The root words for “witches” are “people set apart”. The root words for “wizard” are “one who is wise”. “Enchanter” referred to the actual power wielded with words or spells. “sorcerer” and “magician” originally were words used to describe those who could see into the future.

Act IV Scene I     A Cavern. In the middle, a boiling cauldron. Thunder. Enter the three Witches.

First Witch Thrice the brindled cat hath mew’d. Second Witch Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined. Third Witch Harper cries “tis time, ‘tis time. First Witch Round about the cauldron go; In the poison’d entrails throw. Toad, that under the cold stone Days and nights hast thirty-one Swelter’d venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot. All Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. Second Witch Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adders fork and blind worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. All Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Third Witch Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf, Witche’s mummy, maw and gulf Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark, Root of hemlock digg’d i’ the dark, Liver of the blaspheming Jew, Gall of goat, and slips of yew Silver’d in the moon’s eclipse, Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips, Finger of birth-strangled babe Ditch-deliver’d by a slab: And thereto a tiger’s chaudron. For the ingredients of our cauldron. All Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Second Witch Cool it with a baboon’s blood, Then the charm is firm and good. Enter Hectate O, well done! I commend your pains; And everyone shall share i’ the gains: And now about the cauldron sing, Like elves and fairies in a ring, Enchanting all that you put in. Music and a song: “Black Spirits” Hectate retires. Second Witch By the pricking of my thumb, Something wicked this way comes. Open, Locks, Whoever knocks! Enter Macbeth Boundaries or dividers were the source of many magical happenings. That’s why the core of many spells involve such things as dusk or dawn, caves as the entrance to the spirit world, and summer and winter solstices. Other items sought for magic properties were things of unexplained origin. One of the simplest, but no less powerful, ingredients in ancient spells was dew. It neither fell from the sky, nor came from a river, but mysteriously appeared at dawn. Spells were the power of words. Being able to name as object gave one power over that object. To name something not present was the power to summon it. Because of this, most cultures have secret names for people, places, or things derived from the wish to offer protection from spells. In most cultures, the uncertainties of life were the catalyst for belief in magic. Those who seemed to control uncertainties were at the least respected, and at the most, worshipped. In ancient days, wizards were those who could move the planets, control wind and water, conjure people or animals, and change the shape of themselves or those around them. Ireland An Irish king named Bress, ordered that all milk from hairless brown cows should be his. He then ordered his minions to gather all brown cows and herd them between two fires to singe their hair. Thereby raising his “milk tax”. A wizard named Caipree came to Bress’s palace. The custom at the time was to treat wizards as equals. Bress in his arrogance, placed Caipree in a cold attic and fed him dry bread. When Caipree announced that he was leaving, he appeared before Bress to give the poem of honor to his host. Caipree wove a spell into his poem that placed large red splotches on the king’s face, which could not be removed. Irish law stated that no man could rule who had physical blemishes. Bress was forced to abdicate the throne. Russia When Genghis Khan’s “Golden Horde”, the descendants of his Tartars, turned their eyes towards northern Russia, they met with an unexpected adversary. Fifteen year old wizard Volga Vseslavich decided to challenge the Tartars with an army of barely 7000. First Volga turned himself into a ram to go through the mountains undetected. When he neared Khan’s fortress, he became a small bird and flew to the window sill of Khan’s bed chamber. He heard Khan’s wife tell her husband of a dream she had where a small Northern bird slew a Southern raven. She recognized the small bird in her dream as a wizard and begged her husband not to attack the north. As Khan laughed at his wife, Volga changed into a ferret, and entering the armory, chewed through the arrows and bow strings. He then entered the stables as a wolf and killed the horses of Khan’s army. Volga then flew back to his army as a swift falcon. Marching his army from Kiev, he changed them all into ants as they neared Khan’s palace. The sentries therefore, saw nothing, until Volga’s soldiers were retransformed into men, right at the gates. With no warning, weapons, or horses, Khan’s army was defeated. Britain One of the most feared wizards of folklore is surely Merlin. But since he is covered in exhaustive detail elsewhere, this page will merely state that one of the oldest names for Britain is “Clas Myrddin”, literally, “Merlin’s Enclosure”.