Mastodawn

Triple Deity

This is a deity/god with 3 distinct, & apparent, forms that function as a singular whole. These deities can sometimes be called: three-fold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune, triadic, or as a Trinity.

In classical religious traditions, 3 separate beings could be depicted as either a triad (who usually appears as a group such as the Greek Moirai, Charites, & Eriyes; the Norse Norns; or the Irish Morrigan), or a single deity (who’s significant for having 3 aspects such as the Greek Hecate or Roman Diana).

Trinitarian Christianity instead recognizes 3 “divine persons” in God the Father, the Son, & Holy Spirit, this is usually distinguished from the belief of independent gods, or aspects.

The trinity of supreme divinity is in Hinduism. They have the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, & destruction are personified as a triad of deities called Trimurti. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the preserver, & Shiva the destroyer.

The sacred symbol of Hinduism, the Om/Aum, the sacred sound, syllable, mantra, & invocation, is considered to have an insinuation to the Trimurti. The A, U, & M phonemes of the word are thought to point to creation, preservation, & destruction. Phonemes means any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish one word from another. The whole representing the transcendent or absolute Brahman is added.

This also shows 3 basic states of consciousness. In addition to which the whole syllable is interpreted as the subject of the consciousness, the self-principle (Atman). This is considered to be identical with the Brahman.

The Tridevi is the trinity of goddesses that are the consorts of the gods in the Trimurti. They’re personified by the Hindu goddesses Saraswati, Lakshmi, & Parvati. In Shaktism, these goddesses are considered the manifestations of Mahadevi, the Supreme Goddess (the female absolute). Also known as Mula-Prakriti or Adi Parashakti.

The Roman goddess Diana was worshipped from the late 6th century BC as diva triformis, “three-form goddess.” Early on, she was confused with the similar Greek goddess, Hekate/Hecate.

The Lake of Nemi was Triviae lacus for Virgil (Aeneid). Horace called Diana: montium customs nemoremque virgo (“keeper of the mountains & virgin of Nemi”) & diva triformis (“three-form goddess”).

Spells & hymns in Greek magical papyri refer to the goddess (called Hecate, Persephone, Selene, etc.) as “triple-sounding, triple-headed, triple-voiced, triple-pointed, triple-faced, triple-necked.”

The Olympian demiurgic triad in Platonic philosophy was made of Zeus, Poseidon, & Pluto/Hades. All were thought to be a monad; the same Zeus who gave rise to the Titanis demiurgic triad of Helios, Apollo, & Dionysus.

The Matres, or Matronae, are pictured as a group of 3. Sometimes with as many as 27 (3x3x3). They were associated with motherhood & fertility.

In the case of the Irish Brigid, it’s ambiguous if she’s a single goddess or 3 sisters named Brigid. The Morrigan sometimes shows up as 1 being, other times as 3 sisters. As do the 3 Irish goddesses of sovereignty – Eriu, Fodla, & Banba.

Nicene Christians profess “1 God in 3 divine persons” (God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit). This isn’t a belief, or worship, in 3 gods & isn’t a belief in 3 aspects of God. Both of these ideas are condemned as heresy by the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church also rejects the idea that God is 3 persons & that God is a genus that contains the 3 persons.

A circa 4th century Gnostic text, Trimorphic Protennoia, shows a 3-fold discourse of the 3 forms of Divine Thought: Father, Son, & Mother (Sophia). Micheus, Michar, & Mnesinous, the 3 Heavenly Spirits of Baptism.

Some Christian saints, especially martyrs, are in trios. Because they share a feast day or other day of remembrances.

Modalism is a form of Christian Unitarianism opposed to Trinitarianism. They believe that the 1 God is also just 1 person. But appears in 3 different forms: the Father, Son, & Spirit. Modalism adherents believe that the same 1 God appears in different forms throughout history.

For example, Jesus was 1 form of the same God. They also believe that the Holy Spirit isn’t a separate person from the Father either. But it describes God in action. Modalis is a heresy in orthodox Christianity.

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Spirituality & Religious Studies 3d ago

Moirai

In ancient Greek religion & mythology, the Moirai (a.k.a. in English as the Fates) were the personification of destiny.

There were 3 sisters named: Clotho, who was the spinner; Lachesis, who was the allotter; & Atropos, who was the inevitable, a symbol for death. Their Roman equals are the Parcae.

The Moirai’s role was to make sure that every being, mortal & divine, lived out their destinies. For mortals, this destiny went their entire lives & is pictured as a thread spun from a spindle. A spindle is the thing that Sleeping Beauty touched to become Sleeping Beauty.

