Footnote: The Power of Three

Blame it on Shakespeare, but:
 
Have you ever noticed how often witches come in threes?

From Best Witches (1960), by Robert Heitmann.
 
Consider for starters:

  • Charmed: Prue, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell 
  • Hocus Pocus: Winifred, Sarah, and Mary Sanderson 
  • Stardust: Lamia, Mormo, and Empusa 
  • The Witches of Eastwick: Alexandra Medford, Jane Spofford, and Sukie Ridgemont
  • Wizards of Disney, “Team Jinx”: Neraja, Garma, and Magica de Spell

I’m sure you can think of others. It’s like when you buy a car and suddenly start seeing yours everywhere.

From Children’s Playmate, October 1955. Artwork by Frans Kirn.

So why three? I can only think of one instance of terrible twos: the sister and aunt pairings in Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic (1995). Two witches is interesting, I guess. But three is a situation.





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