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The inner illumination revealed by the ancient Greek philosopher in the above passage was also shared by John, a later disciple of the Mysteries, as is indicated in the opening lines of his Gospel: "The word was God, the word was with God, and without it was not anything made that was made."
The above passages of both John and Pythagoras are the fruits of meditation on cosmic truths. They give evidence of an understanding of something of the formation of the Formative Triad or threefold power of the Godhead. The early sages defined the outpourings of this Triplicity as the World of Emanation, the World of Creation, and the World of Formation. John describes this same process as the word that was God, the word that was with God and the word that became flesh and dwelt among men.
The force and power of 3 has been identified with the Trinity by the Wise Men throughout the ages. All great world religions worship a three-fold Godhead. It is one of religion's fundamental teachings. In our Christian terminology the three persons of the Godhead are the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
One projects from itself 2; from the component parts of 1 and 2, 3 is formed. The spirit of God (1) moves on the face of the waters (2) in order to create (3). In accordance with this mathematical principle, all created things have come into manifestation. In relation to this truth Pythagoras says: "Every Triad is hung to a Monad."
As we meditate upon these processes in manifestation throughout all creation, we comprehend anew something of the profound significance of that Masonic admonition: "Brother, study nature for it bears the stamp of Divinity." Paracelsus writes regarding the mighty power of 3: "Remember, therefore, there are of Things Primordial but three. From these take two, and from these again, if thou judge rightly, one more. The Triple Thing will then consist of Gold alone".
John observes this same process when he writes:
In the outer world of manifestation the unity is ever becoming the Trinity, or Trinity is ever detaching itself and returning again into the One. Thus do we note the ceaseless activity of nature about us and the transitoriness of all form.
One is the supreme primal cause, 2 is that cause in manifestation, and 3 is the product or result of the combined operations of 1 and 2. In order to comprehend the significance of 3 we must know the creative powers of 1 and 2.
Again the high inspiration of John declares: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree in one". — John 5:7,8.
The equilateral triangle is a symbol of perfection, for it contains the father and mother principles, or the 1 and the 2 in harmonious proportion. The true and eternal purpose of evolution is to perfect this equilibrium or polarity in man. The supreme object of nature, therefore, is the proper blending of the qualities of 1 and 2 to the end that it may produce as a result the Christed individual. In Masonic ceremonialism this fact is represented by the Sun, Moon and Mercury, or the Master of the Lodge. Note, also, that the Masonic Wisdom has placed the letter G in the center of the equilateral triangle. In some symbologies the Hebrew letter Yod, the tenth letter of the alphabet, is used instead of the letter G. In each instance, the letter is representative of the innate creative power through which all things are produced upon all planes of manifestation.
Three is the number of degrees or steps in all schools of inner illumination. In the esoteric school of the early Christians these were referred to as steps of Purification, Illumination, and Bringing to Light. They constituted a part of the Rite of the Love Feast, or Agape, described in the Acts of the Apostles. In the Masonic Fraternity the three degrees are familiar to us as those of the Apprentice the Fellowcraft, and the Master. They represent the modem survival of a fragment of the magnificent symbolism of the Ancient Wisdom as this was known and practiced by the Hierophants of earlier days. In the life of the supreme Teacher those three degrees or steps are represented by the Baptism, the Transfiguration, and the Resurrection. Pythagoras gave utterance to a deep mystic truth when he said: "All Hieratic intelligence is in the perfect knowledge of these three degrees".
The three primary colors, blue yellow, and red, are radiations of the three-fold Godhead, and produce upon earth the varying manifestations of life, consciousness, and form. A realization of this fact, together with a fuller understanding of man's own relation to the powers of the Trinity, will in time, bring forth an 'entirely new system of healing and a new technique of human regeneration. The new methods for helping man to recover wholeness and uprightness will be based upon the forces of color as these relate to man's expanding consciousness.
"Rule your work through one thing", says Paracelsus. "Proceeding from Unity to Duality, and thence to Three things; then travel to Cyprus. There you will be refused nothing. Afterward for these Three build a tabernacle, and diligently take heed that the sacred Threefoldness be reduced through Duality to Unity — the Author of all consummate perfection."
In those few sentences this great seer has described the way out from God, through evolution, into external plane existence, and the path of return, through regeneration, to a final union with God-consciousness. In the light of this conception, we begin to understand the important and frequent use of the number 3 throughout the Bible, since in this Textbook of Life this same story is presented in many variations and by numerous incidents. "Magic", declares Paracelsus further, "has three books. Firstly, theology; secondly, medicine; thirdly, astronomy. Whence the Magus knows and worships Trinity in Unity and imparts the power he receives from God to suffering mortals". "By their fruits ye shall know them".
The third day of creation produced the tree whose seed is within itself, and which yields fruit after its own kind. For those who come under the numerical law of 3, meditation upon the truth contained in these words will be of invaluable assistance toward gaining a realization of the powers within which are awaiting unfoldment. To 3 belong honor, fame, and beauty. The word 'adept', like one who has attained the status it signifies, represents the evolved powers of 3. The symbol of the number is a wreath, which in turn represents eternity or the ever-abiding power of its high aspect of Truth.
