| Students of Celtic culture and mythology, as well | | | | but three sisters -a poetess, a smith and a |
| as people interested in the esoteric, mystical, | | | | doctor. |
| sacred geometry and/or neopaganism, have | | | | The shamrock is often associated with St. Patrick, |
| often noticed that 3 is an especially important | | | | and this symbol is prevalent on St. Patrick's Day. |
| number in many traditions, the Celtic in particular. | | | | This saint supposedly used the shamrock to |
| Some examples of this include the shamrock, | | | | illustrate the principle of the Trinity when bringing |
| which is a three-leafed plant, the triple aspect of | | | | Christianity to Ireland. Prior to this, the shamrock |
| ancient gods and goddesses, and the ancient triple | | | | was held sacred by the druids, who may have |
| spiral symbol, also known as the triskele. | | | | associated it with the Triple Goddess. Thus, the |
| The idea of the Triple Goddess is especially | | | | sacredness of 3 was maintained from the pagan |
| popular in Wiccan and neopagan circles. Robert | | | | to the Christian era in Celtic lands. |
| Graves helped to bring this idea to the modern | | | | The Triskele, or triple spiral is a symbol found in |
| world in his influential book, The White Goddess. | | | | very ancient, even pre-Celtic sites in the British |
| Graves, and many others to follow, illustrated the | | | | isles, such as Newgrange. With something like this, |
| archetype of the Mother, Maiden and Crone as | | | | dating back to prehistory, it's hard to say exactly |
| the triple aspects of the one Goddess. | | | | what it meant --other than that people have held |
| Scholars have criticized the literal truth of Graves' | | | | the number 3 as significant for a very long time. |
| work, and while it definitely has a poetic logic to it, | | | | Today, Celtic symbols are resurfacing in the form |
| it probably is oversimplified as a description of | | | | of art, jewelry and tattoos. While not all of these |
| ancient Celtic symbolism or cosmology. | | | | illustrate the "power of 3," if you take notice you |
| Nevertheless, the Celts have always thought in | | | | will probably find a surprising occurrence of threes |
| threes, and this includes their mythology. The | | | | in Celtic images even now. |
| goddess Brigit, in many tellings, is not one entity | | | | |