It takes three musical notes to form a chord. Three strands to make a braid. Three markers to divide time into past, present, and future. From sacred geometry to religious mythology to ancient philosophy, the mystical power of the number three has been present throughout history.

According to Pythagoras, the number three was considered the “noblest of all digits,” as it’s the only number whose sum is equal to the sum of all the terms below it (1+2=3). In Plato’s philosophies, the underlying tenets of the human experience are expressed as the Platonic trio: goodness, beauty, and truth, in which the expression of each mandates the existence of the others. And, as per one of our favorite contemporary mystics, Nevine Michaan, there are three universal principals in all esoteric dialogue: polarity, pattern, and repetition. 

In a world that’s often dominated by the hard-line dividing right and wrong, left or right, forward or backward — a “third” option signifies the in-between. A reconciling of two opposing ideas, the third way brings us back to center, just as measuring left and right helps us find the midline.

In ritual, actions are often performed three times and we’ve always found it helpful to uphold constraints when creating. It’s why our BEL targets scent, sight, and sound and our workshops body, mind, and spirit. When we give ourselves a container to fill, or a count, we embody the act of making a promise that we can keep. 

One for you, one for me,
One for that which we cannot see,
The triangle, the narrative arch,
The space between light and dark,
One plus one equals three,
Stick with us a while, and you’ll see.