Visiting the witches again might not be such a good idea. In Act 4, I overheard the them conspiring your downfall with their master, Hecate. They are definitely going to be there to mess with you. Don't say I didn't warn you!
The first omen is delivered by an apparition in the form of a helmeted baby head. It tells Macbeth;
“Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff;
Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.” (IV.i.71-72)
Macbeth takes this warning with stride. He was already suspicious of Macduff and this riddle just confirmed what he already knew. I drew an image of a wanted poster because Macbeth will surely want Macduff's head now that he has heard the witches' prophecies. The image beside it depicts a locked castle door and many signs warning Macduff away. I wanted to draw images that showed Macbeth being extremely paranoid. I think that if there was a way for him to put up wanted posters of Macduff without seeming suspicious, he would have. He would have probably also stayed locked in his castle if Macduff had come knocking (self-perseverance and all). The witches were very straightforward with this prediction. It doesn't reveal any unknown information. I think that the simplicity of this prophecy must be part of their sneaky plot to get Macbeth off his game. For one, it does cause Macbeth to kill all of Macduff's family (maybe the witches wanted to cause more chaos?). This move was very badly misjudged. It gave Macduff all the more reason to want to utterly destroy him.
The next omen is delivered by an apparition in the form of a bloody baby. It tells Macbeth;
“Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.” (IV.i.79-81)
As we were able to see the witches plotting before Macbeth arrives, we know that they and their master, Hecate, wish to trick Macbeth into becoming overconfident, arrogant, and reckless. This riddle manages to do exactly that. Macbeth interprets the prophecy as having invincibility. He believes that he will live a long life and die a natural death because no man born of women shall harm him (hard to believe considering the number of enemies he's made). Every single person on this Earth was carried to term by women, which means that no one should be able to kill him; but there's a catch. The witches are misleading him. The true meaning of the riddle is that no one born naturally will harm him (wouldn't it be cool if the twist was that Macduff was a test tube baby or a clone?)
The comic I made using Pixton (which is such a cool program!) shows an arrogant Macbeth walking in the woods. He thinks that he's all that because some witches told him a riddle. He heard exactly what he wanted to hear; he will not be harmed by anyone. In the comic, I tried to show that he is in fact very vulnerable, especially now that he has become reckless.
I found it interesting that the form in which the apparition appeared gave us a hint as to the loophole that will be used. The baby is covered in blood because it was delivered by caesarean section. (Tricky witches, I never would have guessed that)
The last omen is delivered by an apparition of a crowned baby holding a tree. It tells Macbeth;
“Be lion-mettled, proud; and take no care
Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are:
Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him.” (IV.i.90-94)
This last apparition also serves to manipulate Macbeth into dropping his guard. The witches make it seem as if Birnam wood would suddenly sprout legs and walk to Dunsinane Hill. I drew a picture of exactly that (see they're even holding a map :D). Macbeth grows more confident because any sane person would realize that it is impossible for trees to walk (unless the witches cast a spell). Once again, I found it interesting that the apparition that gave this omen was giving clues as to what would happen. Malcolm, the future king, and his army would march against Dunsinane Hill carrying bits and pieces of Birnam wood to conceal his numbers; similar to how the baby was wearing a crown and holding a tree. Although, to be fair, the way the witches phrase the riddles make it very difficult to discern what they really mean (who would have guessed that carrying branches was a good battle tactic?). To me, this omen seems ridiculous and vague, although in the end, it does turn about to be true.
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