The Archetypal Trinity - Throughout many cultures history is replete with the concept of 3 metaphysical female figures . It is an added layer of mysticism that can be rightly imposed on Emily, Charlotte and Anne.
The idea of the sacred female trinity can a profound insight into human experience and the nature of reality. Its influence runs deep through both cultures and the archetypes of reality as we experience it, creation, maintenance and destruction.
In story telling traditions the use of archetypes and similar devices allows the mind to comprehend deep meanings by providing symbols, personalities and resonant situations around which meaning and feelings can coalesce and understanding can manifest.
In a similar way as the eye has evolved independently in separate organisms, the female trinity has arisen in minds and cultures as an inevitable tool for cognition. The number three itself, the feminine principles and the processes of birth, life, and death have all arisen independently in cultures across the world.
In story telling traditions the use of archetypes and similar devices allows the mind to comprehend deep meanings by providing symbols, personalities and resonant situations around which meaning and feelings can coalesce and understanding can manifest.
In a similar way as the eye has evolved independently in separate organisms, the female trinity has arisen in minds and cultures as an inevitable tool for cognition. The number three itself, the feminine principles and the processes of birth, life, and death have all arisen independently in cultures across the world.
The Fates
The Norns (Old Norse: norn, plural: nornir) in Norse mythology are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men. They roughly correspond to other controllers of humans' destiny, such as the Fates, elsewhere in European mythology.
In Snorri Sturluson's interpretation of the Völuspá, Urðr (Wyrd), Verðandi and Skuld, the three most important of the Norns, come out from a hall standing at the Well of Urðr or Well of Fate. They draw water from the well and take sand that lies around it, which they pour over the Yggdrasill tree so that its branches will not rot. These three Norns are described as powerful maiden giantesses (Jotuns) whose arrival from Jötunheimr ended the golden age of the gods. They may be the same as the maidens of Mögþrasir who are described in Vafþrúðnismál (see below). Beside these three famous Norns, there are many others who appear at a person's birth in order to determine his or her future. In the pre-Christian Norse societies, Norns were thought to have visited newborn children. There were both malevolent and benevolent Norns: the former caused all the malevolent and tragic events in the world while the latter were kind and protective goddesses. |
Banner of the Three Graces Masonic Lodge in Haworth where Branwell rose to the position of Master Mason. .
An important aspects of Freemasonry is the use of the number three amongst which are the first introduction to Masonry 3 knocks on the door to the 3 step gesture, 3 times at a grave by two men and a third, 3 degrees - apprentice, fellowcraft and master. (There are 33 degrees in all although #33 represents vertebrae of the spine). With obvious allusions to the trinity and we can see why the Brontë sisters were coveted by them and references to Freemasonry can be found throughout Jane Eyre by Charlotte and Wuthering Heights by Emily. |
The Three Graces or Charites were usually considered the daughters of Zeus and Oceanid Eurynome. Rarely, they were said to be daughters of Dionysus and Kronois or of Helios and the Naiad Aegle. Other possible names of their mother by Zeus are Eurydome, Eurymedousa, and Euanthe. Homer wrote that they were part of the retinue of Aphrodite. The Charites were also associated with the Greek underworld and the Eleusinian Mysteries.
The river Cephissus near Delphi was sacred to the three goddesses. |
Rozhanitsy, narecnitsy, and sudzhenitsy are invisible spirits or deities of fate in the pre-Christian religion of the Slavs. Sources usually mention them together with Rod. They are usually mentioned three together, but sometimes up to 9 together, of which one was a "queen" or singular. They are related to Dolya, but it is not known on what terms. In Poland they were worshipped as zorze (auroras).
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Moirai
MIn ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai, often known in English as the Fates, were the white-robed incarnations of destiny; their Roman equivalent was the Parcae (euphemistically the "sparing ones"), and there are other equivalents in cultures that descend from the Proto-Indo-European culture. Their number became fixed at three: Clotho ("spinner"), Lachesis ("allotter") and Atropos ("the unturnable", a metaphor for death).
