<P> The Three Witches or Weird Sisters or Wayward Sisters are characters in William Shakespeare 's play Macbeth ( c. 1603 -- 1607 ) . They hold a striking resemblance to the three `` Fates '' ( in Greek mythology ) , and are , perhaps , intended as a twisted version of the white - robed incarnations of destiny . The witches eventually lead Macbeth to his demise . Their origin lies in Holinshed 's Chronicles ( 1587 ) , a history of England , Scotland and Ireland . Other possible sources , aside from Shakespeare 's imagination itself , include British folklore , such contemporary treatises on witchcraft as King James VI of Scotland 's Daemonologie , the Norns of Norse mythology , and ancient classical myths of the Fates : the Greek Moirai and the Roman Parcae . Productions of Macbeth began incorporating portions of Thomas Middleton 's contemporaneous play , The Witch , circa 1618 , two years after Shakespeare 's death . </P>
<P> The Three Witches or Weird Sisters or Wayward Sisters are characters in William Shakespeare 's play Macbeth ( c. 1603 -- 1607 ) . They hold a striking resemblance to the three `` Fates '' ( in Greek mythology ) , and are , perhaps , intended as a twisted version of the white - robed incarnations of destiny . The witches eventually lead Macbeth to his demise . Their origin lies in Holinshed 's Chronicles ( 1587 ) , a history of England , Scotland and Ireland . Other possible sources , aside from Shakespeare 's imagination itself , include British folklore , such contemporary treatises on witchcraft as King James VI of Scotland 's Daemonologie , the Norns of Norse mythology , and ancient classical myths of the Fates : the Greek Moirai and the Roman Parcae . Productions of Macbeth began incorporating portions of Thomas Middleton 's contemporaneous play , The Witch , circa 1618 , two years after Shakespeare 's death . </P>
what are the three witches in macbeth called
what are the three witches in macbeth called
Weird Sisters or Wayward Sisters
Weird Sisters or Wayward Sisters