Wrote this awhile back in another blog but thought I'd share it here for those with no access to the other...LOL
OK...so I'm a bit obsessed with 3 (I kid you not that EVERY time I see numbers, I AUTOMATICALLY count them up in my head to break it down to 1 digit, I PANIC if a single digit is not "comfortable" with me, yeah I'm odd)... shoot my entire life THREE has been it...everything significant in my life and special numbers, even when they were more than 1 digit long STILL broke down to 3...TODAY the number 3 has been SCREAMING at me and I decided to look it up. So incase anyone else out there was wondering what the number 3 has been symbolized with throughout history, here's what I found...
~By Janet Bristow & Victoria Galo, 1998, 2007~
We've all heard people say that "things happen in 3's."
In the Christian faith tradition, the number 3, symbolized by the Trinity (Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer), has come to mean wholeness. The 3 attributes of God are omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. It is said that the number 3 is used 523 times in Scripture!
In the Kaballah: male/female/uniting intelligence
Hindu: creation/destruction/preservation, unfolding/maintaining/concluding
Taoist: Great Triad: Heaven/Human/Earth
From the Buddhist tradition, comes "The Triple Gem" or "The Three Jewels," which is the Buddha (the enlightened one), the Dhamma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community of followers).
Many phases of life happen in combinations of three:
child/adult/senior
mother/father/child
maiden/mother/crone (the 3 stages of a woman's life)
past/present/future.
Some people believe in the combination of life/death/rebirth (meaning life after death).
There are 3 acts of existence - birth/life/death.
We've heard of the concept of:
Body/mind/ spirit, which encompasses the physical, mental, and spiritual makeup of a human being.
We have been encouraged to live and act in faith/hope/charity.
The combination of thought, word, and deed is the sum of the capability of humans.
The 3 types of matter are animal, vegetable, and mineral.
The number 3 stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire.
According to the Chinese, 3 is a perfect number;
To the Mayan, the sacred number of woman.
Egyptians see it as the number of the cosmos.
Japanese: 3 Treasures – truth/courage/compassion
In general:
there are 3 primary colors with which it is possible to obtain all the colors;
there are 3 keys of music Do, Fa, and Sol are the three most important notes in music
the three divine principles: light, heat, and life;
three types of universe: matter, astral (mental or soul) and spirit;
three phases of the moon;
the earth, sea, and sky of nature.
The 3-stitch seed pattern was selected as symbolic of planting peace, healing, love, comfort and hope into the shawls by the shawl maker for the receiver. May you be inspired by the significance of these symbolisms which are meant to enhance the creating and receiving process of the Prayer Shawl Ministry.
nostalgic
content
silly
pensive