The witches represent Macbeth's evil ambitions. He encountered the witches who had beards, thus causing him to question whether they were actually women. He found the dirty and unkept witches dancing in a circle when he arrived. The witches revealed Macbeth and Banquo's destiny to them. The witches predicted that Macbeth would become Thane of Cawdor and later King. They also predicted Banquo's heirs would be the future kings. After the witches' prophecies revealed the fate of Macbeth, the plan in which to gain power of the throne was brought up. The only way for Macbeth to gain the power of the throne was for him to work his way to the throne, or to murder King Duncan. Murdering the king was an easier plan, since the motivation in his dreams urged him on. Lady Macbeth also relied on the supernatural by her soliloquy of calling upon the evil spirits to give her the power to plot the murder of Duncan without any remorse or conscience. The three witches are capable of leading people into danger resulting in death, and of provoking evil aspirations. .
As the play progresses, everything that the witches prophesized has become true, with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's intervention. The greedy couple then wanted their heirs to become kings, but Macbeth is worried that Banquo might become King with his heirs ruling after. Macbeth therefore has Banquo killed and later at a banquet, Macbeth saw the ghost of Banquo sitting in his seat. The appearance of Banquo's ghost provides insight into Macbeth's character. It shows the desperate state of Macbeth's mind. When he sees the ghost, he reacts with horror and upsets the guests. He is the only one who can see the ghost, so his actions are viewed as suspicious to the court. .
Ghosts are considered a form of superstition because they cannot be explained. A ghost may have possessed Lady Macbeth when she went crazy and thought she saw blood on her hands. The supernatural ghosts which Macbeth saw, led him to seek the witches and request more prophesies of his future.
