the number three

The number three holds significant mystical and spiritual associations across various cultures and belief systems. It is frequently encountered in folklore, such as tales involving "three wishes" or characters like the "three little pigs".1

In ancient Babylon, the primary deities Anu, Bel, and Ea represented Heaven, Earth, and the Abyss, respectively. Similarly, the Egyptian sun god had three aspects: Khepri (rising), Re (midday), and Atum (setting). Christianity features the concept of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.1

Philosophically, Plato viewed three as symbolic of the triangle, the simplest spatial shape, and believed the world was constructed from triangles. In folklore, a three-colored cat was considered a protective spirit, while three black animals were sometimes sacrificed for conjuring demons. William Shakespeare's Macbeth famously includes three witches.1

Mathematically, three is the dimension of the smallest magic square where every row, column, and diagonal sums to 15. As a numeral, it represents one more than two.12