re basically just dangling a carrot in front of a very ambitious donkey.
Scholars like Dr. Will Tosh from Shakespeare’s Globe have pointed out that in the First Folio (the first big collection of Shakespeare’s plays), the word is often spelled "weyward" or "weyard." This is a bit of a pun. It suggests they are "wayward"—disobedient and perverse—but also "weird" in the sense of controlling destiny.
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Where did Shakespeare get them?
Shakespeare didn't just pull these characters out of thin air. He was a bit of a magpie when it came to sources. He stole most of the plot for Macbeth from Holinshed’s Chronicles, a massive (and often factually shaky) history of Britain.
In Holinshed’s version, the sisters are described as "goddesses of destiny" or "nymphs." They were actually quite beautiful in the original sketches. Shakespeare, ever the dramatist, decided to make them much grosser. He gave them "chappy fingers," "skinny lips," and, famously, beards.
Why the beards?
It’s all about subverting the natural order. In the Jacobean era, anything that blurred the lines between male and female was seen as "foul." Banquo says it best: "You should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so." By making them androgynous, Shakespeare was telling the audience: These things do not belong to our world.
King James and the Witchcraft Obsession
You can’t talk about Macbeth the weird sisters without talking about King James I.
He was obsessed with witches. Like, seriously obsessed. Before he took the English throne, he was King of Scotland, and he personally presided over the North Berwick witch trials. He even wrote a book called Daemonologie in 1597, which was basically a DIY guide to finding and prosecuting witches.
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Shakespeare was a smart businessman. He knew his new boss (the King) loved a good witch hunt, so he peppered the play with details that would make James lean forward in his seat.
- The Storms: Witches were believed to be able to control the weather.
- The Sailor: One sister talks about tormenting a sailor because his wife wouldn't share her chestnuts. This mirrored a real story where witches were accused of trying to sink King James's ship with a storm.
- The Cauldron: This was the "pop culture" version of witchcraft that James had popularized.
But there is a darker layer here. While the audience saw witches, the King might have seen a reflection of his own fears regarding regicide and the "divine right of kings."
Are They Real or Just in Macbeth's Head?
This is the big debate that keeps English professors employed.
Some people think the weird sisters are just a "manifestation of Macbeth's ambition." Basically, he already wanted to be king, and they just gave him an excuse to do what he was already thinking. There’s some evidence for this. Banquo sees them too, but he isn't tempted. He calls them "instruments of darkness" and warns that they tell us "honest trifles" to "betray's in deepest consequence."
Then there's the "Real Witches" theory. In Scottish folklore, particularly around Forres, there are records of three women—the "Witches of Forres"—who were executed for supposedly using a wax effigy to make King Duffus ill. It’s highly likely Shakespeare heard these local legends during his travels or through his Scottish contacts and used them to ground his "weird sisters" in a sense of historical reality.
The Hecate Problem
If you've ever read the play and felt like Act 3, Scene 5 feels... off... you're right.
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Most scholars believe the character of Hecate (the "boss" of the witches) wasn't even written by Shakespeare. It was likely added later by a playwright named Thomas Middleton. Hecate’s lines are rhythmic and bouncy, almost like a musical. It totally clashes with the grim, ritualistic vibe of the other scenes.
Back in the 1700s, the sisters were actually played for laughs. They would sing and dance across the stage like a 17th-century version of a cabaret act. It wasn't until the 19th century that directors started making them genuinely scary again.
How to Actually Understand the Sisters Today
So, what do we do with this? If you’re studying the play or just trying to sound smart at a dinner party, keep these three points in mind.
First, stop calling them "the three witches" and start calling them the weird sisters. It reminds people that they represent the terrifying power of Fate.
Second, look at their language. They speak in trochaic tetrameter. Most of Shakespeare's characters speak in iambic pentameter (da-DUM, da-DUM). The sisters speak with the stress on the first syllable (DUM-da, DUM-da). "Double, double, toil and trouble." It sounds like a spell because the rhythm is literally the opposite of human speech.
Third, notice that they never actually tell Macbeth to kill anyone. They just give him a title. Macbeth is the one who does the math and decides that "King" equals "Murder."
Actionable Insights for the Modern Reader
If you want to dive deeper into the world of the weird sisters, here is how you can actually apply this knowledge:
- Read Holinshed's Chronicles: Look at the 1587 edition online. Comparing the "fair" sisters in the book to Shakespeare's "filthy" hags shows you exactly how he used horror to manipulate his audience.
- Watch the "Voodoo Macbeth": Check out clips or records of Orson Welles's 1936 production. He moved the setting to Haiti and turned the weird sisters into voodoo practitioners. It’s a masterclass in how these characters can be adapted to any culture's version of "the unknown."
- Trace the Etymology: Next time you use the word "weird" to describe a movie or a person, remember it used to mean you were literally looking at the hand of destiny.
The power of Macbeth the weird sisters lies in their ambiguity. They are whatever we fear most—whether that’s a supernatural demon, a political conspirator, or just the dark parts of our own minds telling us what we want to hear. They don't need to cast a spell to ruin Macbeth. They just need to tell him the truth and wait for him to ruin himself.