Double Double, Toil and Trouble…

Hallowe’en is coming up, and all things spooky are popular once more! Of course, spookiness is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes, if you change your point of view, a whole new picture emerges…

Consider some of English literature’s most famous witches - the three weird sisters from Shakespeare’s MacBeth. These prophesying, rhyming individuals add to the air of menace and mysticism in the play. One of their key scenes (Act IV, Scene 1), the witches brew a potion from the most gruesome-sounding ingredients.

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
 Adder’s fork and blindworm’s sting

 Lizard’s leg and howlet’s wing,
 For a charm of powerful trouble,
 Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Double, double toil and trouble;
 Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
 Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
 Witch’s mummy, maw and gulf
 Of the ravined salt-sea shark,

Root of hemlock digged i’ th’ dark ,
 Liver of blaspheming Jew,
 Gall of goat and slips of yew
 Slivered in the moon’s eclipse,
 Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips,

Finger of birth-strangled babe 
 Ditch-delivered by a drab,
 Make the gruel thick and slab.
 Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron 
 For th’ ingredience of our cauldron.
 
Double, double toil and trouble;
 Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

But what if?

What if the witches weren’t supernatural horrors, but were instead wise women: herbalists, perhaps? (OK, they did suggest tormenting a woman’s husband because she wouldn’t share her chestnuts, but disregard that for now.) Many herbs and plants used in traditional medicine have several common or alternative names, including the ever popular “eye of newt.” That’s an old nickname for mustard seed.

So what if, instead of making a disgusting potion, the witches were in fact brewing a homeopathic concoction for MacBeth’s ailments?

Just saying, I think it’s indicative that the potion scene marks the second time they meet him. As though after the first meeting, they’re comparing notes along the lines of,

“OK, ladies. We’ve put the idea in his head. Soon, he’ll carry out our plan! Muah ha ha …”

“Sure, that’s great, but did you see him? If he’s going to even have the stamina to carry out this coup, we’ve got to help him along. He’s in terrible shape!”

“Well, all right. Get out the cauldron. But really, why don’t people take better care of themselves?”

Disclaimer: I am NOT a herbalist, naturopath or any type of physician. Any uses or treatments listed below are purely from cursory research and should not be taken as medical advice. Many of the plants listed below are in fact poisonous if not prepared correctly. You should consult a professional before taking supplements or medications of any kind.

This is just for a fun mind exercise. Let’s look at the ingredients:

Fillet of a fenny snake - Arum, or Jack-in-the-pulpit, was also known as “snake’s meat.” Used for headaches and skin ailments, treating colds, sinusitis.

Eye of newt - mustard seed. Anti-inflammatory, full of minerals, antimicrobial, help to relieve digestive problems like flatulence and colic

Toe of frog - ranunculus or bulbous buttercup. Used to treat bronchitis, upper respiratory, arthritis, skin ailments like eczema and psoriasis, herpes zoster.

Wool of bat - moss (one of my sources thought that this would be holly leaves, because of the shape, but I think that would make more sense if that was “wing of bat.”) Moss is a whole category of plants with diverse healing properties including wound healing, stopping bleeding, expelling bladder stones, treating tuberculosis …

 Holly is used for treating fevers, heart disease, pleurisy, smallpox, addressing swelling, joint pain (anti-inflammation).

Tongue of dog - cynoglossum is commonly known as hound’s tongue. Used to treat insomnia, cough, pain, infections, skin diseases. Or, Snapdragon is “mouth of dog.” Used to treat scurvy, liver problems, tumours. Can complement treatment of anxiety and depression.

Adder’s fork - dog’s tooth violet was also known as serpent’s tongue or trout lily. Edible raw or cooked. Somewhat antibiotic, mildly emetic (which would help with parasites).

Blindworm’s sting - Likely wormwood - artemesia. Used for digestive issues, expelling parasites. Also anti-inflammatory.

Lizard’s leg - ivy (hedera helix) was known as lizard’s foot or leg because of how it can climb up buildings. Good for coughs, bronchitis, upper respiratory ailments, burns, anti-inflammatory - good for rheumatoid arthritis.

Howlet’s [Owlet’s] wing - thought to be either garlic or ginger. Garlic is antiseptic, antibacterial, antiviral. Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties, and is warming.

Scale of dragon - tarragon. Good for indigestion, relieving pain and inflammation, increasing insulin sensitivity, alleviating depression, combatting fungal infection, improving cardiovascular function.

Tooth of wolf - Could be aconite, known as wolfsbane. Used to treat fear, anxiety, restlessness, sudden high fever, sore throats, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica.

