"Hubble bubble, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.
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 blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and owlet's wing;
For a charm of powerful trouble, like a hell-broth boil and bubble."
The paragraph above is a famous quote from Act 4 Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It's from a scene where Macbeth meets the three witches who are brewing a diabolical concoction.
This idea of the witches brew is full of superstition and conjures images of bizarre and disgusting ingredients bubbling away in a cauldron, but depsite this foul sounding concoction, all of the ingredients above are very real, and many of us have even used or eaten some of them ourselves!
The names of the ingredients given in Macbeth's iconic scene are actually nicknames given to some common herbs, flowers and plants.
"Fillet of a fenny snake" could mean an actual snake which has been filleted, but it's more likely to mean Indian Turnip, a type of plant which usually grows in bogs and fens. It's called Indian Turnip as it has deep connections to Native Americans. It's said these plants "point" to each other, so if you find one growing, the direction its flower heads point will often lead to another. This would help the children gather them and make it a bit more fun, and give mum a break!
"Eye of newt" is an old folkloric name for mustard seeds. Yep, the common sauce topping for hotdogs was one of the key ingredients in the witches brew!
"Toe of frog" is the name for the bright yellow buttercup flower which isn't edible, and if ingested is bitter and will cause gastro intestinal issues. In grazing cattle its been known to even cause paralysis when eaten in large quantities.
"Wool of bat" was probably just holly leaves, which are known as "bat wings" in many cultures due to their wing-like shape. It could also have been a type of moss that usually grows in caves where bats frequent.
"Tongue of dog" is Hounds Tongue, a type of very common medicinal herb used to treat dysentery and diarrhea, as well as colic, coughs, neuralgia, bronchial and lung issues, and loads of other uses.
"Adders tongue" is the herb Ophioglossum Vulgatum, which is a type of medcinal herb, whose spore shedding stalk resembles a snakes tongue. It's been used for centuries for treating wounds, sores and ulcers. It helps to stem bleeding, it's root and leaves are antiseptic and a type of detergent which helps to clean wounds. It has anti-inflammatory properties and drinking a juice from the liquid has even been shown to help with heart arythmea and spasms.
"Blind worms sting"... well, this is a bit more gross! A "blind worm" or more often known as a slow worm is a tiny creature which is actually a type of legless lizard. It's pretty common across the UK, and lives in long grasses. It's not aggressive and if caught, usually sheds its tail to escape. They don't bite and aren't venomous, despite the "sting" part of the rhyme.
"Lizards leg" is refering to Ivy, its climbing green leaves resembling little lizards running up the tree.
"Owlets wing"... it's possible that this could be an actual baby owls wing, but it's thought it's probably describing Goosegrass, a type of wing-shaped grass, which when going to seed has feathery looking leaves.
So next time you conjure up the image of the witches brew, it might not appear quite as grotesque as you imagined...!
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