Lightning flashes on Scotland's moor as Macbeth and Banquo come upon three witches who are dancing up a storm. Sings the first witch: ". . . Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tost." "I'll give thee a wind, "sings the second." "And I another," sings the third." Dancing, the witches "untie the winds that swallow navigation up."
Belief in witches knots was common in England. In Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, the witches had power over the wind. They could tie it in a string of knots which they sold.
Wind knots were purchased from witches and wizards in the seaports of Finland, Norway, Denmark, Ireland and Scotland. In the days of sailing ships, no prudent sailor left the harbor without his witches knot stowed in his gear. Vulnerable to the forces of weather, sailors sought to control the wind with witchcraft. They believed they could carry the wind aboard ship where it would remain secured for a safe voyage. If the wind failed, the sailor untied a knot and released a wind.