Some predominant figures of the Bible who express the high characteristics of 3 are the prophets Isaiah and Hosea, and the disciple Matthew, the writer of the first Gospel.
One of the greatest of our modern mystics, Franz Hartman, says: "Try to find out the spiritual significance of the Triangle, and learn to know thyself". Since we are living in a world of three dimensional consciousness, the law of 3 operates with us universally. All religions are founded upon tenets embracing the evolution of spirit, soul, and body. Wherever we find the number 3 in parable, or used in the life history of the various biblical characters, the key to its deeper meaning may be found through tracing their relation to the threefold nature of man, namely, the spirit, soul, and body.
Each letter and number bears its own secret story in color, tone, and vibratory rhythm or power. Digit the letters of a name, and something of its inner significance begins to unfold. The digit of vowels marks the spiritual path and the digit of consonants, the material urge. When 1, 2, and 3 are in harmonious relationship in a name, they indicate that its bearer has a splendid working trinity with which to gain a rich and plenteous harvest from many and varied experiences upon this outer physical plane. The higher spiritual trinity we shall study at length when we come to a consideration of the number 11, and the universal or cosmic consciousness which this higher trinity reveals, presaging as it does, the further evolution of the spirit, soul, and body of man.
Three is expansive, unlimited, a "free" number, as evidenced in the utterances of the inspired Isaiah, who, scorning subterfuge, convention, and old established customs, renounced prestige, position, and, finally, life itself, in order that he might teach truth as he received it. The same urge of the number 3 operated in the life of Matthew, the great emancipator, whose life and works may well be described in the following words of Paracelsus: "A resurrection from the dead in which soul, body and spirit after purification came together again, — a new spiritual man".
The color of 3 is Golden Flame or Illumined Gold. It represents the dross of the lower nature lifted up and transmuted into the radiance of a new life, its aura being as white as snow, and as golden as the Sun.
The predominant urge of 3, despite its manifold opportunities for material experiences, is an all-permeating desire for a return to a union with 1, the indwelling Diety which is a reflection in man of that "One apart and transcending the Three"
I am the Lord and there is no God beside me: I girded thee though thou hast not known me. — Isaiah 45:5
And the scribe said unto him: "Well Master thou hast said the truth, for there is one God and there is none other but He." — Mark 12:32
In that unfathomed Sphinx Book of the Bible, Ecclesiastes, chapter IV verses 8 to 12, Solomon, the wise numerologist, has given the perfect law underlying the cosmic Trinity of One, Two, and Three.
"When One willed to create, One became many (each threefold). The First were the most blessed and mighty Three, to be His ministers". Herein are stated the fundamentals upon which the doctrine of the Trinity is based.
The Ancient Wisdom declares: "Besides triplicity which exists in elements and all created subjects, there is another more mystical and obscure triplicity which is recognized by Adepts. Without this latter, true spiritual power cannot be obtained. These three principles key to all nature. The first in One is a pure white virgin. The Bride of God and the stars through which as a medium, all things were and are made in nature and in art".
These words describe the golden flame which is the soul color of 3, and point the way of the transmutation process whereby this high soul radiance may be attained. "I was once dead, but now I live". The principle of life which animates the physical body may become the luminous radiance of the soul body. "He that ascends is the same as he that descends".
Thus we see that life and death are interrelated principles. As St. Martin observes: "If the number 3 is imposed upon all things, it is because it presided at their origin. Had there been four instead of three elements, they would have been indestructible and the world eternal; being three, they are devoid of permanent existence because they are without unity, as will be clear to those who know the true law of numbers. There can be Three in One in the Divine Triad, but not One in Three, because that which is One in Three is subject to death".
The keynote of 3 is activity, on the lower physical planes, and in the mass mind of man this activity principle operates as disintegration. In the higher realms and in the consciousness of the Illumined, it operates as transmutation.
We find the operation of this threefold power instanced n the lives of Adam and Noah, and represented in both cases by their three sons.
The working Trinity as symbolized by the three sons of Adam:
The working Trinity, as symbolized by the three sons of Noah:
We note in the workings of this threefold power in rnan that the three sons both of Adam and of Noah typify not personalities, but principles. As we follow the experiences recounted in both legends, and note the destruction and chaos which result from the deeds of both Cain and Ham, we are observing the inharmonious effects of this threefold power in operation on the lower or material plane of being. The same results are to be noted in the life of the masses of humanity at the present time, since but few as yet have learned the operation in mind and spirit of the higher law connected with this threefold power. The wise know this law in its aspect of transmutation, whereas, the unwise are subject to its aspect of disintegration. The two processes are exemplified in the lives of Seth and Shem, and Cain and Ham respectively.
Just so long as the destructive force is paramount in the world, we shall have the despairing lament of Cain: "Every man's hand is against me". This will continue to sound the keynote of nations and of individuals until the forces of construction gain ascendancy. Abel and Japeth represent the processes of awakening and enlightenment. The great forward step for humanity is described in the words of Eve, the intuitive consciousness, when at the birth of Seth, she exclaims in exultation: "God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel". It is interesting to also note that "all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years", which digits Three.
The Chinese say numbers begin at One, are made perfect at Three, and terminate at Ten.
In the numbers from 1 to 10 we find outlined the path of generation and the way of regeneration.
— Corinne Heline
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