In act 4, scene 1, Macbeth goes to see the witches for more prophecies. He has wanted more information from them ever since they originally predicted he would become King of Scotland. By act 4, Macbeth is king (which he achieved by murdering King Duncan) and has become a paranoid tyrant. He is becoming desperate to know how he can maintain his power and position. Before he arrives to meet the witches, the witches are...
In act 4, scene 1, Macbeth goes to see the witches for more prophecies. He has wanted more information from them ever since they originally predicted he would become King of Scotland. By act 4, Macbeth is king (which he achieved by murdering King Duncan) and has become a paranoid tyrant. He is becoming desperate to know how he can maintain his power and position. Before he arrives to meet the witches, the witches are talking amongst themselves and concocting some sort of potion. The second witch says the lines that you mentioned in the question:
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes (IV.i.44-45).
When the second witch says this, she means that she has a feeling that something bad is coming. The "pricking" is like a sensation in her fingers. The "Something wicked" is literally Macbeth, who enters the scene immediately after the second witch speaks. It is interesting (and maybe ironic) that the witches think of Macbeth as wicked, as we normally would associate witches with evil. By this point in the play, though, Macbeth has committed heinous acts of murder and betrayal, and he will do whatever it takes to keep his crown. Macbeth has become truly wicked, as the second witch says.
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