Witch’s mummy - sources disagree on what this could be. Actual powdered mummified human remains were used medicinally in those days, so it could be that. (Eww …) In my thought experiment though, I’m imagining that the ingredients are all plant based, so what if this referred to something that gets bundled or wrapped, like a sage bundle? If we assumed this, sage is good for sore throats, mouth sores, and respiratory illnesses, as well as smudging.

Maw and gulf of the ravined salt-sea shark - again, the sources I checked thought actual shark parts, but there’s a type of seaweed, Fucus serrata, that is also known as “toothed wrack.” Sharks’ teeth are serrated, so maybe? Toothed wrack is used for neutralizing free radicals, helps skin against aging, treats psoriasis and eczema, can help slow down the transformation of starch into glucose, can also be anti-inflammatory, and help arthritis. Speaking of the sea, sea foods often also contain iodine that can combat goiter.

Root of hemlock - Hemlock is anti-spasmodic, can treat bronchitis, whooping cough, can be used for arthritis and inflammation problems, tumours, epilepsy, to treat Parkinson’s.

Liver of blaspheming Jew -  there aren’t a lot of plants associated specifically with Jewish people. It’s possible that Shakespeare put this and a couple other ingredients in as a political nod to the xenophobic or antisemitic views of the time (as in, “yes, they’re evil witches, but at least they hate outsiders like we do”). He did often put political rhetoric and propaganda in his plays.

Hepatica is known as liverwort. It’s good for sore throats, lung congestion and poor digestion.

Gall of goat - Could be St. John’s Wort (also called goatweed), or honeysuckle (also called goat’s leaf). St. John’s wort is used to treat depression and mood disorders. Honeysuckle is used to treat digestive issues, respiratory ailments like chest colds and asthma, and inflammation issues like arthritis.

Slips of yew - Yew is used for treating arthritis, inflammation, fever, tapeworms, tonsilitis.

Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips - again, maybe another political sop? Turks are Muslim, Tartars are Orthodox Christian. Both groups would be considered rivals of the ruling religious orders in Shakespearian England.

 Nose of Turk - saffron, possibly, since it comes from Iran (which would have been Persia, but a lot of the eastern spices would come to England through Turkey)? Saffron can be used to treat depression, is anti-inflammatory, and can help with macular degeneration.

Nasturtium (the Latin name for watercress) means “nose-tweaker.” Helps treat inflammation, flu, constipation, baldness, arthritis.

Turtle-head chelone was also known as Turtle’s nose. It’s an enema.

Tartar’s lips - what if they refer to tulips? They come from central Asia, as do the Tatars (Tartars). Tulips have anti-oxidant properties, help the immune system, can help skin ailments like stings, burns and rashes, and induces collagen production.

Finger of a birth-strangled babe - hopefully this was foxglove, also known as “bloody fingers.” Foxglove is used to treat cardiovascular problems, heart disease.

Tiger’s chaudron - likely Lady’s mantle, also known as lion’s foot. Good for wound healing, eczema, acne. Chaudron means entrails No doubt the audience shivered in horror at the idea.

Looking at all of these, for the sake of argument, I would suggest that the witches had diagnosed MacBeth with anxiety and/or depression, which makes sense considering that he’d been in the wars. PTSD at the very least. Also, it seems that he and his wife had no surviving children. That’s got to be saddening for a Scottish nobleman. Not to mention the guilt about all the murders …

The treatment of skin problems is a natural for medieval soldiers, who would have been living out in the Scottish wilds, with scratchy plants, rough ground, chapped hands from the cold and damp. Some lanolin rubbed on hands would help with the chapping too.

The anti-parasitics and probiotics would help clear up his digestion, which would in turn help his health in general. As for the enema … well, I guess they thought he could use a good cleanse.

The liver-cleansing plants would help to mitigate years of chronic alcohol consumption, which was endemic in those days. (It was cleaner than a lot of the water!)

It also wouldn’t be surprising that a veteran soldier would be subject to arthritis. The pain-relieving plants and anti-inflammatory ones would be a pleasant change for him there.

This potion could be just what the witches ordered! A pity he didn’t take it with him.

What do you think?

Photo by Adams Arlsan through Unsplash.

Sources: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/macbeth/read/4/1/

https://www.dictionary.com/e/witch-ingredients/

https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/please-pass-me-the-eye-of-newt-whats-really-in-that-witchs-cauldron

https://www.indigo-herbs.co.uk/

https://totallywilduk.co.uk/