The Rule of Three

Below is a list of things that come in threes. The three columns represent three different ways of being or experiencing. Thus all of the concepts in Column One share some common trait, and the same for the other two columns.

For me, it’s easiest to identify Column One as The Father, Column Two as The Son and Column Three as The Holy Ghost. Each of these persons corresponds with a particular way of being, a particular perspective and way of interacting with the world (or the other world). For you it might be Zeus, Apollo and Dionysus, or Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael, or Liquid, Solid, Gas. Whatever works.

What I find interesting is that so many things in religion, mythology and psychology, as well as in philosophy, history, business and the physical sciences, come in threes. I’m not sure it means anything. But it might. If nothing else, this kind of listing, juxtaposing, comparing exercise can allow you to think outside the normal ruts.

So here’s the list. I’m hoping readers will add to it.

Father	Son	Holy Ghost
Water	Earth	Air
Blue	Red	Yellow
Zeus	Apollo	Dionysus
Brahma	Shiva	Vishnu
Osiris	Horus	Isis
Joseph	Jesus	Mary
Cold	Hot	Warm
Father	Child	Mother
Sun	Moon	Stars
Vertical	Horizontal	Diagonal
Bull	Lamb	Dove
Top	Middle	Bottom
Good	True	Beautiful
King	Prince	Queen
Faith	Charity	Hope
Newton	Einstein	Heisenberg
Leonardo	Michelangelo	Raphael
Haydn	Beethoven	Mozart
Motherwell	Rauschenberg	Rothko
Mo	Curly	Larry
Blue	Red	White
Washington	Jefferson	Hamilton
Sea	Land	Air
Graham Crackers	Chocolate	Marshmallows
3	4	7
Matriarch	Warrior	Prophetess
King	Warrior	Priest
Motionless	Fast	Slow
Saturn	Zeus	Apollo
Saturn	Janus	Vesta
Baptism	Eucharist	Confirmation
Huey	Louie	Dewey
Abraham	Jesus	Mohammed
Walk	Swim	Fly
Rome	Greece	Egypt
Mineral	Animal	Plant
Carnivore	Herbivore	Omnivore
Writing	Reading	Arithmetic
Jew	Christian	Moslem
Hinduism	Christianity	Buddhism
Emerson	Whitman	Thoreau
Burroughs	Kerouac	Ginsberg
Liquid	Solid	Gas
Architecture	Sculpture	Painting
Downtown	Suburb	Country
Atropos	Clotho	Lachesis
Maiden	Nymph	Crone
Wave	Radiation	Condensation
Asgard	Midgard	Niflheim
Root	Flower	Shaft
Kernel	Flesh	Husk
Past	Present	Future
Beginning	Middle	End
Becoming	Being	Disappearing
Anu	Enki	Enlil
Shamash	Ishtar	Sin
Queen	Mother	Virgin
Indra  Agni	Agni  Soma	Vayu  Ghandarva
Amida	Sheishi	Kwannon
Zeus	Apollo	Athena
Zurvan	Ahura Mazda	Angra Mainya
Odin	Lodur	Hoenir
Odin	Vili	Ve
Time	Space	Causality
Being	Recognizing	Willing
Knowledge	Understanding	Hearing
Sat	Chit	Ananda
Being	Thinking	Bliss
Abraham	Isaac	Jacob
Wisdom	Reason	Perception
Faith	Chastity	Humility
Thinking	Willing	Feeling
Acid	Base	Salt
Mass	Power	Velocity
Tamas	Rajas	Sattva
The Dark	The Moved	The Being
Laugh	Weep	Sleep
God	Muhammad	Ali
Absolute	Messenger	Friend
Vanilla	Chocolate	Strawberry
Islam	Iman	Ihsan
Surrender	Faith	Do Good
Prohibited	Permitted	Doubtful
Chinese	Japanese	Korean
Divine Law	Mystical Path	Reality
Purgativa	Contemplativa	Illuminativa
Dhakir	Madhkur	Dhikr
Remembering God	One Remembered	Act of Remembering
Lover	Beloved	Love
Buddha	Samgha	Dharma
Confucianism	Taoism	Buddhism
Jews	Catholics	Protestants
Jews	Christians	Pagans
Rabbi	Priest	Minister
Ram	Cow	Goat
Abel	Cain	Seth
Shem	Ham	Japheth
Gold	Myrrh	Frankincense
Apse	Transept	Nave
The Truth	The Way	The Life
Object	Subject	Predicate
Noun	Verb	Adjective
Thought	Word	Works
Repentance	Confession	Absolution
Prayer	Fasting	Almsgiving
Judaism	Christianity	Islam
Ante Legem	Sub Lege	Sub Gratia
Before the Law	Under the Law	Under Grace
The Law	The Prophets	The Gospels
Rome	Constantinople	Moscow
Priest	Warrior	Farmer
Wehrstand	Lehrstand	Nährstand
Heaven	Hell	Pugatory
Blood	Sweat	Tears
Women	Wine	Song
Marketing	Advertising	PR
Wallahi	Billahi	Tallahi
Caspar	Melchior	Balthazar
Christmas Eve	New Year’s Eve	Epiphany
Day	Week	Month
Sonata	Concerto	Symphony
Hemingway	Fitzgerald	Faulkner
Mongoloid	Caucasian	Negroid
Jung	Freud	Adler
Executive	Judicial	Legislative
New York	Chicago	Los Angeles
Mein Kampf	Das Kapital	Wealth of Nations
North America	South America	Central America
Classic  Creation Ranginui	Romantic  Destruction Tane	Baroque  Preservation Papatuanuku