A Study in Triads

By FRANKLIN J. ANDERSON

Assistant Editor, Royal Arch Mason Magazine

A study of the Masonic ritual, participating in the conferral of the degrees, or merely witnessing the ceremonies during the opening and closing of a lodge brings to our consciousness the frequency with which reference is made to the number three, or the numerous occasions when principles, tenets and phrases occur in groups of three. Such a grouping is denoted as a triad. Anyone familiar with the ritualistic ceremonies of their jurisdictions can readily identify at least 80 instances of triads in the Entered Apprentice Degree, 70 in the Fellowcraft Degree and more than 100 in the Master Mason Degree. Certainly many of these triads are familiar to everyone who has entered the fraternity: (help, aid and assist; cheat, wrong or defraud; hele, conceal and reveal).

Among ancient peoples the even numbers were thought to be ill-omened or unlucky. Odd numbers were considered to be good omens and favorable signs. Generally, we regard numbers to be a mere product of human ingenuity, but the ancients believed them to be of divine origin. Centuries before the Christian era, the Hindus claimed that their letters or numbers were derived from the language of the Gods. The Chaldean numbers were related to the position and grouping of the stars in the sky. In the Kabala the Hebrew alphabet is called “a visible expression of the divine forces inherent in the ineffable name.” Pythagoras maintained that there is a mysterious connection between Gods and numbers. The writings of Pythagoras must receive particular attention because he was initiated into the mysteries of several countries. His wisdom came from India as well as Egypt, and in a sense, he acts as kind of a clearing house for the teachings of all ancient civilizations. A survey of many works on ancient customs would seem to indicate that to all ancient peoples, numbers were sacred.