Throughout human history, the number three has always had a unique significance, but why?
The DNA Code
All living organisms are dependent on three types of very large molecules for essentially all of their biological functions. These molecules are DNA, RNA, and proteins, and are classified as biological macromolecules. Without DNA, RNA, and proteins, no known forms of life could exist. The simple summary is that DNA makes RNA, and then RNA makes proteins.
In 1966 scientists announced the greatest breakthrough in of science. they successfully deciphered the Genetic Code. After years of research, scientists discovered that the structure of the DNA consists in a series of three molecule combinations known as triplets. The genetic code consists of three-letter ‘words’ called codons formed from a sequence of three nucleotides (e.g. ACT, CAG, TTT). This makes the number three very important as you can say that it represents the key to our existence, the key to understanding the complex DNA language.
DNA is a nucleic acid; alongside proteins and carbohydrates, nucleic acids compose the three major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life.
The Three Great Pyramids – The Giza Plateau
Constructed more than 4,000 years ago these monuments are arguably the most recognizable in the world and they employ the most magnificent use of triangle in architecture, the simplest most “perfect” geometric form. The Ancient Egyptian civilization is perhaps one of the first civilizations on earth to have used geometry, math, and architecture and combined them in a specific and elaborate way. This combination allowed them to construct monuments that archaeology and science have trouble explaining.
The triangle is one of those basic archetypal shapes that perhaps is hardwired into the human consciousness, and this may find expression in monuments such as the pyramids.
The secret code of the number three and alchemy
One of the most influential scientists of the 17th century was Isaac Newton. Newton introduced what became the basis of all modern physics: the three laws of motion, but what many people don’t know is the fact that Isaac Newton was an extremely mystic person and extremely interested in alchemy. Found among his documents about philosophy, astronomy, and mathematics a translation of an ancient document called “the emerald tablet” also known as the Smaragdine Table, or Tabula Smaragdina which has fascinated alchemists for hundreds of years. It is believed that this tablet is one of the several that contained information on the practice of alchemy and the secrets of the universe.
It is said that the emerald tablets contain the entire knowledge of the universe. The ancient wisdom of transmutation, the secrets of the cosmos and longevity and according to researchers these tablets were discovered in the Great Pyramids thousands of years ago. But it is one phrase written in one of the tablets that has drawn my attention: “Three is the great mystery, come from the great one”, so basically it is the number three what connects the universe and the cosmos.
Wisdom, consciousness awareness, and power all come from the interplay of the number three.
If anybody were to obtain this knowledge, that person would become the master of life, a master over death, some sort of supernatural being, a superhuman that could practically do anything.
Newton’s translation
A translation by Isaac Newton is found among his alchemical papers that are currently housed in King’s College Library, Cambridge University.
Tis true without lying, certain & most true.That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thingAnd as all things have been & arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth is its nurse.The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.Its force or power is entire if it is converted into earth.Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it descends to the earth & receives the force of things superior & inferior.By this means, you shall have the glory of the whole world& thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.Its force is above all force. For it vanquishes every subtle thing & penetrates every solid thing.So was the world created.From this are & do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (or process) is here in this. Hence I am called Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole worldThat which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished & ended.
There are three great divine energies in the Hindu imagination involved in the creation story
The great God Brahma is the one that creates all things, Vishnu is the one who maintains reality, and Shiva is in charge of destruction. You cannot have a renewal, you cannot have continued growth without the destructive energy. So basically these 3 “Gods” maintain a certain balance.
In Hinduism, Shiva is often pictured with a trident, the prongs representing his three fundamental powers: will, action and knowledge. He is also often illustrated as having a third eye in the middle of his forehead. With that eye, he can see things. He has clairvoyance.
Shiva is depicted as having a third eye, right in the middle in his forehead, between the two eyes. It is said that when his “third eye” opens, it radiates enormous amounts of energy, and everything becomes clear, in some way he enters into harmony with the cosmos, becoming in par with the cosmic frequency, perfect harmony. We also find that many other cultures in ancient India and Asia depict creatures with a third eye so this is anything but uncommon in that part of the world. It is said to be the center of one’s spiritual power.
Shiva has many benevolent and fearsome forms. At the highest level, Shiva is limitless, transcendent, unchanging and formless. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash, as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya and in fierce aspects, he is often depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also regarded as the patron god of yoga and arts.
In the practices of Freemasonry, there is a recurring notion that two sides can only find balance by adding a third one, a so to speak central structure and that central structure is often depicted as the “third eye”.
The most spectacular collection of Buddhist cave art in the world and the number three
The most spectacular collection of Buddhist cave art in the world is located at the shores of the Yi river where we can find over 1300 ancient caves knows as the Longmen Grottoes which date back to around 493 AD. One of the largest of the over 100,000 stone statues at the site is of the Amitabha Buddha or the Buddha of Infinite Light. He is flanked on either side by his two assistants, and collectively they are known as the Three Saints of the West. These guiding figures represented are exceptional examples of the power of three manifesting in a sacred and yet mystical way, teaching, helping one to a greater level of consciousness, balance, and harmony.
In Mahayana Buddhism, the three guides are Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, and his two companions, one representing wisdom and one compassion. But it doesn’t really matter where we decide to look, because as far as we know, every time we look into ancient mankind’s history, gods would often appear as a threesome where all three parts are necessary to obtain balance and harmony.
In a former life, Amitabha Buddha was believed to have been a king who renounced his kingdom through a series of vows. And these vows were to create a pure Buddha Land and according to research, the Western Pure land was thought to exist outside of the “normal” confines of time and space.
The secret code of the number three and the biblical magi or “The three wise men”
The journey of the Three Wise Men is perhaps one of the most popular and best-known stories concerning the birth of Jesus Christ yet little is actually known about these mysterious “three wise men“. According to the Gospels the Three Kings, or the Three Wise Men, came from the east and at that time that was an area of the world which for Westerners was considered to be the source of all magic and mysticism, it was an “obscure” region. The Magi were the ancient priesthood of Persia and their history can be traced back as far as 2000-3000 BC. These individuals, the magi, were extremely interested in astronomy and the movement of the celestial objects, they were astronomers and according to history, the three wise man traveled thousands of miles to reach “the holy land” and they found Bethlehem without a map, only following a star. As we discussed in earlier posts where we talked about the Three wise men, it is told that this “star” that lead them to Bethlehem actually moved in a way that we know that star does not move, with inconsistent movement in the sky.
The three gifts that the “Three Kings” offered to Jesus Christ were gold, representing all the material needs the child would need throughout his life, Frankincense which is an ancient aromatic resin which when burned is apparently effective in mind expansion and enlightenment and Myrrh which is ancient oil associated with death and embalming representing the afterlife. But the question here is why only these three gifts?
There is a theory that the key to unlocking the power of the number three lies in the mystery of the Holy Trinity, that the notion of three divine persons in one God refers to the three states of being.
God the Father the intellectual self.God the Son the physical self.God the Holy Spirit the aspirational self.
What makes the number three so important that it is present in mathematics, philosophy, religion, engineering and practically everything else? The number three has fascinated mathematicians, philosophers, builders, and alchemists among others. Is the number three a divine number? Is it really a gateway to a higher level of consciousness? Let us know what you think!
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