They controlled the mother thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. They were independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction. Both gods and men had to submit to them, although Zeus's relationship with them is a matter of debate: some sources say he can command them (as Zeus Moiragetes "leader of the Fates"), while others suggest he was also bound to the Moirai's dictates. In the Homeric poems Moira or Aisa are related to the limit and end of life, and Zeus appears as the guider of destiny. In the Theogony of Hesiod, the three Moirai are personified, daughters of Nyx and are acting over the gods. Later they are daughters of Zeus and Themis, who was the embodiment of divine order and law. In Plato's Republic the Three Fates are daughters of Ananke (necessity). It seems that Moira is related with Tekmor ("proof, ordinance") and with Ananke ("destiny, necessity"), who were primeval goddesses in mythical cosmogonies. The ancient Greek writers might call this power Moira or Ananke, and even the gods could not alter what was ordained: To the Moirai (Moirae, Fates) the might of Zeus must bow; and by the Immortals' purpose all these things had come to pass, or by the Moirai's ordinance. The concept of a universal principle of natural order and balance has been compared to similar concepts in other cultures like the Vedic Ṛta, the Avestan Asha (Arta) and the Egyptian Maat. In earliest Greek philosophy, the cosmogony of Anaximander is based on these mythical beliefs. The goddess Dike ("justice, divine retribution"), keeps the order and sets a limit to any actions |
Parcae
Parcea were the female personifications of destiny who directed the lives (and deaths) of humans and gods. The earliest documents referencing the Parcae are three small stelae (stone or wooden slabs) found near ancient Lavinium.
The Parcae controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal and immortal from birth to death. Even the gods feared them, and by some sources Jupiter was also subject to their power. The names of the three Parcae are:
Neuna fata, Neuna dono, Parca Maurtia dono The names of two of the three Roman Parcae are recorded (Neuna = Nona, Maurtia = Morta) and connected to the concept of fata. The Three Parcae Spinning the Fate of Marie de' Medici (1622-1625) by Peter Paul RubensNona was supposed to determine a person's lifespan on the dies lustricus, that is, the day on which the name of the child was chosen, which occurred on the ninth day from birth for a male and the eighth for a female. In mythology the Parcae were located on a higher hierarchical level than the highest gods. |
Maiden, mother, crone
The Triple Goddess is a deity or deity archetype revered in many Neopagan religious and spiritual traditions. In common Neopagan usage, the Triple Goddess is viewed as a triunity of three distinct aspects or figures united in one being. These three figures are often described as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, each of which symbolizes both a separate stage in the female life cycle and a phase of the Moon, and often rules one of the realms of heavens, earth, and underworld. In various forms of Wicca, her masculine consort is the Horned God.
The Goddess is often portrayed with strong lunar symbolism, drawing on various cultures and deities such as Diana, Hecate, and Isis, and is often depicted as the Maiden, Mother, and Crone triad popularised by Robert Graves (see Triple Goddess below). Many depictions of her also draw strongly on Celtic goddesses. Some Wiccans believe there are many goddesses, and in some forms of Wicca, notably Dianic Wicca, the Goddess alone is worshipped, and the God plays very little part in their worship and ritual. Goddesses or demi-goddesses appear in sets of three in a number of ancient European pagan mythologies; these include the Greek Erinyes (Furies) and Moirai (Fates); the Norse Norns; Brighid and her two sisters, also called Brighid, from Irish or Celtic mythology. Robert Graves popularised the triad of "Maiden" (or "Virgin"), "Mother" and "Crone", and while this idea did not rest on sound scholarship, his poetic inspiration has gained a tenacious hold. Considerable variation in the precise conceptions of these figures exists, as typically occurs in Neopaganism and indeed in pagan religions in general. Some choose to interpret them as three stages in a woman's life, separated by menarche and menopause. Others find this too biologically based and rigid, and prefer a freer interpretation, with the Maiden as birth (independent, self-centred, seeking), the Mother as giving birth (interrelated, compassionate nurturing, creating), and the Crone as death and renewal (holistic, remote, unknowable) — and all three erotic and wise. The popularity of the work of Brontes is no doubt complemented by their popularity as sacred feminine icons. This has seen them adopted as neo pagan symbols that are ever more resonant with modern sensibilities that seems mainly due to an accessible familiarity that permeates literature, history and spirituality.
The inclusion of pagan references in their work (for example suggesting that Cathy represents Isis in Wuthering Heights) only adds to their authenticity as symbols. |
This motif has been replicated in fictional accounts, such as
The Three Witches, also known as the Weird Sisters or Wayward Sisters, are characters in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth (c. 1603–1607). They hold a striking resemblance to the three Fates of classical mythology, and are, perhaps, intended as a twisted version of the white-robed incarnations of destiny. The witches eventually lead Macbeth to his demise. Their origin lies in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland and Ireland.
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Other sacred trinities |