Usually, they were considered to be above even the gods, in their role as enforcers of Fate. Zeus was even scared of them. Even though, in some stories, Zeus is able to command them. But these are rare.

The word Moirai (also spelt Moirae or Moerae) comes from Ancient Greek. This means “lots, destinies, apportioners.” It also means a portion, or lot of the whole.

In Dante’s Divine Comedy, the Fates are mentioned in both Inferno & Purgatorio by their Greek names. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the Weird Sisters (or 3 Witches) are prophetesses, who are deeply rooted in both the real & supernatural worlds.

The Moirai are:

Clotho, the spinner. She spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. Her Roman equal was Nona (“the 9th”), who was originally called upon in the 9th month of pregnancy.
Lachesis, the allotter or drawer of lots. She measured the thread of life allotted to each person with her measuring rod. Her Roman equal was Decima (“the 10th”).
Atropos, “inexorable,” or inevitable,” literally “unturning.” She was the cutter of the thread of life. She chose the manner of each person’s death. When their time has come, she would cut their life-thread with her shears. Think about the end of Disney’s Hercules, when our main man, Herc, went to save Meg from Hades’ domain. Herc’s life-thread turned gold when he saved. Her Roman equal was Morta (“the dead one”).

In the Republic of Plato, the 3 Moirai sing together with the music of the Seirenes. Lachesis sings the things that were, Clotho the things that are, & Atropos the things that are to be. Pindar, in his Hymn to the Fates, holds them in high honor. He calls them to send their sisters, the Hours (Eunomia, “lawfulness”; Dike, “right”; & Eirene, “peace”), to stop the internal civil strife.

In the Theogony, Hesiod describes the Moirai as daughters of the primeval goddess Nyx (“night”), & the sisters of the Keres (“the black fates”), Thanatos (“death”), & Nemesis (“retribution”). Later in the poem, Hesiod instead calls them daughters of Zeus & the Titaness Themis (“the Institutor”), who was the embodiment of divine order & law. This places them as sisters of the Hours.

In the cosmogony of Alcman (7th century BC), first came Thetis (“disposer, creation”) & then simultaneously Poros (“path”) & Tekmor (“end post, ordinance”). Poros is related to the end of all things.

Later, in the Orphic cosmogony, first came Thesis, whose ineffable nature is unexpected. Ananke (“necessity”) is the primeval goddess of inevitability who is entwined with the time-god Chronos, at the very beginning of time. They represented the cosmic forces of Fate & Time. They were sometimes called to control the fates of the gods. The 3 Moirai are daughters of Ananke.

In the Theogony of Hesiod, the 3 Moirai are personified as the daughters of Nyx & are acting the gods. Later they were daughters of Zeus & Themis, who was the embodiment of divine order & law. In Pluto’s Republic, the 3 Fates are daughters of Ananke (necessity).

The Moirai were supposed to appear 3 nights after a kid’s birth to determine the course of its life. At Sparta, the Temple to the Moirai stood near the communal hearth of the polis. Polis means “city” in Ancient Greek.

As the goddesses of birth who even prophesied the fate of the newly born, Elieithyia, the ancient Minoan goddess of childbirth & divine midwifery, was their companion.

The Erinyes, a group of chthonic goddesses of vengeance, served as tools of the Moirai. Chthonic means concerning, belonging to, or inhabiting the underworld. They inflicted punishment for evil deeds, particularly upon those who sought to avoid their rightful destiny. The Morai were confused with the Erinyes, as well as the death-goddesses, the Keres.

In earlier times, they were pictured as only a few, or perhaps only 1, individual goddess Homer’s Illiad speaks generally of the Moira, who spins the thread of life for men at their birth. She’s Moria Krataia, “powerful Moira,” or there are several Moirai.

In the Odyssey, there’s a reference to the Klothes, or spinners. At Delphi, only the Fates of Birth & Death were revered. In Athens, Aphrodite was called Aphrodite Urania, the “eldest of the Fates.”

In the older myths, they’re daughters of primeval beings like Nyx (“night”) in Theogony, or Ananke in Orphic cosmogony.

The Moirai could be placated as goddesses. Brides in Athens offered them locks of hair, & women swore by them. They may have originated as a birth goddesses & only later their reputation as the agents of destiny. The Moirai were also credited to be the inventors of 7 Greek letters – A, B, H, I, T, & Y.

The Fates had at least 3 known temples: Ancient Corinth, Sparta, & Thebes. The temple in Sparta was situated next to the grave/tomb of Orestes.