Why do fairy tales use the number 3

Buvala, K. Would you like more folklore and weird tales? Add your email to get them once a month, and receive this free copy of my short story collection too! I like to add up all of the individual numbers in any number that has two or more digits. For some strange reason, that makes me happy. I was 25 when my daughter was born and 33 when my son was born…… Woah. And just for fun…. My Blessed numbers are 3 ,4, 7 ,6 ,12 explain: I was born on , We are 7 siblings and I have 7 children.

I have 3sons and 4daughters, my husband was born My Grandson was born , I came to United States 43 years later. My numbers are very Biblical to note Genesis,exodus spoke about it. Thanks Just sharing. I like the way your wording shares the folklore, but the scientific methods such as that of archaeology do tell a more accurate state of origin behind the numbers, and how they became folklore. Nevertheless, your way of sharing it does spark a blogging. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.

Learn how your comment data is processed. Icons by Icon8. Get your fabulous folklore fix on your favourite podcast app! Find it here or subscribe on these platforms or your app of choice! Folklore blogger and host of the Fabulous Folklore podcast. Writer of dark fantasy novellas, Gothic short stories and the occasional weird Western. Once described as a cross between Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

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Photo by Maciej Pienczewski on Unsplash. The top of the siege piece has a lozenge-shaped perforation. Taking a few liberties with the River Styx. Image by Icy Sedgwick. Now check your email to confirm your subscription. There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again. First Name. Email Address.

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer. Comments This was so interesting, Icy. I find numerology very fascinating! Ooh if you have time, would you be able to point me in the direction of some sources? Have your say! Cancel reply. Footer Search this website. Connect with Me! Folklore Podcast Get your fabulous folklore fix on your favourite podcast app! Popular Posts How to make easy witch bottles to protect your home! The Vampire Rabbit of Newcastle.

My Gift to You. Show Your Support. Who is Icy Sedgwick? Want more folklore in your inbox? Visit the House of the Long Dead. If you were a necromancer, where would you bury the bodies? Many common folktales told in the United States in classrooms and popular iconic culture, think here of the epic Disney animations, have their roots in European folklore from collectors and authors such as the Grimm Brothers and Joseph Jacobs.

Like many other choices for sacred numbers in a variety of world cultures, the choice of the European use of the number three seems to have several possibilities. References to the symbolic use of the number three in Christianity abound and perhaps make the most commonly used explanations. A central tenet of Christianity is the concept of the Trinity, that is, the person of God is created by the presence of three persons within that God: the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier or more traditionally: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Other examples include Jesus being visited by three kings at his birth and his three days in the tomb before his resurrection. Other reasons for the prevalence of the number three in folktales include our need as human beings to create order from chaos. In storytelling, chaos results when player one and player two attempt to succeed at a task, but through their own failure or our moral shortcomings are unable to complete that task.

Then the third player, naturally more powerful than the first two, succeeds at the task, seeking the perfection of the story. Having a third option or character allows for some a gray middle in a world of black and white extremes. The number three pierces the polarity of the points of one and two Schneider This third provides the balance of youngest to older and oldest, industrious to lazy and laziest, just right to too hard and too soft, the option between the yes and no.

Psychologist Carl Jung offers another view of the power of three. There is an essential problem with requiring the use of sets of three in the litmus test of what is and what is not a folktale: not all cultures use three as a sacred number. There is a large range of numbers which are considered sacred.

For example, it is common in both Judaism and Christianity with its roots in Judaism that the number seven is a sacred number. Again, not sure, but maybe a good hypothesis to research? Betty, what are your thoughts on the symbolism of the number three? Laura Mc. Other cultures notable Native American have different magical numbers. So, I believe it to be not only a Western concept. Still, I guess I am typically European: Before reading your mail, I did not think further than Europe and Asia, and in fact I have no idea if there are similar concepts in Africa or Australia, that is, if there is something like numerology in their mythology and if the three does play a part there.

And, as I mentioned, I know preciuos little about the Americas. But I have to confess, I do not know if the three was special for them. I feel quite bad for not looking farther than the tip of my nose… That is another thing I love so much about this board: it always broadens your horizon! Best regards, Lotti. I absolutely love the interaction numbers — particularly three and seven — in stories. I am no authority on numbers whatsoever, but I live with someone who is part Cherokee; his grandmother tells me that to southeastern Native American tribes his family is in the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee , the cosmos is divided into three parts: the Upper World, this World, and the Lower World.

Remember, too, that the third brother or sister is disadvantaged in some way, yet this is the protagonist who prevails. I think there is something to be said for the theory that the child compares himself to his very competent parents, and feels discouraged. The tales offer encougagement. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.

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