- That he shall be Thane of Cawdor
- That he shall be King
- That he shall be defeated by one of Banquo's sons.
In Act 4, the witches reappear to Macbeth and give him three new prophecies:
- That he shall never be vanquished by any man of woman born
- That he shall be safe until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane
- That he shall beware of Macduff.
The two sets of prophecies are linked in several ways. First, they both come from the same source: the witches. Second, they both relate to Macbeth's rise and fall. Third, they both play a role in Macbeth's development as a character.
The first set of prophecies plants the seeds of Macbeth's ambition. He is so eager to fulfill them that he is willing to commit murder. The second set of prophecies gives Macbeth a false sense of security. He believes that he is invincible, and this leads to his downfall.
The two sets of prophecies also show how Macbeth's character changes over the course of the play. In Act 1, he is a noble and loyal man. However, after he hears the witches' prophecies, he becomes increasingly ambitious and ruthless. He is willing to do anything to achieve his goals, even if it means killing innocent people.
By the end of the play, Macbeth has transformed into a monster. He is a paranoid tyrant who is haunted by his crimes. He is finally defeated by Macduff, who is the only man who can kill him because he was not born of woman.
The two sets of prophecies in Macbeth are a powerful reminder of the dangers of ambition. They show how easily one can be corrupted by power, and how the pursuit of power can lead to one's own destruction.