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8x8 relief carved ceramic Celtic trinity knot tile/wall plaque
The trituetra or Celtic trinity knot has a myriad of of symbolic meaning all based on the number three. Here is some insight into the number three from
'Uncle Davids Big Book Of Numbers' by David Botton.
"THREE can be the balancing factor that finds the middle ground between two opposites or
it can be the factor that sides with either end and tips the balance in that direction.
Three’s a crowd or three’s company, it depends on which three.
Division or classification into three parts is exceptionally common.
Let’s look at threes as they occur in relation to soul, body, and mind:
Some religions have considered the world divided into three parts; Heaven and the Underworld,
with Earth in between, while others speak of Heaven and Earth with Man in between.
Triadic Godheads were recognized by (among others): Greek, Egyptian, Babylonian, Hindu and
Norse people, often representing the powers of Creation, Sustenance, and Destruction.
Wiccans sing to the Maid, Mother, Crone,
and the Christians have their mysterious One that is Three.
Christians also celebrate (but of course have no monopoly on) three virtues:
Faith, Hope, and Charity.
Peter denied Christ three times. (Keep the faith Pete.)
In Greek mythology there appear three Fates, three Furies, and three Graces.
Buddhists and Neo-sannyasins give thanks for the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, or,
The Awakened One, the Truth he imparts, and the community that gathers around him.
The Far East has produced three major “atheistic” religions:
Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism,
while the Middle East has given rise to three major monotheistic religions;
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The third eye opens to spiritual awareness.
To sustain our bodies we eat (some of us) three meals a day at morning, noon, and night, and if we
drink too much we may end up “three sheets to the wind”.
In competitions we give special recognition to those who place first, second, and third.
Three goals in a hockey game scores the player a hat-trick, in bowling one can take three tries at
knocking down the pins and it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out at the old ball game.
Soldiers in trenches learned not to light “three on a match” (it gives a sniper time to ready, aim and fire).
A triangular stance as every Aikido knows, is the most stable posture.
A myriad of colours can be created from the three primaries and it takes three notes to make a chord.
We think of time in terms of past, present, and future and our stories usually have a beginning,
middle, and end. Some things that have appeared in our stories and songs in multiples of three
include; Bears, Billy Goats Gruff, Blind Mice, Little Pigs, Little Kittens, Penny Operas, Coins in a
Fountain, Men in a Tub, Ships coming sailing in on Christmas day, and Stooges.
At school, in addition to Reading, ‘Riting, and ‘Rithmetic, we learned (some of us) about:
acids/bases/salts, solids/liquids/gases, animals/vegetables/minerals, the id/ego/super ego, and
three degrees of comparison.
Oaths and many magical incantations are traditionally repeated three times.
By old English custom a couple who have had their names published and read aloud in church for
three consecutive weeks are considered married (but not apparently by the Province of Ontario).
Luck, good and bad, some say, comes in threes, but then again, others say “third time lucky”.
Wishes granted by genies come in threes. (Hint: make the third wish a request for more wishes).
I’ll give you three guesses what my favourite number is. Let’s have three cheers for THREE!"
